Last week, Bauer’s head of digital Michael Fuyala told StopPress that the publisher would over the next few months be making some significant moves in the digital space following the decision to join the IAB. And last night, the company kicked off the first phase of its new digital strategy—which has been in the pipeline for some time—by announcing a digital extension for Fashion Quarterly called FQ.co.nz.
We live in sad times. And they just got sadder, because artists Aric Snee & Justin Crowe have released an amazing new narcissistic development, the selfie-arm, ‘a sarcastic solution to the problem of being alone.’ PLUS: the wonders of solo chatting.
Whenever large entities merge, there is generally an expectation from those outside the business—and often from those investing in it—that things will change faster than they practically can. NZME’s group director digital Laura Maxwell-Hansen says that’s certainly the case at the moment as it attempts to bring “three businesses [APN, TRN and GrabOne] that have three different everythings” together, but she says its digital strategy is beginning to bear fruit, with audience numbers on the up and revenue growing ahead of the market.
BMW’s Super Bowl ad for 2015 featured a clip from 1994 in which long-standing news personalities Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel are discussing the mysteries of…
In 2011, Kiwi-born Robin Leonard founded AllFamous Digital in the Philippines, and inevitable ups and downs that have come with it have taught him some important rules about running a business in the digital marketing space.
Google recently changed its search algorithm to punish websites that aren’t mobile-friendly. And with watches, car interfaces and who knows what else becoming internet-enabled, designing and building websites for a future where device size is unknown is paramount, say Sam Judson and Richard Allardice.
In an effort to remind Russians to watch their speed, BBDO Moscow has produced a smart YouTube-based campaign for InTouch Insurance that only shows an accident happening when viewers fast-forward an otherwise boring ten-minute video of a car driving along the road.
Stem Creative has released the first three episodes of its six-part satirical web series called Agency, just a few short months after the creators came up with the idea. And the result is a humorous look at the trials and tribulations of the advertising industry through the eyes of three “hapless but genuine and enthusiastic marketing wannabes” at a small creative marketing agency in Wellington.
Four-person Swedish agency Dogwash has released a quirky campaign that allows ad folk to accurately express their thoughts through a catalogue of emojis that can be downloaded from the app store. And since most agencies always have one eye on the gong, the emoji suite includes Cannes Lions, Clios, D&D Pencils and a host of other award-themed options.
APN Outdoor started the large-format digital party in New Zealand in 2013, iSite is set to launch its own large format digital network soon and a few other smaller players have added their own sites. Now Adshel is joining in the fun, with 35 digital panels set to be switched on in the Auckland CBD and fringe suburbs in June. And general manager Nick Vile says it opens up a range of possibilities for advertisers.
Colenso BBDO has won two Webby Awards, which the agency will scoop up during the ceremony in New York next month. One Webby was for the Best Use of Online Media for its Burger King ‘Anti Pre-Roll’ campaign while the other was a ‘People’s Voice’ award in the Best Use of Social Media category for ‘Motel BK’.
The freelancer experience has until now been typified by making contacts and hoping that they require your services on a regular basis. And while this approach has seen freelancers make ends meet for generations, it isn’t best case scenario for any of the parties involved. Freelancers are often left without work for long stints while agencies and clients might only have a limited list of potential workers, who might not always be available. So, in a bid to make freelancing in the local market more accessible and practicable, Greig Cranfield, who has until now served as digital specialist recruiter at Razzbri, launched Yudoozy, an online recruitment service that links freelancers to clients.
Game of Thrones has seemingly become to Ireland what Lord of the Rings is to New Zealand: a perfect opportunity to market stunning landscapes to fans of the series. And for this reason, Tourism Ireland and HBO have been surprising Ireland’s residents and visitors by scattering fantastical Game of Thrones props around the country to promote the show while simultaneously promoting Ireland as a tourist destination for Game of Thrones fans, or anyone who admire the stunning landscapes in the series.
As the industry continues to fragment, agencies are forced into adapting their approaches to ensure that clients’ demands are still met. And while they don’t always have the massive holding-company budgets at their disposal, indy agencies have the nimbleness to react quickly to change and redefine their role. And Sugar & Partners creative and digital director Dave Nash sees this as a major advantage at a time when more and more clients are asking for integrated advertising executions.
Content is de riguer at the moment. And while there’s plenty of action in this area, there’s also plenty to learn. So, to help with that, StopPress is hosting an event next week for those looking to get a flavour of the latest thinking on content marketing. The Content Marketing Picture—organised in partnership with co-hosts Getty Images and TVNZ—will take place at the Spark Conference Centre in Auckland, Tuesday 5 May, from 5.00pm.
Everyone’s so busy these days. So busy, it seems, that there’s not even enough time to get changed, as evidenced by Australian surfing brand Quiksilver’s release of a line of suits in Japan that you can wear surfing.
After a year of judging new brand ads in New Zealand, Colmar Brunton has announced that Vodafone and FCB’s festive ad ‘Dinner for two’ has taken out the award for 2014’s Most Impactful Ad, with Samsung’s G5 Days and Nestle Purina’s ‘Herding Cats’ also claiming big fist trophies for the most persuasive and most enjoyable awards respectively.
It seems that many aspects of life are crossing over to the digital realm these days down to the way we communicate, work, shop, read – the list is endless. Ikea has taken this idea one step further, offering an online virtual wedding service.
While some car brands have attempted to get cars running on water, Toyota has taken a different approach, proving to the public that it has a car that quite literally runs on bullshit.
As technology continues to develop and become more readily available, it gives ad agencies the means by which to evolve the traditional media channels—and this is particularly prominent in the out-of-home advertising category. Locally, we’ve already seen billboards update in real-time during the elections, we’ve seen selfies linked from Twitter to outdoor digital screens, and we’ve had outdoor creative adjusting in accordance with the temperature. And now, Ogilvy & Mather in Hong Kong is taking it a step further with a new anti-littering campaign that uses the DNA of litterbugs to create digital faces that have a resemblance to the actual people who dropped trash on the floor.
This past weekend marked 100 years since the Anzac forces landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula. As a result, ceremonies and events were run up and down the country resulting in exhibition openings, parades and the building of a gigantic poppy. To put the scale of the event in context, the New Zealand Government alone is estimated to have spent around $42 million on centenary commemorations—and this only paints part of the picture given that promotional spending by brands is difficult to tally. And while most of the activations were in good taste here and across the ditch, the event once again served as a reminder of the fine line between commemoration and commercialisation of a tragic day in history. Here’s a rundown of some of the activations that took place.
The Apple Watch has, as expected, created plenty of chatter. And it’s now launched three TV ads showcasing what it can do—and, perhaps unintentionally, what it can stop.
Former director and owner of now-defunct company The Media Counsel (TMC) Glenda Wynyard has been sentenced to eight months’ home detention.
Roy Morgan may have shut the doors of its New Zealand office, but it’s still checking up on Kiwi brands for its New Zealand Customer Satisfaction awards. And New World, Care Chemist, Max, Robert Harris Café, Noel Leeming, Kathmandu and Powershop have all celebrated their first wins.
Maybelline has released a new campaign called ‘Love your face’ that uses YouTube’s interactive technology with the aim of making it easier for consumers to find foundation that matches their skintypes. The campaign was created by agency .99 in partnership with Maybelline New York and comes at a time when the makeup brand is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
One of the persistent public views that exists around marketing and advertising is that these industries are great manipulators of us all, creating in us silly desires and passing fancies that divert us from a virtuous life path and empty our wallets with the skill of a pickpocket. And when one looks at something like the furore created by Lewis Road Creamery around chocolate milk, it’s pretty easy to see how people might start musing on this. But the truth is that we are a much less Machiavellian lot than our fancy milk would suggest.
Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.
Changes at ASB, Starcom/ZO, TVNZ, Ambient Group, MediaWorks and Fonterra.
