Monthly Archives: November, 2015

News
ANZ discovers a new strain of Muphry’s Law
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Banks aren’t generally renowned for the clarity of their language. Some cynics might even argue that they’re intentionally confusing. So it’s commendable that ANZ, which relied on pretty simple messaging and big media spend to let New Zealand know about the ‘merger’ with National Bank, won a few more Plain Language Awards recently. But, in what could be seen as a new strand of Muphry’s Law, where you inevitably make a mistake when criticising someone’s writing, it’s certainly not commendable to promote a post on Facebook with so many basic errors in it. Or is it a bad joke about reading like a ten-year-old that just made them look a bit thick?

News
JustOne/.99 and Colenso BBDO/Proximity lead the charge among DM finalists
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While the word personalisation is now bandied about media lunches with increasing regularity, it’s something that those in direct marketing have been focusing on for years—which is part of the reason why this is a space they’ve excelled at over the years. In this context, the Direct Marketing Awards have become a significant indication of which agencies excel in this area, which combines numbers and creativity.This year, JustOne/.99 lead the pack with a total of 21 nominations between them, followed by Colenso BBDO/Proximity on 19, FCB with 11, Young & Shand on eight.

News
Eyes on the slide: Nielsen data shows big annual audience dips for TV2 and TV3, but TV One keeps on truckin’
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In New Zealand, as around the world, the amount of time spent watching linear TV is on the wane. So how have the five major free-to-air channels performed this year? And, with ondemand services continuing to grow (and with Fox following in the footsteps of cable networks HBO and FX and moving away from overnight ratings as industry currency in the US) is the current ratings system an accurate reflection of performance?

News
Patience is the key: reverse auction site Dropit soft launches, looks to expand user base
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Dropit hopes punters and retailers will say yes to ‘no reserve’ and sign up to take part in reverse auctions. Last week, Dropit soft-launched its auction website where items have no reserve price. However, this is a good thing for the punter because the longer the auction lasts, the cheaper the item becomes. We chat to the company’s chief executive and marketing manager Peter Howell about how this all works.

News
Air New Zealand dabbles in competitive auto-tuning
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During the press conference announcing the deal and their new Auckland to Los Angeles route, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce and American Airlines chief executive Doug Parker were both very complimentary of Air New Zealand, heaping praise on the quality of the service offered. And the team at Air New Zealand was clearly watching these proceedings with interest, because not long thereafter the airline released an auto-tune mashup, via creative agency True, in which the pair of executives are shown seemingly pointing out the quality of the Kiwi airline’s service.

News
‘Buying activewear in my activewear’
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Walk around the streets of many of New Zealand’s urban centres and you’re more than likely to see people on the streets, in stores and sometimes even on sports fields clad entirely in the latest activewear from the likes of Puma, Adidas or Nike. Viewed from a distance, it would be easy to mistake these individuals as veritable fitness freaks, doing the hard yards to get abs on abs. However, upon closer inspection, it quickly becomes apparent that activewear serves broader purposes than just exercising. In fact, as illustrated in a recent satirical video by content creators the Van Vuuren Bros, activewear is often used for purposes quite contrary to getting fitter.

News
Bright young things: examining the pick of this year’s creative crop from Media Design School and AUT
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The ideas have been dreamed up, the work has been displayed, the sucking up to creative leaders has been done, the leftover nibbles have presumably been wrapped up in napkins and taken home, and another bunch of advertising students have learned a few tricks to help them into gainful employment. Here are some of the highlights from AUT and Media Design School.

News
Last chance to take advantage of Idealog’s 10th birthday $10 subscriptions
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StopPress’ stablemate Idealog has gone crazy! It’s slashing prices! Everything must go! To celebrate its 10th birthday, you can get a full year subscription to the magazine for only $10. That’s 365 days of food for your business brain and all for the same price as actual food like one 750g jar of Nutella, or two $5 flat whites, or four $2.50 ice creams, or $10 chips.

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Shower thoughts, Scout, The Spinoff and why big media struggles to launch new online media brands—UPDATED
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While showers can be vicious killers, water on the neck can also create moments of clarity, so it’s generally worth the risk. And last night as I sat in the corner of the shower weeping, scrubbing myself down after another day spent working in trade media, I started thinking about Rachel Glucina—and, more generally, the folly of big media trying to get down with the internet kids.

News
Right in the feels
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Every year, UK retailer John Lewis blows its budget to tell epic stories in its Christmas ads, and company usually claims the accolade for most memorable ad of the year. However, this time, it faces some strong competition from the Spanish National Lottery, which has released tear-jerking ad that has media companies around the world proclaiming it the most sentimental spot of the year.

News
Great, greater or the greatest?
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Honda’s new demo video by RPA combines three different stories to show off the Civic’s features. Each one follows the same series of events, a man picking up a woman for their first date, but as it unfolds the viewer has control of how the date is going. Will he greet her with a high-five or some flowers? You decide.

News
Late Night Big Breakfast returns and The Civilian becomes an online show as NZME launches new video offering
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NZME has since the beginning of this year released over 12,000 videos, which have accumulated 42 million views, and the media company is looking to further consolidate its video offering with the launch of a production studio called NZME Vision and a new content hub dubbed WatchMe. Rolled out earlier this week, the WatchMe website has already been populated with a collection of comedy shows; a combination of established and upcoming talent, all produced through NZME Vision. StopPress chats to NZME about why it’s making this move.

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