Monthly Archives: December, 2015

News
Republik kicks off Unitec partnership with virtual reality installation
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In October, Republik won the Unitec account, inheriting a brand that has over the last few years outspent both the University of Auckland and AUT University in its bid to attract new students to its classrooms. And despite having a new agency, the educational institution has continued this trend of investing in marketing by hosting an elaborate experiential activation at Auckland’s Britomart just over a week ago.

News
Fullers turns to Waiheke and Tiritiri Matangi locals to tell its story
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Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson and countless travel bloggers might have you believe that “life is a journey, not a destination”, but a new campaign from Fullers by Motion Sickness Studio shows that sometimes the destination matters a little more than the journey—and this is especially true when it comes to the Waiheke and Tiritiri Matangi Islands.

News
Spark’s ‘North Star’ brings its vision of the future to life, as NZME embarks on one of its biggest branded content projects yet
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Visions of the future are fertile territory for psychics, science fiction writers and highly paid consultants. And as Spark attempts to move from dumb pipes to digital services, it’s joined in the fun and created Spark Life 2025 to show what life might be like ten years from now. And NZME has helped bring its vision to life online.

News
MediaWorks comes out on top as The Block beats MKR NZ
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Cantabrians Brooke and Mitch took out the latest edition of the Block NZ Villa Wars selling their renovated property for $1,350,000 netting them a windfall of $290,000 but the big winners for The Block NZ Villa Wars were MediaWorks, which returned very high rating numbers for the Sunday evening finale.

News
It all sounds so credible
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The rise of “wellness” products and services such as cold-pressed juice bars, raw and paleo eateries, boutique yoga studios and alternative therapies has brought with it a specific vocabulary. Some of these wellness words sound like science; some, especially those coming from Deepak Chopra, have the ring of religon, and quite a few are so divorced from meaning that they’re uncategorisable. After overdosing on YouTube philosophical debates one night, Australian web developer Seb Pearce wrote some code to randomly generate New Age copy at the push of a button.

News
Hunter Furniture showcases a trio of career furniture hunters
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Rarely, if ever, do furniture hunters settle on the first couch they try. The process usually involves trying out option after option, until the right couch announces its existence vicariously through the satisfied sigh of the person sitting in it. And, if a new video series from Hunter Furniture is anything to go by, then this seemingly endless search is also a familiar feeling for those in the business of producing the products we purchase at furniture stores.

News
Nick Offerman likes whisky and silence
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If you know Nick Offerman and his character, Ron Swanson from TV show Parks and Recreation you will know how much the curmudgeonly Offerman loves whisky and silence. If you need further proof, the bearded actor and fine wood worker has just filmed a 45-minute spot for Lagavulin whisky where he sits in a fine leather chair next to a crackling fire, calmly staring into the camera, imbibing his beverage of choice and moving very occasionally. Watch it and drink it all in.

News
Such effortless jargon delivery
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The development of new technology invariably leads to the emergence of new words to describe exactly what this tech can do. And with the emergence of programmatic ad-buying and a range of other digital tools, marketing has become flooded with acronyms, intialisms and buzzwords that wouldn’t make sense to anyone outside the industry. Attend an agency lunch or dinner these days, and you’re more than likely to hear a few of these phrases thrown around by individuals who are either in the know or doing their best to feign it. Jargon overload can be frustrating, but we’re actually pretty lucky. At least we aren’t in the business of selling Turbo Encabulators.

News
Animated cakes, wine-flavoured ice blocks and a colourful cycleway: Microsoft Surface and TVNZ show the benefits of collaboration
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In September, around the time of its new season launch, TVNZ announced OnDemand Shorts, an extension to its on-demand offering dedicated entirely to short-form content. This platform has now officially launched, and TVNZ has been promoting it via a 30-second spot that explains the proposition to viewers and gives a series of teasers of the inaugural shows. From the outset, TVNZ outlined an important commercial component that would allow brands to collaborate in the production of content. And the state broadcaster has already attracted its first client in this space. The series three-part Better Together, currently available on Shorts, was developed by TVNZ Blacksand in conjunction with Microsoft Surface.

Partner articles
Rogue Society launches corporate gifting collection
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SPONSORED POST: Looking for something a little different to send your clients to say ‘thanks for the work’ (and ‘please continue to give us work next year’) this Christmas? Bored of sending the same old bottle of sauv and branded calendar? Well, Rogue Society are here to ease your Christmas pain with a gin-based gift range perfect for the Christmas corporate gift-giving season.

News
NZME consolidates its commercial and creative forces in CreateMe; so is it a threat to agencies?
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NZME is continuing to pull all its strings together with this week’s announcement that it was launching CreateMe, a new division comprising the media company’s core commercial content creators and strategists. And it seems in many ways quite akin to a creative agency. We chat to CreateMe general manager Fiona McLeod about the role she sees the new department playing in the industry.

News
Join Mike Pero Real Estate (or lose the love of your family)
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Historically, Mike Pero Real Estate’s ads have featured the founder talking up its lower commissions or profiled some of its salespeople and properties. And that strategy—and the booming property market—has helped it take off, to the point where it appeared on the 2014 Deloitte Fast50 list with revenue growth of 328 percent. Now it’s trying to get more salespeople to join the family, but it’s gone with something a bit more ‘creative’ this time.