Author Ben Fahy

News
The ego has landed: MediaWorks gets set to launch Paul Henry’s media mongrel, new ad shows off its stars
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As Colin Peacock noted in MediaWatch this week, as two X Factor judges were sent packing for bullying and lambasted for having an over-inflated opinion of themselves, a man who has “built his reputation on his ego and on picking on people poorly equipped to defend themselves on air” is getting set to kick off his experimental, multi-media breakfast news show on April 7. And MediaWorks has launched the last phase of its marketing push to get New Zealanders to tune in.

News
Toyota and Saatchi & Saatchi put Dai Henwood’s comedy skills—and automotive stereotypes— to good use
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Toyota is one of the country’s most trusted brands and has been a regular on the Reader’s Digest list (despite a couple of high-profile international recalls in recent years). This is a big part of the reason it’s still top of the pops when it comes to overall sales. And it’s playing on that trust—and on the fear people have of being ripped off by automotive cowboys—in a new campaign via Saatchi & Saatchi for its Genuine Parts business that sees Dai Henwood taking a leaf out of the Eddie Murphy/Martin Lawrence acting book and playing three different characters.

News
Moving upstream: ICG invests in creativity, welcomes Mike O’Sullivan’s The Collective to the crew
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Originally established as a pre-press company in 1990, Image Centre Group has gradually moved into other areas like design, web development, full service printing, publishing, digital signage and advertising in an effort to bring the idea of an independent, marketing communications group to life. Now it’s added a crucial—and up until now missing—cog to that wheel: the creative heft of Mike O’Sullivan and his business The Collective.

News
They’ve got the whole bridge in their hands: 2degrees and Special Group get set to light up Auckland
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2degrees is attempting a fairly difficult telco trick at the moment as it tries to morph from a challenger brand with lots of low value customers into a grown-up company that’s more appealing to the high-rollers—and it could be argued its agency Special Group is on a similar trajectory as it evolves from a small indie with small clients into a serious multi-national network that’s competing with the bigg’uns. And now the pair are set to launch a very grown-up stunt to celebrate Auckland’s 175th anniversary, its new phone plans and the launch of Samsung’s new Galaxy S6 by turning the Auckland Harbour Bridge into an interactive light show.

News
‘‪#‎JeSuisACC’‬: fans protest Alternative Commentary Collective’s barring, NZME attempts to get back in ICC’s good graces—UPDATED
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The Alternative Commentary Collective has been one of the country’s recent media highlights. The witty, oft-politically incorrect or downright offensive banter, the purposeful mangling of names (RIP Mrs Mangel), the dubious factoids, the humorous nicknames and, occasionally, the cricket commentary, have attracted thousands to NZME’s iHeartRadio platform, as well as a number of commercial partners. But after the ICC got a bee in its bonnet over Leigh Hart’s appearance on Gatorade’s bottle/inflatable penis during a drinks break at McLean Park in Napier on Sunday, the team has had their accreditation revoked, leading to howls of protest from fans—and probably a bit of sucking up from NZME—to ensure the caravan of cricket can continue doing the work of God for the rest of the tournament.

News
Read a magazine, nobody die: Bauer and FCB attempt to breathe life into Woman’s Day—and help modern women cope—with bold $1.5 million campaign
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Technology was meant to make life so much easier. Paperless offices. Cheap communication tools. And, of course, robot vacuum cleaners. But instead we’re lonelier, more stressed and getting our hair eaten by our electronic assistants. Woman’s Day has noticed this shift as well, so, as part of a big—and quite rare—$1.5 million campaign via FCB, it’s foisted a Zsa-Zsa Gabor-esque character upon the nation in an effort to give its readers permission to take a break without feeling guilty about it.

News
Selling the sausage—and the sizzle: Polkinghorne’s Bangerritos hit local grills, look set for global expansion
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Typically, agency folk harness their creativity to help clients’ businesses. But occasionally that creativity is put towards their own projects. And that’s exactly what globally recognised young creative and burrito aficionado Ben Polkinghorne has done with the Bangerrito, a burrito-flavoured sausage that’s made its way onto a few high end supermarket shelves and, all going to plan, might soon be seen in other markets.

News
Land Rover and Y&R’s story of love found, lost, restored and reunited dishes up a dose of the feels, gains international attention
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Car brands love stunts, as evidenced by this cracker from Ford in the US. And car brands also love restoring old models/pimping out new ones, as evidenced by Holden’s 60th campaign and the bespoke Toyota Hiluxes created for Willie Apiata and Matt Watson. But Land Rover New Zealand and Y&R NZ have combined the two in a clever campaign that has brought joy to the hearts of many—and presumably some jealously to the hearts of those who wish it had happened to them. And there’s a special connection, as one of the recipients, Will Radford, is my tin-arse brother in law.

News
Havin’ a hoon on TVNZ’s new OnDemand platform
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Mat Yurow, the associate director, audience development, at The New York Times, wrote a great piece on Medium recently about the publishing industry’s “iTunes moment”. And it could be argued that TV is having an iTunes moment of its own as viewers are increasingly able to consume the shows (or, increasingly, the sports) they’re interested in on their own terms, online, and without the need for a channel brand or an all-you-can-eat subscription. TVNZ is embracing that change with its soon-to-be-updated Ondemand platform. And we had a preview to see what’s instore.

News
Inside: Dot
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Apparently, data is the new oil. But, just like oil, data needs to be refined to be useful. And Dot, a ten-strong Wellington company that mixes analytics with storytelling is doing just that in an effort to find influencers, reduce churn and even beat the bookies.

Movings & Shakings
Saatchi & Saatchi responds to decreasing client spend and changing market with restructure—UPDATED
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Over the past five years, chief executive Nicky Bell, the recently departed Antonio Navas, head of planning Murray Streets and many others have helped Saatchi & Saatchi regain some of its former glory after what they all admit was a fairly rough patch. It’s won some big accounts, it’s put a few big awards on the mantelpiece and it’s lured a few big names across its newly renovated offices on The Strand. But due to a reduction in client spend—particularly from Spark—and an evolution in the kind of work the agency is being asked to do, it has had to restructure the business.

News
SMI data shows agencies spending far more on digital than print, TV maintains its place at the top
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In many developed markets, digital ad spend has overtaken print. But, despite consistent drops over the past few years, the local publishing sector has held firm in second place behind television, according to ASA figures. The IAB has predicted the change will happen in New Zealand next year, but, according to year-on-year SMI data, which collects ad spend from the 15 top media agencies in the country, that’s already happened.

News
Stem Creative’s satirical web series Agency puts adland’s quirks under the spotlight, looks to brands for financial support
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There are plenty of examples of brands being integrated into TV shows these days. And plenty of examples of fun being poked at the ad industry. But Wellington-based video strategy and production company Stem Creative is aiming to combine those two things in a new satirical web series called Agency that follows three “hapless but genuine and enthusiastic” employees at a small creative marketing agency in Wellington and, as Stem founder and director Ben Forman says, “pulls the veil off the ad industry”.

News
Bye bye diary? Radio industry reviews its research methodology, looks to move away from twice-yearly survey
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In an era where the online realm has allowed marketers and media owners to measure, track and chart everything in real-time, it seems slightly anachronistic to record radio listenership by getting people to fill in a paper diary. And the radio industry seems to agree, because it’s currently reviewing its research methodology and, as a result, it won’t be conducting its regular T1 survey.

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