Author Damien Venuto

Brands have been acting fast and loose in their application of the hashtag ‘ad’ rule, with only some using it sporadically at best. So, StopPress asks a few people in the industry whether this rule is still relevant or whether it might be time for an update.

Colenso BBDO recently deployed a bit of telekinesis in a teaser campaign for V Energy. And from the outset, there were hints that V Energy (the brand that brought us the V Motion Project) was going to deliver another experiential marvel. The references to telekinesis and the chords sticking out the can seemed to allude to technology that enables users to move items with their minds. And the energy drink company lived up to promise of the teaser campaign by hosting an experiential campaign that gave Kiwis an opportunity to levitate a ship container.

In a joint statement released earlier today, Fairfax Media, MediaWorks, NZME and TVNZ announced the launch of a new local advertising exchange service called the Kiwi Premium Advertising Exchange (KPEX), which will provide advertisers access to premium advertising inventory across each of the publishers’ online properties. So will this give the local players the scale to compete with Facebook and Google’s respective ad exchanges?

Peer-to-peer lending site Harmoney launched last year in the Kiwi market with an ambigram as its logo and a quirky cartoon TVC by Barnes, Catmur & Friends that compared conventional loan agencies to sharks. However, this launch identity—and the creative approach that accompanied it—is history now, as Harmoney has changed both its creative direction and its logo in a new ad campaign, which makes the company look more like a conventional loan company than an industry-disrupting startup.

The radio survey results period has over the year come to be typified by a markedly partisan response from NZME and MediaWorks, heavy drinking by the ratings winners and, quite often, even heavier drinking by those who weren’t as lucky in the results. And given that the NZME-funded T1 survey didn’t have the backing of MediaWorks, tonight’s results party is poised to be a big one. But this tradition of two massive annual blowouts (only one this year) is set to change, as results reports will be released more regularly from next year. We look at some of the biggest losses and gains in the latest survey.

Until now, retargeting campaigns have proved challenging on Apple Safari browsers because cookies are disabled by default. So, in a bid to overcome this issue, AdRoll announced a new product earlier this week that the company’s managing director for the ANZ region Ben Sharp says will give advertisers the ability to retarget via Apple devices.

Earlier this month, Instagram kicked off its local ad offering with launch partners Burgerfuel, Air New Zealand and Sky TV, which have each been running campaigns through the platform. And now, following on from a relatively short testing phase, Instagram has extended its advertising options to all Kiwi brands. And Spark has joined the fun by launching a campaign that uses 3D technology.

Earlier this month, Bauer Australia confirmed it would be shutting down Zoo Weekly, due to rapidly declining sales. And though some celebrated the demise of the publication as an ethical victory, lad culture is stronger than ever in the online space.

With the entire nation not necessarily willing to wake up ridiculously early to watch all games of the Ruby World Cup, daily highlight reels are playing an important role in keeping fans informed of the daily proceedings. And Whittaker’s is now getting in on the highlights action but it’s going about in a very different way. Rather than showing clips from the actual games, the chocolate company, recently chosen as New Zealand’s most trusted brand, is re-enacting key events with the use of All Blacks chocolates and an assortment of children’s toys and posting these to its Facebook page.

And as was the case at last year’s Brandcast event, Google again spared no expense as it put on an elaborate affair aimed at selling YouTube and the content creators to those who hold the purse strings in the industry.

While not rational by any stretch of the imagination, superstition is an integral part of sporting culture. And as the World Cup approaches, fans across the country will dust off their lucky trinkets and get them ready for the biggest tournament in the rugby calendar. However, these magical items aren’t only pulled out during big sporting events. When we need luck, they’re also dragged from the dark recesses of our wardrobes and put to good use. And in quirky new spot, ASB has through Saatchi & Saatchi poked fun at the tradition of rugby fans to wear their lucky jerseys during important events.

Most people have that private dance that they turn on when no one is looking. It’s generally typified by an awkward shuffle that stutters its way across the floor to the beat of whatever sound might be playing in the background. Music is optional, and in most cases the elaborate dance moves are brought to a neck-breaking halt if any spectators—beyond the most trusted—suddenly appear on the scene. However, over the last year, Kiwibank has through its ‘Indepen-dance’ campaign given these private dance moves the exposure they deserve. And for the latest iteration of the campaign, the bank has turned to its employees for content.

Since taking his post as the head of Facebook in New Zealand, Spencer Bailey has become accustomed to fielding questions about when Facebook-owned photo-sharing app Instagram would be opened to advertisers in the local market. Asked how many times he’s had to sidestep the question since April, he gives a wry smile and says: “Just a few times … every week.” Well, the wait is finally over. Facebook has announced that advertising will now be available to Kiwi advertisers on Instagram.