Author Damien Venuto

While the nation’s other SVOD players are taking legal steps in regard to Global Mode, market newcomer Netflix has thus far been quiet in terms of its position on the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) to access international content. The company has not joined MediaWorks, TVNZ, Sky and Spark in the case, which is set clarify the legality of Global Mode in the local market. And this could largely come down to the fact that the company has little incentive to support the action.
PLUS: a look at the leaked emails from Sony executives on Netflix’s approach to geo-filtering.

Using the proficiency of young’uns in all things digital as their premise, Hyundai and Shine have released a new TVC that illustrates how easily Hyundai family wagons can be connected to Bluetooth. The 30-second spot plays out as a race between a pair of parents and their daughter as they vie to connect their phones to matching Hyundai wagons. Rather tellingly, while the parents are hurriedly paging through the instruction manual, the daughter connects the phone and calls her parents through the hands-free interface.

Every week, the Salvation Army receives 300 new requests for help from Kiwi families going through difficulties. And contrary to the popular misconception that the organisation only exists to help the poorest in society, public relations director of the Salvation Army Steve Chisholm says that it’s also common for those in the middle class to approach the not-for-profit organisation when they fall on hard times. So, in a bid to change this perception, the Salvation Army has released a new campaign that posits the Salvation Army as a safety net for ordinary Kiwis.

AUT University has after ten years ended its partnership with Consortium and will from now on work with a number of agencies on a project basis. The institution has appointed Shine to develop its mid-year marketing campaign, but the director of marketing Shelly Gane says that this is not to be understood as the appointment of the agency beyond this project. PLUS: Unitec reviews its creative account.

Adobe has released the finding of a survey of 648 marketers across the APAC region, and the report points out that senior players in the industry are struggling with similar issues as the importance of digital to marketing continues to grow.

In its 2015 flu campaign, the Health Promotion Agency has visualised the flu as a blue dust-like substance that floats in the air and moves from person to person.

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.

CallPlus Group and ByPass Network Services Limited (BNSL) yesterday responded to the cease and desist letters sent out by Global Mode opponents Sky, MediaWorks, TVNZ and Spark. And rather than bowing down to the corporate juggernauts, the pair of organisations instead responded with a level of competitive enthusiasm that rarely makes it through the corporate PR force field.

NZME recently helped to raise in excess of $300,000 for children caught up in the Syrian strife through World Vision’s ‘Forgotten Millions’ campaign, which was fronted by journalist Rachel Smalley. And now, the company is turning its attention to another good cause by using all its available channels to raise funds for the RSA in the lead up to the centennial anniversary of Anzac Day.

ANZ has teamed up with the RSA to launch an online campaign that gives Kiwis the opportunity to publicly honour the heroes who were part of the troops that landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. Hosted online on a microsite dubbed called Shadow Battalion, the campaign allows visitors to select a hero and then provide a reason for remembering this person.

So regularly was Sky TV’s ‘Bring Down the King’ promotion for season four of Game of Thrones awarded at the recent Axis Awards that host Jesse Mulligan at one stage sarcastically quipped “you might’ve heard of this campaign,” before handing out yet another gold to ‘Bring down the king’. And the campaign has certainly travelled around, picking up a slew of gongs for DDB on the international circuit. Now, following on from the success of this campaign, DDB and Sky have again combined social media and experiential elements for the promotion of the latest season of the hit show.

From the outset of the announcement that the Paul Henry Show would run concurrently across TV and radio, MediaWorks made clear its intention to drive its audience share in the morning slots, which have until now been dominated by NZME on the radio side and TVNZ on TV. But NZME isn’t simply sitting back and spectating the arrival of Henry. For the first time in ten years, Newstalk ZB has released a TVC, which is somewhat unsurprisingly voiced-over by NZME’s cross-channel star Mike Hosking.

Tax season is upon us, and in its stead it brings long complicated IRD forms, scary non-compliance letters and a slew of advertisements that promise tax refunds. These marketing campaigns extend across all available channels and offer users a faster means by which to complete the sometimes arduous process of applying for a tax refund. Over the last few years, MyTax.co.nz has been one of a handful of companies encouraging Kiwis to look into whether or not they qualify for a tax refund—and this year is no different.

Cigna Life Insurance chief executive Lance Walker has been appointed the new chair of the Marketing Association and will take up the position vacated by the retiring Debra Hall.

Although Brendon McCullum and his squad will return to New Zealand without the coveted Cricket World Cup trophy tow, the team has certainly won the hearts of the nation and, as a corollary, the continued support of the companies that sponsored the team as the action unfolded over the last few weeks. And this has seen several brands take out print ads dedicated to the efforts of the Black Caps in the Herald.