Author Holly Bagge

News
Virtual reality: should brands be first to the punch or is it better to wait and (virtually) see?
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There has been a lot of talk and hype about virtual reality in recent times. And just in the past month we’ve had a few sets of cardboard virtual reality goggles sent to the office from PR companies, which shows it’s very much in the public consciousness. One brand, which jumped onto the VR trend early in a marketing capacity, is Contiki. We had a chat to Contiki’s global CEO Casper Urhammer to find out more about the travel brand’s use of it. PLUS: with the amount of research and development going into virtual reality, is it better to wait?

News
Sky heads to Snapchat to court young rugby fans
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As is increasingly becoming clear, brands can no longer expect to put the bait out and wait for its audience to come. A bit more is required these days to target the more distracted modern audience, and brands are having to travel to audience-territory or risk being ignored. A big brand which has cottoned onto this is Sky TV which (along with a number of other brands) has now joined image and video-sharing app Snapchat in an attempt to target a millennial audience, to generate interest in its Rugby World Cup 2015 coverage.

News
Pegasus and the Job Numbers (aka Colenso BBDO) reign supreme at this year’s BOTAB
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On a dark and windy night, six advertising-employed goth bands slithered into the King’s Arms, fishnets, face powder, bad eyeliner and all, to pay homage to the likes of 1980’s goth bands The Cure, The Cramps and movement-starters Bauhaus. And despite straying from the theme and playing songs which you couldn’t really call gothic, Colenso BBDO aka Pegasus and the Job Numbers were crowned the winner of this year’s Battle of the Ad Bands organised by CAANZ and Flying Fish, after a polished and upbeat set that wooed the crowd and judges alike.

News
The threat of mobile ad blocking: is there anything publishers can do to save themselves?
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The amount of ink (mostly digital) that’s been spilled about ad blocking has only increased with the launch of Apple’s iOS9 yesterday. It doesn’t sound like good news for publishers or advertisers, particularly with the amount of time we spend on our phones these days. So, should they be changing their approach? And is there any way to get around an ad blocker? We spoke to the IAB Mobile Council’s Sarah Kavanagh and Postr CEO Milan Reinartz for their opinions.

News
From grainy webcam footage to content deals: the faces behind NZ’s top 10 YouTube channels
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Over the past few years YouTube celebrities and content creators have become a great platform for advertisers to market through. The target market already actively seeks out the material, so all they need to do is weave a bit of marketing magic into the content and see themselves put in front of a million pairs of eyes. Here’s New Zealand’s top 10 subscribed-to accounts making waves over the interwebs.

News
Energy Online and Contagion repel door-to-door salespeople with an angry doorknocker
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We’ve all had it. You’re having a nice relaxing evening at home after a busy day, and then you hear it. The dreaded door knock. You think, ‘But I’m not expecting anyone’. Then you open the door to see someone standing there, smiling nervously, clipboard in hand before they start awkwardly or over-enthusiastically bumbling through their speech on how you should switch internet provider, switch power company or switch religion. As you stare at them trying to look earnest, nodding and lapping up a healthy dose of second-hand apprehension and embarrassment you think to yourself, why must doorknockers exist? Power company Energy Online, which has vowed not to have doorknockers, has released an ad showing the most ideal doorknocking scenario.

News
Scout’s honour? MediaWorks’ Glen Kyne on the business behind its new celebrity site–UPDATED
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There’s been plenty of ink and a fair bit of fury dedicated to yesterday’s launch of scout.co.nz, MediaWorks’ first digital-only brand and joint venture with gossipmonger Rachel Glucina. Most of that seemed to be of the ‘please God, tell me it isn’t so, we are all doomed’ variety. And while many believe the media’s focus on celebrity and entertainment—and the takedown culture often associated with it—is bad for society, Glen Kyne, director of integrated content at MediaWorks, is right when he says it’s also bloody popular. So how is the site going to make money? And how did it perform on its first day?

News
A sneak peek behind the curtain of Cure Kids’ viral charity/All Blacks supporters campaign via Augusto—UPDATED
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Late last week Cure Kids’ campaign consisting of a video clip for a song, dubbed Team, Ball, Player, Thing as a fight against Batten disease and a Rugby World Cup sendoff featuring, well, pretty much every New Zealand celebrity blew up, with news of the clip dotted all over the internet. Cure Kids and Augusto worked tirelessly on the campaign and faced some big challenges (like not having all of the featured celebs in the same room when filming, for instance). Here’s a look behind the scenes to see how this enormous project came together.

News
Putting money on content marketing: how the main banks have embraced the tactic
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As has increasingly become clear, content marketing is an effective, progressive and less intrusive way of reaching an audience. The modern audience has less time for shouty or obvious tactics. We’ve grown smarter, wiser and more distracted with a myriad of content options to consume, particularly the millennial audience, which is spending less and less time in front of the television. While perhaps a few years ago it would have been hard to see it coming, banks have gotten very good at employing content marketing tactics, particularly when targeting a younger audience. We thought we’d take a look at a few examples from the main players.

News
Are Tweets news? The growing trend of journalists using social media in stories
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Over the past few years, social media has become an enormous part of the lives of many. Studies show we spend hours online per day, and much of this time is spent perusing Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the like. And apart from stalking old school friends who have become more successful than you, or (for some) discovering what Kim K’s latest move is, these have also become platforms for people to openly share their views, exercise their right to free speech, and learn what others think about relevant and important issues. This activity on social media has led to many news publishers embedding tweets in their online stories, or further, basing an entire story around a strong public reaction to a tweet. So, we decided to ask ‘why?’

News
From the newspaper to the computer screen: what are the benefits of online comics?
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The rise of the digital has disrupted many aspects of life: from the way we research, to the way we contact one another, to the way we lock our houses. The disruption of newspapers and magazines is common knowledge, and this in turn has affected the way cartoonists work. Over the years the Sunday funnies page has had less space allocated to the funny and often thought-provoking illustrations and many cartoonists have headed over to the digital realm. One of these is Toby Morris, a cartoonist for RNZ and The Wireless. He tells us how his craft has changed, and how this isn’t such a bad thing. We also chat to fellow cartoonists award-winning Anna Crichton and long time cartoonist Brendon Boughen for their perspective.

News
Turbulent Tweeters and the fickle fallibility of the national memory: the NZ flag saga continues
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Today the Flag Consideration Panel announced the shortlist of the flag designs consisting of four, which eligible voters will rank in the first binding postal referendum later this year. Twitter responses on the matter range from ambivalent, to angry and some of them are, from our view, quite funny. The somewhat heated responses reminds us of other flag designs and national symbols which people loathed to begin with before they became beloved national icons. We take a look at a few examples after sharing some of our favourite tweets on the shortlisted designs.

News
Your wish is my command: is online crowd-sourcing something marketers should be doing more of?
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It’s never been easier for marketers to learn about their audience. All they need to do is go to social media, look at what they’re posting and what’s trending among their target age demographic. Brands have begun travelling to their audience to market to them too, launching social media campaigns, joining Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest, whatever it may be. But something else we’ve noticed recently is brands going to their audience and essentially asking for advice, crowd-sourcing ideas for products like websites, food, even ads. Here are a few examples from here and abroad.

Opinion
I see red: why tampon/pad brands need to up their advertising game
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You notice you are feeling a little bit moodier than normal. Irritable and a bit down, with a hot feeling in your chest that you cannot extinguish. The smallest things annoy you. Your flatmate forgets to wash their dishes, someone forgot to buy milk, you drop something on the floor twice in a row, this goes on for a few days. And then you feel it, the dull ache deep in your lower stomach, which becomes more and more intense like that feeling you get from a dead arm, but transferred to your lower abdomen. You’re also breaking out and you feel bloated, fatigued and genuinely sick. Then, as you curl up on the couch in foetal position with a hot water bottle nursing your tummy, cursing mother nature for dealing you this monthly slap in the face, you switch on the television, and what do you see? An attractive lady in a pad/tampon ad, looking at the camera, sensually even, muttering something about absorbency as she proceeds to strut down the street in a mini skirt, and you think to yourself, ‘I hate this woman’. Period.

News
Play dough: New Generations report shows Kiwi kids’ annual spending power and media viewing habits
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I was once gifted a cell phone by my Dad when I was about eight or nine around the year 2000. The phone was nothing special, it was what people would call a “brick” by today’s standards (though in saying that phones are now bigger than they ever were). It was given to me because my Dad was paranoid about my safety and wanted to stay in contact with me. I hardly ever used the phone. The games on it were crap, it was in an ugly case and its functionality was limited (though my friends thought it was pretty cool). Now every eight-year-old their dog seems to own some sophisticated piece of tech. Whether it be a smartphone or a tablet of some variety. And according to a New Generations survey kids have an annual spending power of $257 million and are more tech-savvy than ever.

News
A bird in the house is worth two in the bush: Spark’s Morepork smart home technology hits the market
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To own a smartphone is one thing, but as technology becomes more advanced, it also becomes more pervasive, edging itself further into the household. Soon it seems we’ll have a smart everything: smart beds (yes that’s a thing), smart watches, smart thermostats, smart bikes. The list goes on. Yesterday Spark released its Morepork smart home technology, but it’s not using the native owl of which it’s named after to market the product, but rather a family of emojis. We spoke to Spark’s Gemma Croombs to find out more on how the telco is pushing the product and her insights on smart technology. PLUS: a few examples of the latest in home smart tech.

News
Food tech: Resn eats web design for breakfast (and other meals)
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For sometime now the general consensus behind website design (and many other kinds of design) is that less is more. Web designers aim to make sites as easy to navigate as possible, rather than assaulting visitors with flashing green neon and trillions of different icons like early websites did in the late 90s. But like many things in life with a cyclical nature (fashion, music and food trends to name a few), perhaps websites are no different. And while we’re not sure if we can call it a trend, we have noticed a few more web designers and developers cramming more into their website designs, creating a retinal overload which is surprisingly pleasing. Digital agency Resn is one of them, making a name for itself by thinking a bit differently and capturing our attention through its creative, animated website designs.

News
The fate of the flag: the design thinking behind NZ’s biggest brand refresh
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The re-design of the New Zealand flag has been a source of vigorous debate. New Zealanders have questioned whether we can afford the $26 million when so many other social systems need attention. Other New Zealanders have wondered whether we ought to redesign it at all when our forefathers fought and died under the flag while others think the change is long past due and we ought to rid ourselves of the Union Jack for another emblem more befitting of our current identity. Then of course there’s the design perspective. Some have questioned whether sourcing designs from the public was the way to go and have wondered whether the panel has enough design nous to make the right decision. We asked Designworks owner Sven Baker who had five designs make the long-list what he thinks and also had a chat to panel member and Saatchi & Saatchi chief executive Nicky Bell to see what the panel thinks a good flag should represent.

News
Facebook video vs. YouTube: which should brands use?
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Shortly after its inception, YouTube became the go-to platform for watching and uploading videos, so brands begun uploading content to it to attract consumers. But in recent times Facebook has nudged its way in, placing an increased focus on the exposure of its video content to attempt to take a slice of YouTube’s marketing pie (or the whole pie if it can manage it). Here’s a look at Facebook video compared to YouTube, including some agency insights into the use of the two platforms for video sharing.

News
FQ brings its style home with Life brand extension
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Bauer’s Fashion Quarterly released its latest offering Fashion Quarterly Life this month which includes content about stylish interiors, health and well-being, wine trends, inspiring people and more. We had a chat with Fashion Quarterly’s editor Sally-Ann Mullin to find out why it decided to release the issue in an already crowded home and lifestyle market and to see what feedback has been like so far.

News
Should brands pin their hopes on Pinterest?
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While some big brands have been successfully using the likes of Snapchat and Instagram to market themselves, it would appear that Pinterest has been a little slower to take off here in New Zealand compared to abroad. However, with Pinterest announcing its Buyable Pins which began rolling out last month, we imagine many more brands will jump onboard once they’re available here. Here’s a look at the platform and a rundown of which New Zealand brands are using it.

News
Inside: Neighbourly
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After launching halfway through last year Neighbourly is growing quickly, with 142,000 households now signed up and a number of big brands getting onboard too. Having just launched its business platform, we thought it was about time we caught up with Neighbourly to see what it’s up to and how these brand partnerships are coming along.

News
Riffin’ on ginge and juice: Karma Cola reps the redheads with unique content marketing strategy
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They [some arbitrary people] say things come around in cycles and it appears to be true, particularly of fashion. Who thought we’d see the likes of platform shoes again (let alone silver ones) or those tattoo-chokers which were popular in the 90s and most recently flares have also started making a come back. Who woulda thunk it. But what else is making a come back is ginger, the hideous root as well as the golden follicle, which for the purposes of this article, we shall dub the gingernaissance. One brand which has cottoned on to the trend is Karma Cola which has even released a zine about ginger/gingers to celebrate its Gingerella Ginger Ale concoction.

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