Mitch Olson is founder of game design studio, Gamedojo, which, in partnership with NZ Marketing and our sister title Idealog, is hosting the Gamification Lab in Auckland next month. He is also co-founder of the hugely successful social game world SmallWorlds and knows how to go beyond buzzwords and hype to create a business case for gamification for your brand.

The {insert thing here} is dead theme is a very common one in an industry that’s enamoured with the new. Newspapers are dead, magazines are dead, TV is dead, retail is dead, radio is dead, full-service agencies are dead .. and the list goes on. Typically, these rather evangelical assertions come from those with a barrow to push, not from those who are part of the ‘establishment’. So we were surprised to read a story about Saatchi & Saatchi’s global chief executive Kevin Roberts claiming marketing is dead, strategy is dead, management is dead and big ideas are dead in a presentation he gave at The IoD’s Annual Convention. 

The MA’s Digital Day Out Event last week was an opportunity to see how advertisers and consumers are interacting via social networking sites, the internet, TV, mobile devices, tablets and instore digital signage. And what may be involved in the future if those relationships hope to be strengthened. 

Too many brands have been severely punished for failing to do their homework. So tread carefully and learn to navigate the maze of ever-changing Facebook page rules.

We’ve got a long way to go in New Zealand when it comes to managing B2B customer relationships. Overseas, particularly in the UK, Joe Public won’t settle for substandard service and is typically very vocal when it comes to dishing out feedback. Whilst being on the receiving end of this is never a pleasant experience, it comes with two extra lifelines. First, a second chance to do right by that one customer and, secondly, the opportunity to spare future customers from a similar experience.

Sam RB, writer and performer of NZ's Olympic song 

Former prime minister Helen Clark

As is customary at this time of year, StopPress is suffering from some serious AXIS-related brain functionality issues today. And not even early morning sausage rolls have been able to help. So, in honour of last night’s winning Doggelganger campaign–and to fill some space without really having to think—here’s a lookalike.

I have a confession to make. 

Launched pre-Google and pre-Facebook, nzgirl was one of the first kids on the online block with its first release all the way back in December 1999. Since then it’s had a few incarnations and we’ve ventured into clothing and merchandise, retail stores and an advertising network. But the one constant amongst 13 years of change has been that it keeps on keeping on. And through all the twists and turns I’ve taken it on in pursuit of the holy digital grail, the site itself, which was relaunched today, has continued to perform. 

We’re huge fans of stock imagery here at StopPress. When we’re feeling down, we just take a few minutes and check out some pics of women laughing alone with salad, men laughing alone with fruit salad, women struggling to drink water or awkward stock photos and all is well with the world. We’re also huge fans of pictures of corporate over-enthusiasm and are always impressed with businesses that can create such a high level of excitement. So imagine our joy when we received this email offer from Action Actors. Maybe you could hire one of these guys to hang around your desk. 

Behind every great campaign there’s usually a very clever client. One of the most remarkable ads of recent years was Cadbury ‘Gorilla’ by Fallon London. With no dialogue, no product shot and minimal branding, it was a brave call for the FMCG giant, but it was credited with rekindling love for the brand and driving a five percent sales rise. We wondered how the idea came about, and how it lived to make it to air. So we tracked down the man behind the campaign, Phil Rumbol, former marketing director of Cadbury UK, and now founding partner of creative agency 101 London.

I fly a lot. I fly a lot with Air New Zealand. It’s my favourite airline in the world and I consider myself an honorary Air New Zealander (the name that Air NZ uses for its employees). Everywhere I go I evangelise my airline (Air New Zealand is owned, in part, by the New Zealand taxpayer so it is, in effect, my airline). So, given all this, it’s a sad day when I’m forced to write a post bemoaning a move that New Zealand’s airline makes.