The latest agency news, campaigns and client wins (and losses) making headlines across Aotearoa.
Much like Julie Andrews, the Outdoor Media Association of New Zealand has been seen bursting into song to express its emotions recently after the revenue numbers for 2010 were announced. And fair enough too, because with a year-end total of $62.1 million, gross media revenue for the year was up 7.3 percent over 2009, with the second half of the year delivering a 12.2 percent increase on the same period of 2009.
FOUR, TVWorks’ great mainstream entertainment hope for 2011, launches in February and, with a 15 percent boost in ad revenue since the changes were rung to C4 last year, chief executive Jason Paris is pretty excited about what the year might hold for the network. Much to the relief of those who pleaded with MediaWorks to enlist the services of an agency instead of doing its creative inhouse, Special Group got the nod last year and proceeded to get stuck into the promotional work for the launch. And this is what the talented gang have come up with (yes, that is the real number for the BSA).
PR and communications specialist, past National Party president and general woman-about-town Michelle Boag has been hired to fill the newly created role of executive director at Ogilvy NZ and will take up the role from February.
New Zealand will soon welcome a big new player in the out-of-home sector, with media company Taxi Impact and a range of taxi companies—including the main taxi co-operatives under the Blue Bubble brand—agreeing to start displaying advertising on their vehicles in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
The New Zealand television scene is already über-competitive. But, with a range of new initiatives from the broadcasters, a slowly increasing sense of economic optimism and an array of new technology that’s changing the game for everyone, things look set to get even spicier in 2011. In an effort to eat into the more lucrative older demographics that have long been the domain of TVNZ, TV Works is changing its focus slightly and is set to launch its mainstream entertainment channel FOUR very shortly. And it’s a decision chief executive Jason Paris says is already bearing fruit.
Aside from a couple of very well-publicised PR disasters and a host of aggrieved agency folk who seemed mightily pissed off about the halving of their 20 percent commissions, TVNZ had a stellar year in 2010, with solid ratings, steadily increasing ad revenue and an array of impressive innovations—both for viewers and advertisers. It also welcomed new sales director Paul Maher into the fold in August and, while he thinks it will be slow and steady as she goes this year, he’s confident TVNZ can repeat—and maybe even exceed—the performance of 2010.
With a combination of effective, unashamedly jingoistic advertising, a solid product offering and consistently high rates of customer satisfaction, Kiwibank has performed the role of challenger brand brilliantly and given the big boys plenty of grief since it was set up in 2002. Hell, ASB even took aim at it last year in the misguided ‘We’re a Kiwi bank’ campaign and Sam Neill signed on to be the bank’s mascot, so it must be doing something right. Sadhana Raman, Kiwibank’s general manager of brand and marketing communications—and a finalist in last year’s Marketer of the Year awards—goes back in time.
As the cheesy Telecom slogan says, from here we can do anything—including, as Barnes, Catmur & Friends can attest, making weird calendars for Berlin-based bag retailers.
Spark PHDIQ has taken out the third quarter round of the Yahoo!Xtra Digital Strategy Awards for its Unilever Sunsilk Co-creations campaign, which the judges—Yahoo!Xtra’s Laura Maxwell-Hansen, Mohawk Media’s Helen Baxter and guest judge Gavin Pook, Red Bull’s marketing manager—felt succeeded in re-launching the brand through a range of digital channels and firmly established it as an expert in hair care.
Hark! This is the first exciting instalment of Moving/Shakings for 2011, and there have been a few staff profits and losses at the Marketing Association, Insight Creative, The Research Agency, AWARD, MTV and The Pond.
Following the events of the past few years, most media have been busy licking their wounds—and, in many cases, focusing on survival rather than growth. But, after consistently good revenue results and signs that there is more growth to come, the Kiwi digital sector has developed quite the swagger. Liz Fraser, the chair of the Interactive Advertising Bureau of New Zealand and head of MSN NZ, opines.
Creative Review magazine called David Carson “the most famous graphic designer on the planet” and “art director of the era”; his first book The End of Print, is the top selling graphic design book of all time, selling over 200,000 copies; and he and his work have been featured in over 180 magazine and newspaper articles around the world, including a feature in Newsweek magazine and a front page article in the New York Times. Well, Kiwi design lovers rejoice, for you will be able to bask in his reflected glow when he conducts seminars Auckland and Wellington in February.
Ashburton isn’t a place that’s renowned for its marketing innovations. But, after the launch of Air Banners, it soon might be.
Hardly a day goes by without someone announcing another journey that will see the protagonists walk/run/bike/kayak/forward roll the length of New Zealand to raise awareness for something (StopPress is considering driving half the length of New Zealand to raise money for McDonald’s). And, to celebrate 60 years of Land Cruiser, Toyota is getting on the bandwagon, taking the newly launched FJ Cruiser truck on an epic journey. But the difference with this journey is that it will all be done off-road, with Marc Ellis bouncing around in the driver’s seat.
JWT’s desire to become a more potent force in the Kiwi ad landscape just got a big fillip with the announcement that it has won the PlaceMakers account and will take control of the whole shebang, including creative, media, trade, loyalty and retail.
After one particularly big staff shift late last year, Adshel has rung in the new year with a few more changes to its sales and marketing roster and, in what new sales director Nick Vile believes is testimony to the quality and performance of the team, all three of the new positions have been filled by existing staff members, with Raewyn Anderson promoted to sales manager in Auckland, Phil Lucy to sales manager position in Wellington and Rochelle Weaver moving into the reinstated national marketing manager position.
Creativity can come from anywhere. And the Media Design School obviously recognises that, because it’s calling for wildcard entries to fill two positions on this year’s creative advertising course.
There’s almost nothing you opinionated marcomms folk love more than passing judgment on a new logo and the Media Design School’s bright and explosive brand makeover is quite the departure from its former black and white identity.
Who’s it for: Vodafone by Colenso BBDO and Robber’s Dog
Why we like it: We’re suckers for a good internet meme. And the Double Rainbow man, known to his mum as Paul “Bear” Vasquez, was one of last year’s most impressive, with his video …
Despite promising to make a decision by September last year on how far the advertising clean zones, clean transport routes and clean periods for the Rugby World Cup would extend, the Ministry of Economic Development is yet to formally announce its decision. And, as you’d expect, media owners, buyers and planners have been getting a bit titchy about it, because they want to get stuck into the RWC goldrush but can’t sell their packages. Well, we have it on good authority that all the outdoor assets 500m from the stadia and the main transport routes have now been sold to Rugby NZ 2011 for use by the RWC sponsors.
Late last year, up-and-coming digital agency Young & Shand asked 150 New Zealand chief executives and marketing managers about their organisations’ spending intentions and planned commitments to digital marketing in 2011. And while the results showed there’s no doubt Kiwi businesses see digital as an integral aspect of the marketing mix, there still appears to be an unwillingness to splash too much e-cash.
Late last year we received an email from Rogers and Rutherford law firm. Lawyers letters are rarely, if ever, nice to receive (and they’re particularly stressful if you’re a smart arse working in the media). But, thankfully, the letter was only partially related to something we had done and instead related to an ad featured on StopPress for Mobile AdVert (MA), the outdoor media company run by Urgent Couriers.
If you thought ad agencies were only in it for the accolades, then the Directory Big Won may lend a little bit of credence to that, because it’s an award show that gives out awards to agencies that have won the most awards. How post-modern. Anyway, after the numbers were crunched, DDB New Zealand and Colenso BBDO were the only two agencies from the Asia Pacific region to make the top 20 list for 2010, ranked as the 18th and 20th most successful creative agencies in the world respectively, the first time either agency has made the list.
Churches, by nature, are fairly conservative beasts. Understandably, they’re trying valiantly to cling to the power they once held before many modern folk decided a big breakfast at the local cafe was a better way to spend a Sunday morning. As a result, they’re not regarded as the biggest embracers of change or difference, which makes the unashamedly progressive and inclusive Anglican church St Matthew in the City in Auckland such an interesting–and polarising—case. The church has well and truly bucked the conservative old school trend and established a reputation for controversial, attention grabbing marketing ploys that aim get people of all shapes, sizes, persuasions and beliefs interested in the offerings of the big man. The zealots certainly don’t seem to like what they generally deem to be blasphemy (the media does, however) and St Matthew in the City’s latest effort, a blessed billboard made with the help of TBWA\, certainly fits the brief.
Advertising is famously populated with characters. The cliche is that of the ruthless, dashing fellow characterised by Don Draper in the TV show Mad Men. There are the Machiavellian, the tortured and insecure, the banal and phantasmagoric; the attention seekers and poseurs. And then there are folk like Roger Dickinson, who died over the holidays.
Ahoyhoy StopPressers and happy year of the rabbit to all. Sadly, as you presumably well know, the annual period of glorious, unbridled festive leisure has once again come to an end for most and, as the long, seemingly never-ending year stretches out relentlessly in front of us, we trust you too are also emotional husks, staring blankly at your screens, dreaming of ham wrapped in teatowels, sausages for every meal, lustrous summer beards and not wearing any shoes. We at StopPress heartily endorse the presumably highly unproductive New Zealand way, where there seems to be a general acceptance among the populous that no-one shall work over the holidays (to the point where those who do are frowned upon) and little work shall be done in the first week. But now that your places of employ require you to get busy, you’ll probably be looking for ways to avoid doing real work. And recent studies have shown that there is no better form of procrastination than reading about industry gossip on StopPress (and filling in our survey, which will only be up for one more week, to help us gauge the mood of the marcomms fraternity).
2010’s been a mixed bag for TBWA\, losing the massive ASB account to Droga5 yet doing very well with 2degrees. To his credit, chief executive Dave Walden held his tongue and acted very professionally following what he calls the “ASB debacle” (and he also takes the prize for year’s best quote with “you’ve got to look at the silver lining in every fucking cloud”). As for the future, the agency has some big plans to bring digital to the centre of the agency offering and, given it seems to have missed out on a couple of pitches recently, it will be gunning for some more business next year. So, take it away Devo.
Ogilvy NZ liked Bullet PR’s online nous and Bullet PR liked Ogilvy’s technical cred, so they’ve joined forces under the unified (yet slightly ungainly) banner of Ogilvy 360˚Digital Influence.
… a dynamic duo is announced for Effie duties, TVNZ’s Breakfast gets its new co-hosts, adstream NZ increases its staff arsenal, MediaWorks says goodbye to some long-serving news staffers and Robyn Janes opens a production outfit in Hokitika. This is the last edition of Movings/Shakings of 2010. There, there, don’t cry. We’ll be back next year and we promise to quench your nigh-on insatiable thirst for employment scandals, unexpected departures, dastardly poachings, new postings (all of which will be written in capital letters to show their importance) and various industry accolades.
Colmar Brunton is in the midst of launching its new Youth division, bringing in Spencer Willis of 18 and 18tracker fame to spearhead the initiative. And it looks like he’s brought one of his old habits with him, because he’s started producing free reports on youth culture for general consumption and entertainment. And the first of many out of the newly named CByouth camp is ‘Baby Boomer Dad’s and Gen Y Sons’.
Another crop of bright young advertising things has been put through their paces at AUT University’s School of Communications this year. And, with 12 of the 19 students who showed their wares at the end of year show getting placements, Paul White, senior lecturer/creative director of the Ad Creativity course, says it was a pretty good vintage. Here are some of the things that did and didn’t tickle his fancy in 2010.
At a time when cringey Christmas e-cards and PR naffery come thick and fast, it’s nice to see something that doesn’t make you want to scratch your eyes out. The latest Stella Artois retro fest to hit New Zealand screens, ‘She is a thing of beauty’ by Mother London, is a gem. And the “customised musical e-card” viral Une Superproduction Musicale that’s been released for the festive season is too. It’s part of a digital campaign to build on Stella Artois’ heritage as a premium beer originally crafted for Christmas and the vid has a retro ice-skating theme, self-deprecatingly crappy lyrics, a weird looking frontman and a personalised message from the sender to the recipient that can be sent via email or Facebook. Check it out here. We can only hope a southern hemisphere version is made next year.
… as Subway shacks up with Publicis Mojo, bcg2 sweeps Esquires of its feet, BallantyneTaylor gets into grass growing and Lily & Louis is appointed to manage the PR campaign for the relaunch of Line 7’s menswear range.
The recent Law Commission report Alcohol in Our Lives: Curbing the Harm, made 153 recommendations to the National government. Some of those suggestions have formed the basis of the Alcohol Reform bill. And, now that the government’s position on booze has been clarified somewhat, the Advertising Standards Authority has decided the time is right to establish an independent panel to review the Code for Advertising Liquor.
Affinity ID announced last week that it would be opening an office in Australia. And the Christmas cheer has continued this week with news that it took home two big trophies at the Database Excellence Awards in the US for its impressive and rather complex work with Progressive Enterprises.
It’s been a big year for DDB New Zealand. And it’s finishing on a high note with the launch of a massive new McDonald’s retail campaign in Australia and New Zealand that features (well, kind of) Shane Warne.