Whether it’s movies, music or experiences, filters both online and analog have become quite adept at serving up exactly what consumers want. And that could be a problem, writes Greg Whitham.

Inspired by a conversation with Al Brown on the new-found optimisim surrounding Auckland, James Hurman set out to discover why people were feeling so good about the city. Then, after speaking to 50 leading Aucklanders, he compiled a report that aims to create a shared understanding of ‘New Auckland’. These are some of the main insights.

AJ Park patent specialists Anton Blijlevens and Jillian Lim touch on some interesting patents to look out for on the shelves.

Earlier this week Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye announced the adoption of a ‘Health Star Rating’ food labelling system, which uses a star rating scale from ½ to 5 stars to indicate the nutritional value of a food product. The Association of New Zealand Advertisers’ chief executive Lindsay Mouat looks at whether this will help consumers.

From apps to native ads, design is championing reductionist principles. And that’s a good thing, writes Simon Lendrum.

Kath Dewar, managing director of marketing agency Good Sense, shares her not-so-rosy views on pester power in the light of Countdown’s hugely successful Heroes Dreamworks campaign.

Paul Catmur, the managing partner of Barnes, Catmur & Friends, shares his views on life, advertising and the parallels between the FIFA World Cup and Game of Thrones.

Let me start by stating that Scaling Up Excellence by Robert I. Sutton & Huggy Rao and Unfair Fight by Sam Hazledine are both as comprehensive as they are excellent. One is all about taking your business to the next level, while the other is a précis of considerations and actions required for SMEs and startups. As such both books are probably not for you. One of them will be extremely relevant, while the other will be as useful as a Facebook poke. But since both are so damn virtuous and wholesome, I’ve devised a bit of a system based on key criteria to help you discover which book is best suited to you and your business needs.

Ex-Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide chief operating officer, STW director, Assignment Group co-founder, APN board member and dairy don Peter Cullinane offers up some hard-earned pearls of advertising wisdom on Harvey Norman, awards and women.

Kiwi companies investing in big data need to ask themselves some tough questions, says Greg Doone.

How does the media industry reconcile the age of programmatic buying with a strategic, long-term view of effectiveness? By setting appropriate goals—and not eating the marshmallows—writes Kate Thomas.

Staff generally see more of a company’s advertising than its customers do. But even so, brands are often dropped on them from a long way up, without an explanation of the full story, or the thought process behind them. And that’s a waste of potential advocacy, says Goodfolk’s Michael Easton.

E-commerce is booming—and it’s becoming increasingly mobile. So domestic retailers will need to invest in this area if they hope to compete with international retailers, writes Geri Ellis.