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Movings/Shakings: 21 January

In with the Goog 

Wellington-based PR agency Sputnik has won Google’s PR account, following a pitch late last year. 

Obviously there’s plenty of cool things to talk about with an innovative—and loaded—company like Google, but with ongoing discussions about the amount of tax it and other large international companies are paying and, in a cover story in the latest edition of NZ Marketing, questions about its dominance of the digital advertising ecosystem, there are plenty of thorny issues to deal with too.  

The eight-strong PR firm headed up by Chris Brown now works with ANZ, Powershop NZ and Australia, Fly Buys, Partridge Jewellers, the New Zealand Racing Board, Villa Maria, the New Zealand China Council, the New Zealand Festival, the Specialty Coffee Roasters Association and the Commission of Financial Literacy and Retirement Income (Sorted). It also specialises in brand development for technology start-ups and it will be opening an Auckland office in the next few months. 

Parnell rising 

Isobel Kerr-Newell has joined Saatchi & Saatchi in the newly created role of communications director.

She has just moved home from Saatchi & Saatchi London where she was the marketing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa. She will be working as part of the agency’s integrated creative department as well as managing communications for the agency. 

has worked on Saatchi’s key global clients and is also heavily involved with the network’s pro-bono efforts. She was an integral part of the acclaimed ‘Blood Relations’ (Israel) as well as leading the international PR around ‘Days of Hope’ (Berlin). Both campaigns have been awarded at Cannes, Eurobest, Clios, New York Festivals, Golden Drum and the London International Awards, most notably, five Gold Lions for ‘Blood Relations’ in 2012 and six Silver Lions for ‘Days of Hope’ in 2013. 

PR for breakfast 

Kellogg’s New Zealand has appointed Pead PR to handle its corporate PR so media requiring information about any aspect of the business now have one central initial point of contact.

Shifting sides

Amber McEwen has left her role as group account director at Eleven PR/TBWA and is now with Fairfax Media, covering Nicola Igusa’s comms role after she went on maternity leave. 

RIP Richard Clark

Film and TVC editor and photographer Richard Clark has died in Wellington, aged 70. 

After time in Australia and the US, Kiwi-born Clark returned to New Zealand in 2006, but he was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 2010. 

According to Campaign Brief, he worked on more than 5,000 commercials, “including work for American Express, Mastercard, Singapore Airlines, Saturn Car Co, Ford, General Motors, Mercedes Benz, Helene Curtis, Cathay Pacific, Coca Cola, US West, Range Rover/Land Rover, Toyota, and Budweiser.” 

Pushing Malaysia 

Aish Rangarajan has been appointed marketing manager of Tourism Malaysia New Zealand.

From New Jersey, she attended Onehunga High School before heading to AUT where she won an excellence award while earning her Bachelor of International Tourism Management.

She has had a variety of roles in the travel industry, including senior travel consultant, services coordinator, contact centre supervisor and yield manager. Most recently she has been with an online tourism marketing company looking after supplier relationships in the New Zealand market and growing the business through marketing campaigns and online strategies.

She replaces Sabrina Mcleod, who is now at Tourism Queensland. 

That Guy

Kiwi comedian Guy Williams, winner of the 2012 Billy T Award and a familiar face from TV3’s Jono and Ben at Ten, will join current Edge hosts Sharyn Casey and Clint Roberts weekdays from 3-7pm. 

“It has been my dream to work on The Edge radio station ever since last week when they told me I would be working on The Edge radio station. I’m super excited to make my dream a reality,” says Williams.

The Edge announced the new line-up to their listeners with a video starring the station’s main protagonists, including Chang Hung, who returns to The Edge as the show’s producer.

​According to the last radio survey, The Edge was New Zealand’s number one radio afternoon show. 

Anchors away!

Last year, Waterfront Auckland went looking for commercial sponsors who wanted to put their name on Shed 10. And, according to a Herald article, Fonterra—and specifically its Anchor brand—is due to be announced as the new tenant. 

At the time, Waterfront Auckland said the sponsorship deal would offer “an unrivalled profile with this unique, heritage venue, an outstanding location, association with a wide cross section of New Zealanders together with the lucrative cruise market”.

The opportunity included naming rights, logo lock up, on-site sales, onsite signage, tailored events and reduced hire rates. 

No word on whether Anchor has demanded that Shed 10 be made light-proof. 

In the book

Auckland agency Belowtheline has been recognised internationally for best practice in shopper marketing in a book called Global Perspectives On Shopper Marketing, which is published by the Path To Purchase Institute in America. 

The marketing and promotional agency’s ‘Magic Month’ campaign for Fonterra was selected as one of 31 best-in-class case studies from around the world.  

The campaign involved eight different Fonterra brands and a sweepstake linked to supermarket chain Countdown and its Onecard loyalty programme. With a broad array of aspirational prizes, shoppers were encouraged to purchase multiple Fonterra products in order to gain entry.

Lauded for letting Countdown play the hero and for building a traditional yet engaging win for the entire dairy category, the campaign was Countdown’s most successful Onecard promotion at the time, generating 25,000 more entries than the previous best.

For Fonterra, the results also included significant sales growth at full price, generating positive return on promotional investment.

The key lesson from the campaign according was that “retail loyalty programmes in a price-driven category can provide a stronger stage for brand building than efforts developed independently”.

Director Christine Abbott says inclusion in the book cements its position as one of the leading shopper marketing agencies in New Zealand.

“We might be small and indie but we’re punching above our weight.”

Springs in her step

Sandra Dangen has been named the new marketing manager of Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa. 

Before returning to New Zealand in May last year, she lived in Perth where she worked for the Australian Hotels Association. She has also worked for Coca Cola, Fox Sport and was most recently doing contract work for Tourism New Zealand.

Dangen and her partner have been managing Glenhope Station, which is 20 minutes north of Hanmer Springs and is home to 400 cows and 350 deer, since May 2013. 

“I am super excited. This is my dream job,” she says. “I’ve been lucky enough to travel all over the world and can confidently say that Hanmer Springs is in one of the most beautiful places on earth. The village and the pools have so much potential and I’m  looking forward to adding to their already amazing success … There is enormous opportunity there. One of the things we’re looking at is how we can use digital technology like smartphones to enable people to purchase their tickets and enter the pools without queuing. It’s cutting edge stuff and we’ll be at the forefront.”

And the Award goes to … 

Award School is returning to New Zealand this year, with the DDB senior creative Rory McKechnie and Colenso BBDO senior creative Antony Wilson (who recently shifted from Special Group) taking up the role of school heads. 

In line with the many changes that have taken place in the industry landscape in recent years, Award School ensures course content continues to remain fresh. The 12-week intensive course will cover ten briefs, spurring idea generation across a range of different mediums, with focus on the many new digital opportunities available to today’s creatives.
 
“We have upped the intensity this year,” says Mark Harricks, Award chairman: “Ten briefs across 12 weeks is both a great and exciting challenge for budding creatives, but it’s also a taste of what real agency life is like.” 

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