In the bank
Bridget Snelling has joined ANZ as the head of business marketing, bringing an end to her two-year stint as the global director of product marketing at Orion Health.
“We’re delighted to have Bridget on board leading our new Business Marketing team,” ANZ Head of Marketing Astrud Burgess says. “Our new team is strengthening our B2B marketing efforts by combining the talents of our small business and commercial and agri marketers. Their capability will help keep our customers informed of the significant economic insights and specialised reports we hold across ANZ. This will support our customers whether they’re starting a new venture, or growing their businesses with us.”
Before working at Orion, Snelling held a number of different marketing roles at TVNZ between 2007 and 2013.
Snelling has a background in law and started out her career as a solicitor at Bell Gully, prior to moving on to an account management role at SweeneyVesty.
She has been in her new position at the bank since early February.
We are awaiting confirmation as to whether Orion Health has appointed a replacement for Snelling.
Leaving the insurance game
Chris Lamers has left his position as the chief marketing officer at Sovereign Insurance after a stint of around three years.
StopPress understands that Lamers has accepted an executive role at another organisation, but we are awaiting confirmation of further details.
Lamers has a long history of executive roles having also held a range of senior positions at Loyalty NZ. He also served as general manager at Positively Wellington.
The Sovereign communications team confirmed that the company will announce Lamers’ replacement in the coming week.
A new head of agency
Donna Gurney has been appointed as MediaWorks’ new head of agency.
Gurney, who has been leading the team in an acting capacity since December last year, will report to chief commercial officer Glen Kyne who said in a release that “Donna is a competitive, focused, experienced and tenacious leader with exceptional market relationships and understanding of the agency channel to drive its performance for MediaWorks.”
“She brings a wealth of experience and cross-platform knowledge to the team and is respected within the industry with her long history of exceptional results. I am delighted she has accepted the role.”
“I’m beyond thrilled to be given the opportunity to lead such a strong team, especially during these exciting times at MediaWorks,” said Gurney. “Our 2017 programming is strong, our radio brands are market leading and there is innovation happening all over our business. Our job is to translate all of this into great results for our agencies and clients, something we’re already known for and can only get even better at.”
Gurney has spent 15 years in the media industry, working across multiple platforms and in bringing together multi-platform sales teams to work and leverage asset bases. She has worked with agencies to deliver award winning campaigns.
A veteran to lead them
The Outdoor Media Association of NZ (OMANZ) has announced the appointment of respected industry figure Derek Lindsay to the role of general manager.
Lindsay arrives with years of experience, having operated at the highest echelons of media in both the UK and New Zealand. He has worked at SparkPHD and FCB, and also served a long stint as vice president of CAANZ (Communication Agencies Association of New Zealand) and chair of the CAANZ Media Committee.
OMANZ chairman Wayne Chapman commented: “Derek’s appointment underscores the renewed and increased commitment of OMANZ members and the shared resolve to restore momentum to the Association. We are determined to reinvigorate becalmed projects such as the development of a unified audience measurement system and excited at the prospect of having Derek in the vanguard of such important initiatives. We are delighted that Derek shares our enthusiasm for the future of OOH in New Zealand, and confident that his standing, skills and experience will help to continue to propel our association, and sector to new heights”
Lindsay also expressed his enthusiasm about taking on the new role.
“OOH is experiencing real positive growth, both here in New Zealand but also across other larger markets,” he said. “The development of Digital screens plus renewed, smarter sales and marketing approaches by the OMANZ members, means that the Industry has a huge future potential. It is exciting to be part of that, to represent the industry and introduce a new industry measurement system. I am looking forward to working with all the OMANZ members and will commence the role in early March.”
And then there were three
Tim Murphy and Mark Jennings have confirmed Chorus New Zealand and Victoria University of Wellington as the second and third foundation supporters for their news venture, Newsroom.
The pair of organisations join Holden NZ as initial partners.
“Supporting high quality and well-informed journalism, which allows complex and important issues to be discussed and debated in the public arena, is pivotal to New Zealand’s future,” said Chorus general manager of corporate relations Ian Bonnar. “New Zealand needs a diverse media, investment in high-quality reporting and insightful commentary on issues. Newsroom will help to deliver each of those, so Chorus is very happy to be a foundation supporter.”
In addition to financial support, Victoria University will also provide editorial assistance from time to time.
“Articles written by Victoria University staff have already proved very popular on our temporary site that has run since December last year,” Murphy said in a release on his site. “It is a strong sign that people want fresh, considered thinking on the real issues that shape our nation. Victoria University is a perfect partner for us as we look to fill a void in our current media environment.”
The temporary Summer Newsroom site will transition into the full version in the coming weeks.
A digital union
Designworks Group’s full-service digital agency Union Digital has expanded its capability and global reach by announcing it is joining forces with fellow WPP AUNZ digital agency, DT.
Under the deal, Union will adopt the DT brand and begin offering the group’s New Zealand clients access to the expanded set of specialist digital marketing capabilities, including certified expertise across all major enterprise platforms such as Adobe, Sitecore and Kentico.
The combined agency will have access to DT’s full array of proprietary IP, analytics capability and its team of more than 250 employees across its Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore offices.
The news also follows DT’s recently announced partnership with the AKQA network and Designworks’ merger with Landor in the Australian market.
“This move brings together two well established and successful businesses and provides an ideal opportunity to build on the impressive double-digit growth Union has achieved since joining the group in 2015,” said Sven Baker, Designworks group chairman and WPP AUNZ’s country manager in New Zealand.
Baker said DT and Union have been collaborating successfully on a wide range of pitches and projects over the past year, including a number of New Zealand-based client engagements.
“The two agencies are very compatible, work well together and have already proven the strength of the partnership, so formalising the relationship and trading under the DT brand is the logical next step.” he explained.
DT’s Damien Brown has relocated from Melbourne to Auckland to take up the role of managing director, allowing Matt Townsend and Richard Wright to focus on leading the agency’s strategy and technology optimisation offerings, respectively.
DT’s senior leadership team, led by CEO Brian Vella will work closely with DT management in New Zealand to support growth and secure new opportunities, while Sven Baker will continue in the role of chairman.
A new voice
Sean McGarry has joined branding agency Voice as creative director bringing with him more than 20 years’ agency experience in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
McGarry has over 20 years as a creative and business leader, including 15 years as a director at Base Two. He is also a fellow and past president of the Designers Institute of New Zealand (DINZ) and has judged in New Zealand’s prestigious design and print awards.
Voice executive creative director Jonathan Sagar welcomed the arrival of McGarry to the team.
“Sean’s experience and capability will add support to Voice’s creative product, helping us to grow, maintain our level of responsiveness, clarity and sharing our passion for branding with our clients,” Sagar said in a release.
McGarry moves with his family from Wellington to Auckland to take on the role.
“The move definitely signifies the next step in terms of career and family,” he says. “The scale of work at Voice is exciting and my family are going to settle into Auckland life pretty easily I’m thinking”.
A colourful smudge
Fabric print solutions provider Colourbox has announced its merger with digital print company Smudge Digital, which specialises in wide-format digital print.
Colourbox general manager Keiran Frost says that given their shared expansion plans it made sense to merge the two companies.
“In looking to expand Colourbox’s offering we realised that [Smudge Digital founder] James McGeorge shared many of the same ideals as us, and his product range and ethos complemented ours,” Frost says.
“Bringing both companies together means we can offer our clients a superior service and a broader range of solutions. We’re looking forward to developing a much broader and deeper print expertise in-house.”
Frost is confident the partnership will provide better services into the commercial, display and exhibition sectors, through both technology and efficiency gains as well as a broader product offering.
Talent hunters
A new recruitment company focused on the creative industry launched this week.
Dubbed Maslow, the company is the brainchild of Carlene Campbell (left) and Vic Jack, who between them have more than 25 years experience in the industry.
Campbell has more than 15 years experience in HR working for various corporate, many manufacturing (union and non-union) and service environments, while Jack ten years’ experience working in advertising and digital in New Zealand and in London.
The pair hope to provide quality talent while also minimising the pain points of large service fees.
“Our mission is simply to provide a personalised, cost effective (fixed fee) recruitment offering and bespoke HR consulting package to suit individual business requirements. This allows you to then focus on what you do best, in the knowledge that your companies people and resourcing needs are being taken care of economically and effectively,” says Jack.
Campbell and Jack are also hoping to establish a point of difference by helping to make it easier for women to return to the workforce after maternity breaks.
“Carlene and I are both busy working mums and we know the challenges of returning back to the workforce after a break,” says Jack. “We want to assist busy professional mothers to have flexible work arrangements, enabling a positive trajectory for their career and allowing businesses to employ valuable talent.”
The business is already up and running, and the pair have already added a few names to the ledger.
“We already have some great talent on our books ready to match with your needs,” says Jack. “You’d be mad not to contact us immediately, especially as we have fixed fee structure with no hidden costs,”
Helping out the blokes
Matt Horrocks has taken up the role as sponsorship and events manager for Men’s Health Trust (MHT). Formally, he was story producing for Attitude Pictures (TV1 Sunday mornings), an organisation specialising in content focusing on the world of disabilities and health issues. His background is in film and television production and events.
Horrocks’ motivation to join MHT was not out of a technically personal connection (he nor his family members have suffered a health condition), but it was his wife who saw the advert and thought his lifestyle was in need of some focus (as a self-confessed kiwi bloke, he drank too much, watched too much sport and didn’t exercise enough) and he wanted to be around for his kids growing up so thought focusing on men’s health would be a good start.
Statistics show that around 3,000 Kiwi men die every year from a preventable cause, and Horrocks hopes he will be able to play a role in lowering that number.
