A conscious uncoupling
One of New Zealand’s longest lasting celebrity couples has announced their split today.
After six years on air together, Jay Reeve and Paul Flynn aka The ZM Drive Show, are consciously uncoupling.
“We may not have a ceremony with a Kabbalah Rabbi instead we’ll probably have a beer together, reminisce about old times and then do it all again the following weekend, we are mates after all,” Flynn was quoted as saying in a release.
Flynn, who has been at ZM for 14 years, will move in the new year to co-host The Hits Drive Show with Stacey Morrison.
“Stacey is a class act, plus she’s a lot better looking than Jay,” he said. “We have so much in common, particularly the ability to breed like rabbits and all the trials and tribulations that go with having children. I’m looking forward to talking more about my daily life – family is immensely important to me and I know Stacey feels the same.”
Reeve will also embark on a new challenge away from ZM, joining Hauraki. He will be contributing to the Breakfast show as well as hosting a new show ‘The Early Edition with Jay Reeve’ that starts at 5am Monday to Friday.
“I’ll miss working with Flynny but I love what’s been happening with Hauraki over the last year and I’m stoked to be joining the team.” he said.
Jeremy Wells likened Reeve’s radio career at ZM to domestic cricket.
“Let’s face it he’s going to have to step up his game when he comes to the testing environment of Hauraki – but if Jay plays each ball on its merits we’re confident he can see off the new ball… and hopefully when the track flattens out on days two and three, he’s there to capitalise.”
Matt Heath added: “We look forward to putting Jay through the famous Hauraki initiation ceremony – we hope he likes dungeons, hoods and paddles”.
Flynn and Reeve will begin in their new roles from 12 January 2015. Their last day on ZM Drive together will be Friday 19 December 2014.
A return from Germany
Paralympics New Zealand (PNZ) has announced the appointment of global sports marketer Rachel Froggatt to the newly created position of commercial and marketing director.
Recruited from Germany, the New Zealander has a 15-year career in the global sports and media industries, specialising in commercial strategy and creative development. For the past three years, she has been global sponsoring strategy director with WPP advertising agency network, Grey Group. In this role, she led the cross-agency team responsible for activating the global sponsorship portfolio of Allianz, one of the largest insurance and investment companies in the world, with over 83 million customers in 70 countries.
Prior to this role, Froggatt worked with high profile global brands across the automotive, energy, telecommunications, FMCG, media and charity sectors, including Shell, Ferrari, Ford, NTT DoCoMo, Wrigley and the Australian Red Cross.
In a release, PNZ chief executive Fiona Allan said: “This new role is critical in helping us ensure that New Zealand Paralympians are best supported to perform on the international stage and to help us in our continued efforts to promote social change for the 1.1 million kiwis living with a disability.”
In her new role, Froggatt aims to provide commercial partners with an inspiring and exclusive opportunity to assist some of New Zealand’s best athletes to win on the international stage, while helping people in our own backyard.
“I was very lucky to attend the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games and I remember the overwhelming feeling of pride I had when the New Zealand team entered the stadium, a feeling I saw replicated amongst my friends and family back home,” says Froggatt. “Paralympic sport is unique in that it is a movement that both empowers individuals and is a vehicle for changing society. I am thrilled to be joining Paralympics New Zealand at such a pivotal moment in its development.”
Paralympic Sport has seen tremendous growth in terms of commercial focus and public interest since the London 2012 Paralympic Games, which saw a record TV audience of 3.8 billion. This represents a cumulated growth of almost one billion (37 per cent growth) on the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. The increasing investment of high profile global brands such Allianz, BP, VISA, Samsung and Panasonic underlines the value the business community now puts on this unique property, evidenced by the increasing sophistication of their activation programmes and focus on a shared vision for Paralympic Sport. PNZ will support this strategy as it develops its future partnerships.
A fresh Fairfax face
Fairfax Media has bolstered its commercial team with the appointment of Mark Copplestone as national sales director.
Gareth Codd, Fairfax Media commercial director says Copplestone brings a wealth of experience in business development, sales strategy and change management to the role.
“Mark has played a huge part in the growth of the mobile advertising industry in New Zealand,” he said in a release. “His diverse background in technology, e-commerce, TV and digital, coupled with his understanding of the media owner and agency business models, makes him a natural fit in terms of our strategic direction.”
Copplestone has more than 20 years’ experience leading high performing sales teams across the advertising industry – most recently in technology start-ups.
In 2011, he established the New Zealand office of InMobi, a leading global mobile technology company, capturing 40 percent of the mobile industry’s revenue in his first year. Prior to that, Copplestone helped launch GroupOn into the NZ market. He held roles – including general manager of digital sales – with TVNZ for six years. He’s also a former chair of the Mobile Committee at the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
“I’m really looking forward to being part of the transformational change within Fairfax Media, and to driving business growth in 2015,” said Copplestone.
From PR to brand management
Mel Spencer has been appointed the marketing and brand manager of Spaceworks, a company that specialises in retail space design.
This move brings an end to Spencer’s stint at Haystac PR, where she served as a senior account manager for over a year.
Prior to this, Spencer was also active in the PR industry during stints at Lasoo (as a senior account manager for one year) and SpencerComs (as a director for over three years).
Adding one to the ledger
BBC Worldwide has announced the appointment of Ad2one as its digital sales house for New Zealand.
The New Zealand digital sales and marketing agency will focus on developing content partnerships and display advertising solutions across BBC digital platforms in New Zealand, including BBC.com, GoodFood.com and TopGear.com, as well as integrating digital campaigns across mobile sites and apps.
With over 10 million page impressions and 800,000 unique browsers in New Zealand per month, BBC.com is one of the country’s leading websites for up-to-the minute News, Sport and Features content.
Alistair McEwan, director of advertising sales and brand partnerships at BBC Worldwide ANZ said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Ad2one. As a premium sales house, their expertise will help us to further strengthen our ties with the key advertisers in New Zealand, which is a hugely important market for us. Our digital platforms, including BBC.com, offer a significant opportunity for brands looking to connect with our premium audience and align with world-leading BBC content that resonates so well in New Zealand.”
Lisa Ison, the managing director for Ad2one New Zealand, was also enthusiastic about the new business partnership, saying: “Brands come to Ad2one for access to the most qualified and engaged audiences available in New Zealand. The addition of BBC Worldwide to our portfolio of premium publishers will further raise our game and consolidate our position as the go to premium sales house in the region.”
A new beat
Beat Communications recently appointed Rebecca Priestley as and account manager working across the company’s FMCG portfolio.
The newcomer previously worked at Spark PR & Activate on the Adidas and Unilever accounts as a senior account executive for over a year, and before that she was at MediaWorks, where she served as publicity intern for about two months.
