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Year in Review: Kate Thomas, Spark

In keeping with an ongoing tradition, a few industry players gave us their take on the year for our annual opinion harvest. Here’s what Kate Thomas, who moved from strategy director of Dynamo to head of communications at Spark, thought about 2014. ​

1.  Favourite local campaign that isn’t yours

Tui Catch a Million. Simple but genius. This is true native advertising, unlike the majority of examples peddled in the industry. 

2. Favourite campaign that is yours

ATMs (Automatic Thanks Machine) was a very symbolic campaign. For me it signalled the shift from Telecom to Spark at so many levels. It managed to strike the right balance of connecting with NZers at an emotional level and giving stuff away. It was frustrating when TD Bank in Canada launched a very similar concept just 10 days before Spark ATMs, but the response to our campaign from the NZ public was incredible. Just goes to show, what the industry cares about and what the public care about can be very different.

3. Favourite international campaign

Sound of Honda made something quite boring (to me) incredibly captivating and ANZ GayTMs. Who’d have thought ‘banks and fun’ would be in the same sentence.  

4. Least favourite campaign

New Zealand retail seems to be getting more and more shouty every year. It’s a category that needs to get its shite together.

5. Your own biggest success

Overcoming my inner stationery snob and embracing the 1B5 at Spark.

6.  Favourite magazine/website/TV show/radio show/podcast/news service/app/song/other

Magazine – Metro, Simon Wilson is in form

Website – Trello

TV Show – True Detective

App – Uber (yes, still)

Radio show – Charlotte Ryan on Kiwi FM

News Service – Twitter in general

Song – Red Eyes by The War on Drugs

Facebook page – Humans of New York

7.  Most ridiculous buzzword

It’s a close finish between ‘native advertising’ and ‘the third metric’. I realise I have used the former in a response above, and have subsequently had a word with myself. 

8. Best innovation

It was launched in 2013, but in 2014 My Food Bag changed my life.

9. Most over-hyped ‘innovation’

Bitcoin. Over-hyped and over-valued.  

10.   Best brands

Whittaker’s, Chipotle, Beyonce, the All Blacks.

11.  Best stoush

Wasn’t 2014 one big love-in?

12.  Heroes

Do Not Rest – Nat Cheshire from Semi Permanent on Vimeo.

Architect Nat Cheshire and transport advocate Patrick Reynolds. They’re both are doing inspiring things to make Auckland a great city to live in. 

13.  Villains

Online trolls and scammers – not helpful.

14.   Predictions for 2015

Everyone will know someone, or someone who knows someone in The Bachelor NZ.

  • According to Font’s recent survey, 43 percent of marketing professionals in New Zealand are looking to change jobs next year and 65 percent will be re-evaluating career plans over the Christmas period. So check out some of the roles Font has on offer here and have a gander at the infographic based on the survey results here. 

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