Three New Zealand PR agencies are hoping to open opportunities for local businesses looking to expand into offshore markets. Blackland PR, Cadence Communications and Ogilvy PR Australia have teamed up, while Boyd PR has opened an office in China.

Self-examination continues to play an important role in detecting some of the early signs of breast cancer. The problem, however, is that many women still do not know what to check for when investigating their breasts for lumps. And this issue is further exacerbated by the fact that it remains a taboo to show women’s breasts in full in mainstream media. What this means is that cancer awareness societies have a very difficult job when it comes to teaching women how to search for those tell-tale signs. Quite often, they have to use metaphors or euphemisms that are miles removed from actual breasts. Well, Buenos Aires ad agency David has found a possible solution: using a man’s chest instead of a woman’s.

Auckland-based coffee retailer and café Kokako started from humble beginnings in 2001 when former owners Helen Ollivier and Christian Lamdin slung their steamy brews out of a coffee cart. Now the Kokako brand can be seen in cafes and stores all over the country, while its flagship Grey Lynn store has become a hub for customers who enjoy slick surroundings, organic food and perhaps a glass of cold brew coffee or two. Having just celebrated its 15-year anniversary, it seemed like the perfect time to chat to owner Mike Murphy about the brand and why he thinks it’s been so successful.

While New Zealanders are up in arms about Wicked Campers offensive vans, Z Energy might be the first to rise up and take action.

While a few months have past since the 2015 Rugby World Cup, All Blacks Tours is making sure our national team stays front of mind with a new campaign called ‘Be there’, with the aim of drumming up excitement for the team’s 2016 tour. A new TVC has been released featuring fans revelling in nostalgia, recalling their favourite memories from their experiences at the World Cup before being interrupted by some very tall men wearing black.

Forcing ads onto online consumers simply doesn’t work; to the contrary, it’s been posited as one of the reasons for the development of ad blockers in the first place. So, in this context, advertisers and media companies have had to devise new ways of communicating with consumers in a way that doesn’t annoy them. One way that Pandora has responded to this challenge is by introducing so-called ‘sponsored listening sessions,’ which give listeners an hour of ad-free listening when they engage with an ad served onto the platform. And NZTA is the first brand to have given the new offering a shot.

There’s a lot going on in the world of social media. Each week new updates see the platforms change and communication habits follow suit. So how can marketers keep up? In a new series we talk to people in the industry about what the updates mean to marketers. First up is Wendy Thompson, founder and managing director of Socialites, on how Facebook is making it easier businesses to talk to their communities.

This week, WPP AUNZ confirmed industry veteran John Steedman would be appointed to the newly created executive position of chairman of WPP Media Services across Australia and New Zealand. We chat to him about what motivated him to return to the coalface.

Kellogg’s has launched a new campaign via Pead PR, Mindshare and JWT social for its Special K brand dubbed ‘Own it’, in partnership with Women’s Health Action, which celebrates women and encourages them to embrace their bodies, whatever the size, shape or form and celebrate their inner strength. The initiative is being pushed out through social media using some Kiwi role models to help get the message across. PLUS: while the message for women to embrace their bodies is good, is it going to be taken seriously when the Special K brand was built around the idea dieting and losing weight? FABIK’s Angela Barnett shares her view.

Bonds is taking ‘The Boys’ to new heights, dangling them on a seven-story-high billboard in downtown Melbourne.

American cognac brand Hennessy has taken a trip back in time, to re-tell the stories of the Piccards, a father and son, who 30 years apart, accomplished incredible exploring feats.

Over 450,000 Australian children were victims of cyber bullying in 2013, and now the online tool Reword is taking a stand.

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘Pictures speak louder than words’, and this is truer than ever in the Diabetes Association of Thailand’s campaign dubbed ‘Sugar kills’ via Ogilvy & Mather Bangkok.

Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.

The news yesterday that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) would no longer allow embargoed lockups for analysts prior to the release of information was met with frustration from journalists across the industry. But as Businessdesk reporter Pattrick Smellie explains, the system was always precariously balanced on trust.