Earlier this week, NZME took an entertaining trip back into the mists of time as part of its ad:tech sponsorship. Now some more ‘found footage’ from ‘1987’ has emerged, and it shows ‘Matt Harrington’, editor of ‘Bits and Bytes’ magazine, “walking the streets of the future in an interactive 3D hologram”.
For years brands have been at ‘arms length’ and somewhat out of touch with the reality of the customer experience, says Jenene Crossan. But influencer marketing, which is driven by brands shifting away from push-style ads towards ‘an enhanced word of mouth strategy’, has the ability to change that.
The Victoria Taxi Federation’s #YourTaxis social media campaign backfired spectacularly recently when, instead of sharing good experiences, plenty decided to mention some of their bad experiences instead. So we couldn’t help but notice an ad on nzherald.co.nz for Alert Taxis labelled, intriguingly, ‘Confessions of a Taxi Driver’.
Earlier this week, Oxford dictionaries declared the ‘Face with Tears of Joy’ emoji its word of the year. While certainly an unusual decision, those behind the publication justified it by pointing to the proliferation of these animated caricatures across all forms of communication in recent years. And Durex is now calling for an expansion of the emoji catalogue currently available to users.
As Michael Lewis’ book Moneyball shows, the clever use of data and technology can mean the difference between winning and losing in sport and, with massive broadcasting rights being signed here and around the world and a range of brands hitching their wagons to professional athletes, there’s plenty at stake. And VX Sport, a Kiwi tech company, is quietly revolutionising the way sport is played—and, maybe, how it’s watched.
Snackable content doesn’t need to be trivial and can help tell the big news stories of the day according to rival media companies, TVNZ and Mediaworks.
Kiwi celebrities get minted for good in new Movember Mo-dollars campaign to raise funds toward prostate cancer research.
The outdoor industry is in the middle of a golden run in New Zealand, with 11 consecutive quarters of growth and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of ten percent since Jan 2013 making it second only to online as the fastest growing media channel. Digital screens are driving most of that growth. And things are changing rapidly as all the big players invest heavily to try and get a piece of the pie, so here’s a rundown on what they’re all up to.
Wellington Tourism is trying to catch the attention of Australians in Sydney and Melbourne through a new online campaign that features several well-known Aussie business people experiencing what the capital city has to offer. Developed in partnership by Tourism New Zealand, Positively Wellington Tourism (PWT) and Destination Marlborough, the three-part ‘Inspired by Wellington’ campaign, which was executed by Whybin\TBWA Sydney, is currently being rolled out via the Wellington Tourism website.
Auckland’s 95bFM is currently celebrating its 45th birthday. And, as part of “The 95bFM Bombathon” campaign, a throwback to a 1990 pledge-drive campaign that hopes to raise $45,000, the DJs are putting their feet up and auctioning off three hours of airtime in which the winners can take over the station from 9pm to 12am on Sunday night.
Because digital has become ubiquitous and a normalised part of everyday life, some are questioning whether we still need specialist digital agencies. Andrew Hawley defends his kind.
While it’s tough to top Whittaker’s when it comes to socially savvy FMCG brands, Griffin’s has also had a fair bit of success in that field, with its Choco-ade campaign from a few years back the stand out. And to capitalise on the festive I-need-to-get-them-a-generic-gift-but-it-can’t-be-too-expensive biscuit rush (which is closely related to the chocolate gift giving Cadbury has been promoting for a few years), Griffin’s and its agency Assignment Group are asking Kiwis to provide some rules around appropriate summer Sampler consumption.
Before the laws loosened up in the US, Snoop Dogg was already well known for his love of the Mary Jane. Now he’s aiming to profit from his habit with the launch of his new marijuana brand, Leafs by Snoop AKA LBS, which consists of flowers, concentrates and edibles and will be sold in Colorado medical and recreational dispensaries. And it looks pretty classy.
A big grab bag of stellar ads this week from HPA, ASB, Countdown, Toyota and NZME.
The Warehouse is getting into the Christmas spirit by jumping on the bandwagon of random acts of kindness campaigns.
This year’s edition of ad:tech again saw some of the most influential members of the industry assemble for a day of brain expansion/occasional brain explosion. And as part of its sponsorship of the event, NZME has delved into the back catalogues and uncovered some fantastic footage showing a panel of speakers (with a remarkable resemblance to several current NZME radio personalities) sharing their thoughts on the future of the video game industry. In addition to sensational graphics and a great example of a sweater on the shoulders, the clip provided scintillating debate, as well as some classic contrarian opining by one speaker.
Despite the initial controversy surrounding Daniel Craig as the new 007, the blonde Bond has proven to be extremely marketable whether it be Land Rover, Heineken or Omega as these Spectre-related promotional spots demonstrate.
Yesterday afternoon, RNZ head of Radio John Howson informed the department he leads that the state broadcaster has proposed disestablishing seven roles, including the one he holds.
Air New Zealand is well aware of integral this environment is in terms of attracting tourists to New Zealand, which is evidenced by the airline throwing its weight behind the Department of Conservation (DOC) in recent years (the partnership is worth about $1 million annually). And this partnership continued last week with the release of a new video clip by creative agency True promoting the Great Walk programme. PLUS: experience the Great Walks through Google’s street view.
Vodafone’s Keith the postie and piggy Sue celebrate Christmas.
Recently, ASB re-developed Kashin the money box to bring it in line with the increasingly cashless society. And for its latest campaign in support of St John, the bank is keeping the focus on children by telling the story of an animated toy ambulance saving a solitary teddybear lying in the garden.
News outlets are increasingly experimenting with virtual reality in a bid to bring viewers closer to the action. Henry Oliver looks at some of best examples of the news being experienced rather than read or watched.
As the founder of a few companies, Jenene Crossan often gets asked to explain the traits required to succeed. She’s given a range of different answers, from bravery to persistence to bossiness. But she says you can’t underestimate the importance of just starting blindly and being comfortable with your own vulnerability.
Every year, Canada’s Strategy Magazine asks local agencies to indulge in some creative self-flagellation to celebrate its agency of the year awards. Last year, there were riffs on vending machine stunts, the industry’s culture of long hours and many other advertising-specific issues. And this year is no different, with fun poked at everything from brands co-opting female empowerment to the ridiculousness of “spec” work to the benefits of early targeting.
Obesity is not a new issue for New Zealand, but a new campaign by the Ministry of Health and the Health Promotion Agency (HPA) targeting childhood obesity is a first.
Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.
The holy grail of content marketing is to create a win-win-win: something that’s good for the consumers, good for the brand and good for the ambassadors/publishers. And Fonterra Brands, Annabel Langbein and Milk reckon they’ve done just that with a new content-led campaign/’inspiration platform’ called ‘We Are What We Eat’, which aims to provide Kiwis with the tools to cook more often and more simply—and, at the same time, promote the surprisingly large benefits of getting the family around the table.
Like all forms of traditional media, photography has also been rocked by the digital age, leaving those who ply this trade in a very uncertain position. And while it’s relatively easy to now access photography of just about anything, a new campaign from Canon shows the important role good photography can still play in telling stories.
Industry happenings at RNZ, Tangible Media, Ogilvy & Mather, ASB, MediaWorks, Reel Factory, Google, Lightbox, Porter Novelli and Nielsen.
After Craig Herbison was appointed as BNZ’s chief marketing officer in 2011, his first big act was to launch the new brand platform in the form of a polarising, existential teaser campaign that asked whether money was good or bad (answer: neither, it’s what you make of it that counts). Since then he’s made ‘Be Good with Money’ a central pillar of the business and around one year ago, he was promoted to director of retail banking and marketing. So, after saying goodbye to the Airpoints scheme and launching another confronting campaign about the perils of not planning ahead, are the marketing efforts paying dividends?