
Industry happenings at Whybin/TBWA, Lion, Strategy Wellington, Destination Queenstown and The Sweet Shop.
Industry happenings at Whybin/TBWA, Lion, Strategy Wellington, Destination Queenstown and The Sweet Shop.
There are currently only 29,000 rhinos left in the wild, and this number continues to reduce every year as poachers continue killing these magnificent herbivores for their horns. And given that the conservation efforts are failing to stop this from happening, tourists on safaris often take advantage of what is becoming a quickly diminishing opportunity to take snapshots of the animals in their natural habitat. However, the problem with this is that smartphones often geo-tag images, giving poachers pinpoint coordinates to the the rhinos they so desperately covet.
ANZ has teamed up with the RSA to launch an online campaign that gives Kiwis the opportunity to publicly honour the heroes who were part of the troops that landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. Hosted online on a microsite dubbed called Shadow Battalion, the campaign allows visitors to select a hero and then provide a reason for remembering this person.
Recent market research has forecast the economic impact of drone technology in the USA alone to be $82 billion dollars by 2025 and it’s predicted that 80 percent of the commercial market for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) will eventually be for agricultural uses. Given our reliance on that sector, and our history of agricultural innovation, New Zealand stands to benefit from this development. But Callaghan Innovation is also hoping to drive its use in the film and screen industry through an innovation competition.
The rapidly growing ‘better burger’ segment has brought joy to the mouths of many New Zealanders—and some concern to the cheaper, more quotidian fast food incumbents (in a classic case of if you can’t beat them, join them, McDonald’s is attempting to ride the premium train with some new ‘create your own’ options). Burger Burger has quickly become one of Auckland’s favourite posh burger establishments since Mimi Gilmour, she of Mexico fame, launched it last year and Motion Sickness Studio (MSS) has helped make that happen.
The Whittaker’s Big Egg Hunt NZ in support of The Starship Foundation ran again this Easter and saw 100 giant eggs created by leading and emerging artists hidden in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The public had to scramble the streets for the artworks and download the app for a chance win four gold Whittaker’s Wabbit necklaces crafted by Partridge Jewellers. And of course, there were several brands involved.
This year, 25 April marks the centennial anniversary of the Anzac landings at Gallipoli, a poignant moment that to this day serves a reminder of the solidarity that holds the Antipodes together. Given the national interest driven by the event, TVNZ has planned a range of programming dedicated to the infamous moment in history. And in an effort to spread early awareness, the broadcaster has launched a campaign called ‘Letters from our past … delivered to our future’ tells the stories of soldiers who fought in the battle.
Japanese advertising agency TBWAHakuhodo created amazingly intricate 3D-printed ice cubes for a campaign for its client Suntory Whisky.
Greenpeace Australia has teamed up with DDB’s Andy Fackrell for a campaign called ‘The Meal of Fortune’, which aims to draw attention to the lack of fish labelling laws in Australia by reminding viewers how little they know about where their fish is sourced from.
After some high-profile accidents, there’s plenty of attention on cycle safety at the moment—and some positive signs that the powers that be are taking heed and starting to create cyclist friendly infrastructure in our bigger cities. Various campaigns have tried to get drivers to look for cyclists—and tried to get cyclists to make sure they can be seen—and now Volvo has developed a cool new product that will help both sides: Life Paint.
Wellington or Wellywood as it is affectionately (or scathingly) known remains the film capital of New Zealand, while Auckland is the TV capital, according to information released by Statistics NZ on the screen industry revenue from last year.
A well-designed future may be informed by trends but shouldn’t be determined by them, says Brian Slade.
So regularly was Sky TV’s ‘Bring Down the King’ promotion for season four of Game of Thrones awarded at the recent Axis Awards that host Jesse Mulligan at one stage sarcastically quipped “you might’ve heard of this campaign,” before handing out yet another gold to ‘Bring down the king’. And the campaign has certainly travelled around, picking up a slew of gongs for DDB on the international circuit. Now, following on from the success of this campaign, DDB and Sky have again combined social media and experiential elements for the promotion of the latest season of the hit show.
Last month, DDB digital CD Haydn Kerr attended the Facebook Creative Hackathon, where he was the only creative from outside the US and the UK. Here’s what he learned.
For the most part, recruiters serve as the link between the skills employers want and the capabilities employees have. At its simplest, this implies that a clearly defined role necessitates an employee with a very specific skill set. However, when it comes to digital roles, specificity is exactly what’s absent. These roles are constantly evolving, meaning that employers sometimes don’t even know exactly what they should be looking for. And to overcome this problem, the Digital Store founder and consultant Louise Lawton believes that agencies should turn to recruiters who specialise in digital recruitment.
Sadly for the French, they often have to wait up until a year for an American show to broadcast after its US launch. BETC Paris has depicted their struggle through this Game of Thrones-esque parody ad that seems stuck in slow motion.
A non-profit organisation in India has come up with an incredible initiative to ensure Indian women are getting enough iodine by administering the essential mineral through bindis (or ‘life-saving dots’ as they have been dubbed).
From the outset of the announcement that the Paul Henry Show would run concurrently across TV and radio, MediaWorks made clear its intention to drive its audience share in the morning slots, which have until now been dominated by NZME on the radio side and TVNZ on TV. But NZME isn’t simply sitting back and spectating the arrival of Henry. For the first time in ten years, Newstalk ZB has released a TVC, which is somewhat unsurprisingly voiced-over by NZME’s cross-channel star Mike Hosking.
Tax season is upon us, and in its stead it brings long complicated IRD forms, scary non-compliance letters and a slew of advertisements that promise tax refunds. These marketing campaigns extend across all available channels and offer users a faster means by which to complete the sometimes arduous process of applying for a tax refund. Over the last few years, MyTax.co.nz has been one of a handful of companies encouraging Kiwis to look into whether or not they qualify for a tax refund—and this year is no different.
JP Sears is an infinite pool of spiritual wisdom. Through his YouTube channel you can learn ‘How to Make Real Friends’, ‘How to Become Ultra Spiritual’, ‘How to Become a Vegetarian’ and more. And in one of his latest clips he takes aim at those who are gluten intolerant.
After nine years of owner and directorship of Bare PR, Rebecca Purdy has announced she has sold the business in order to focus on The Generalist PR, a company she started to represent clients who did not fit under the natural umbrella.
Throughout the month of March, Auckland was host to an international fleet of racing yachts and their crews taking part in the Volvo Ocean Race. After winning a three-way competitive pitch, experiential agency Fluxx was asked to come up with activation and sponsorship concepts for the SCA (known as Asaleo are in NZ) all-female racing team. In response to this brief, Fluxx worked with the global SCA and local Asaleo Care teams to bring their activation ideas to life.
Approximately 300 hours of video content are uploaded to YouTube every minute—and the vast majority of it is created by regular users who capture personal experiences with Go Pros, smartphones and laptop cameras. So prolific is this trend of user-generated content that millennials are now sometimes referred to as Generation C, for Generation Content.
The radio industry has come to an agreement that the old diary survey system is aniquated. Scott Keddie looks at what a revamped survey might look like.
FCB has won an Orca for the second month in a row, this time for its radio ad called ‘The Tale of Bertie the Dancing Pig’ as part of a campaign for Gregg’s Rich Red Tomato Sauce.
Rarely do the players in the TV market set aside their fierce competition and come together in support of a common cause. However, the emergence of global mode options on internet service providers Slingshot, Orcon and other companies has risen sufficient concern for MediaWorks, Sky, TVNZ and Spark (the owner of Lightbox) unify. A joint statement by the quartet of companies today stated that they are “taking action against internet and technology companies who sell and promote services that enable access to international geo-blocked TV and movie services.”
Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.
Vodka brand J.A. Baczewski created a short film, which really pulls on the heartstrings, about a 94-year-old man who is in the possession of a very old unopened J.A. Baczewski vodka bottle, which he wished to return to the legal heirs of the brand owners after stealing it during the second world war.
Social TV agency Darewin has released a new campaign to promote the third season of the 13ème Rue (part of NBCUniversal) series Bates Motel. And for it, the agency has created a site that puts you in the skin of famous Psycho character Norman Bates.