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.

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.

Cigna Life Insurance chief executive Lance Walker has been appointed the new chair of the Marketing Association and will take up the position vacated by the retiring Debra Hall.

Digital agency Touchcast has released an online game called ‘Get Out Stay Out’ for the New Zealand Fire Service to help educate young Kiwi kids about fire safety.

The creative process is difficult enough to explain, let alone visualise. Yet, this is exactly what 8com director Michael Humphrey has attempted to do in a video promoting and exhibition of artist Dick Frizzell’s work.

As the nation readies itself for a long weekend of hot cross buns and relaxation, Michael Goldthorpe takes inspiration from Easter and points out that facts are largely irrelevant when someone tells a good story.

Every year, brands tend to jump on special occasions with the enthusiasm of a cat attacking a red dot on a kitchen floor. And without fail this sees consumers inundated with promotional material related to Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day and pretty much any other day that has even slight significance to someone. So, in what has come to be an annual tradition, here’s a rundown of how various brands—including Google, Campbell Live, GrabOne and BMW—attempted to trick gullible consumers this year.

Sixty-seven years is a long time to watch from the sidelines. So we’ve decided to step up. In a joint venture, NZ Marketing magazine, NZRetail, StopPress and The Register will enter the business market by installing our Gravy Train™ pie-warmers in every Uber cab.