The overall ad spend pie grew by 4.2 percent to $2.39 billion in 2014, according to the Advertising Standards Authority’s figures for the 12 months ended December 31. And once again it was interactive leading the charge, overtaking newspapers and getting close to TV.
Netflix, which is soon to launch in New Zealand, has been leading the way when it comes to native ad content, with some classy, expensive and bespoke executions. And its latest effort via The Atlantic aims to promote the third season of its original series House of Cards by focusing on the real partnerships and power dynamics between US presidents and their spouses.
Andrew Hawley, the managing director of Touchcast was recently elected to the CAANZ executive board, an appointment that served as commendation for the quality of the digital work his agency has delivered since its inception. Recently, Touchcast was ranked 6th fastest growing company in New Zealand, and 46th fastest growing tech company in Asia Pacific. Touchcast’s work has featured at the RSVP and NZDM Awards in New Zealand, the Caples Awards in New York, at Cannes, the Future Marketing Awards for Asia Pacific Region, and the Best Design Awards in New Zealand. He has been on the digital jury of the Clio awards in Miami, and has judged the Axis and Effie Awards in New Zealand several times. And given his interest in creating digital experiences, StopPress recently sent him a few questions on how the interactive channel is evolving and what challenges this is introducing.
Back in February, Google made an announcement that said, as of 21 April, a website’s mobile-friendliness will increase as a ranking signal. And with 23 percent of all web searches now conducted on mobile, moving down the rankings could lead to a very real impact on the number of leads or sales a website generates, says Richard Conway, so you’d better get your mobile house in order.
In the early ’90s, video cameras for personal use were large clunky devices that most often delivered grainy footage to video cassettes that would almost invariably collect dust in a box located in some forgotten corner of the house. But as technology advanced the cameras became smaller and cheaper, and the quality they delivered improved drastically. Nowhere is the this trend more evident than in the story that underpins the rise of Go Pro. The evolution of camera technology has allowed an entire generation to capture footage and share experiences that were once restricted to only the person participating in them.
Durex has poked a satirical stick at tech advertising in a new campaign that questions what type of smartphone technology might help to improve a couple’s sex life. In keeping with the irreverent tone that has come to typify the brand, the ad then concludes by saying that the answers lies in the off button.
FMG, Tourism Fiji, Daikin and Cuca have the luck of the Irish this week.
Ahhhh, y-fronts. The long-serving, long-suffering undergarment of choice of Homer Simpson, Walter White and probably millions of Kiwi men over the years. And Jockey is celebrating its invention of the famous style 80 years ago by taking us back to 1960.
In the latest edition of the Orca awards, FCB’s Matt Williams and Freddie Coltart picked up the award award for their outrageous 45-second sale radio campaign for AS Colour.
MediaWorks’ decision to fire X Factor NZ judges husband and wife duo Natalia Kills and Willy Moon, after their scathing comments towards contestant Joe Irvine, has had a positive impact on the show’s rating, lifting viewership by 100,000 sets of eyes. Plus: a look at some of MediaWorks’ other missteps over the last few weeks.
Recently, a quirky Kimberly-Clark ad for its U by Kotex Ultrathins range, was transported from Australia to the Kiwi market. Featuring a selection of ladies putting on exaggerated cowboy walks, the new campaign, called ‘Ditch the cowboy walk’, aims to draw attention to that fact that the new product eliminates the “gross feeling” that accompanies wearing a pad.
Last Friday, Volvo senior vice president Alain Visser stepped off a plane at Auckland Airport and headed to Greenlane to open the doors to a new showroom set to house the Swedish brand’s range of vehicles. We stepped into the flash new location to chat Visser about the evolution of the brand in New Zealand and abroad.
Daikin has launched a new ad campaign sans Dan Carter, saying it was time to change up its brand positioning and stand on its own two feet. Instead of Dan there’s now a boy who has some serious separation issues with his friend’s heat pump.
After serving a tenure of just over nine months, Michael Pryor has resigned from his position as the chief executive of the Marketing Association due to personal reasons.
In response to ongoing speculation about the future of The Radio Bureau, NZME and MediaWorks have released a joint statement saying that the future of the industry body “remains solid and secure”. Several sources in the industry have confirmed to StopPress that TRB will not be dissolved and that MediaWorks and NZME are working closely with the independent radio stations to re-shape the organisation to make to ensure it remains relevant in the media landscape. And this restructure has led to some additional staff changes. Update: TRB confirms three new appointments.
Contagion’s Tom Bates pinpoints some of the early key trends emerging at the event.
This morning, those in the industry were reminded that print isn’t as slow as slow as what everyone suggests it is. Before any online publications released any information on the Axis Awards, the Magazine Publishers Association (MPA) had a specially printed magazine delivered to all the agencies that were in attendance. And, as an added bonus, the delivery also inlcuded a much-needed Red Bull.
Consumers don’t make a distinction between digital and traditional when it comes to marketing content, says Paul Catmur. So why should the industry?
In a hilarious and slightly disturbing call for entries for the Creative Club São Paulo, Borghi/Lowe Brazil created a video of the story of a mole’s hard life struggle before finding success and fame in the world of advertising.
Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.
Kevin Bacon stars in a new campaign from Gray New York promoting eggs on behalf of the American Egg Board, because what goes best with eggs? Bacon, and in the Kevin variety apparently.
StopPress’ SXSW correspondent Tom Bates (from Contagion) is once again on the ground at the event and chatting to some interesting people along the way. He recently bumped into New Plymouth-born Dan Radcliffe, the executive director of International Volunteer HQ, and asked him a few questions about his organisation.
Industry happenings at PHD, Snakk, CAANZ, Darkhorse, Lily & Louis, ZM, My Food Bag, the Marketing Association, CIevents and TedX.
The Breeze has released its latest marketing campaign, which features classic ’80s band Spandau Ballet performing their classic hit ‘True’.
Creative agency Bcg2 has released its first brand campaign for rural insurer FMG, and is rolling out over multi-media channels after winning the account last September, basing it on the tagline ‘We’re here for the good of the country’.
Last night, for the 35th edition of the Axis Awards, the nation’s ad folk descended on SkyCity in their finest robes for a night of celebrating the best work produced in the industry over the course of the last year.
According to Google’s statistics, more than a million advertisers are using Google platforms to advertise. And with the proliferation of video over the last few years, YouTube is increasingly becoming a vehicle that brands use to spread their messages. The problem, however, is most of these one million advertisers are small businesses, which simply don’t have the budget to invest in production companies or advertising agencies to produce content for the channel. Quite often this sees businesses with little other option but to develop amateur videos that do not belong in the public domain. One company that has identified this gap in the market and is now offering brands with cheaper video alternatives is Tandem Studios.
WWF in Russia has launched a cool new initiative created by the crew at Hungry Boys in Moscow to help save tigers by getting people to race them through a new app. If participants lose they have to donate.
E-commerce brands like Airbnb and Net-a-Porter are launching magazines. Media companies are opening cafes. And now Google has opened its first bricks and mortar retail store in the UK to compete with its High St rival, Apple.
NZME has expanded its premium offering through the launch of an in-store radio powered by iHeartRadio NZ and calls it an effective way for retailers to create a customised station to create the right environment and communicate messages to customers.
The company says the station is cost-effective and points out that globally in-store radio services are a must-have for top retailers that wish to showcase their brand and influence customers’ shopping experience.