Brand ambassadors remain an effective experiential marketing tool by which brands can connect with consumers, says EMANZ chair Mark Pickering. But more so than ever before, these representatives on the ground need to be trained properly.
Plenty of good stuff to choose from this week, so we’re embracing the festive season and giving everyone props.
To accompany the launch of its new season, shoe retailer Yours has collaborated with Designworks on a series of posters that “capture the essence of each shoe”. And while this might sound like a footwear-related reworking of a Zoolander line, Yours is treating the launch, which occurs at the new Designworks offices at 36 Lorne Street on 4 December, as part art exhibition, part retail showcase.
After Vodafone made the decision to move its global media business to MEC earlier this year, it was expected that Vodafone New Zealand would eventually follow suit and, as reported last week in a story about the arrival of GroupM in this market, it was widely known that the handover had already begun. For some strange reason, Vodafone was at pains to point out that nothing had been signed, but it sent through official confirmation today that it is indeed swapping SparkPHD for MEC as its media buying and planning agency in this market.
“What would you recommend that looks good on Instagram? I’m not gonna eat it, it’s just for my food blog.”
Everybody knows somebody who has become obsessed with a ridiculous health regime. Aussie burger chain Grill’d has released two new ads that take the mickey out of those people, who often just can’t resist sharing their fantastic new diet and exercise discoveries.
This morning NZTA released its latest ad ‘Local Legends’, this time aimed at curbing drink driving among younger men. We spoke with Clemenger BBDO creatives Mark Dalton and Mike Gwyther, who also co-wrote NZTA’s ad ‘Blazed’, about what it took to write ‘Local Legends’, what makes it work, and how to cut through the noise so you’re not forgotten.
Campaign Asia-Pacific magazine has named DDB as New Zealand’s creative agency of the year as well as the runner-up digital agency of the year. Also continuing its winning streak was Colenso BBDO, which picked up the gong for New Zealand’s best digital agency. And OMD also left with silverware picking up the award for the best media agency in New Zealand.
Bread with “no nasties” wins Goodman Fielder the October 2014 Ad Impact Award from Colmar Brunton, while a slap of paint with a clap of the hands gain Clemenger BBDO a nod, and a quick save for Sealord gets Ogilvy & Mather an honourable mention.
Clemenger BBDO has done it again for NZTA, this time with a new TVC that shows how everyone has a part to play in stopping a drunk driver. Released this morning on NZTA’s Facebook page, the ‘Local Legends’ ad plays close to home for anyone who might feel anxious trying to convince someone they don’t have much influence over not to drink and drive.
President of the Harvard Business School Association of New Zealand Marc Potter explains why we need more people such as Peter Jackson and Richard Taylor to exploit brand New Zealand and why this would be good for Kiwi business.
In September, Microsoft Surface and FCB hooked up with street artist duo BMD to showcase the utility of the tablet in allowing artists to collaborate and bring ideas to life. Since StopPress ran a previous story on the campaign, the pair of artists have actively been engaging with fans via the Surface Facebook page and collecting ideas with the aim of bringing one to life on a wall in the viaduct at 100 Halsey Street. More than 500 ideas were shared with the artists over the course of the campaign, and the duo eventually settled on an entry from a Facebooker Rob Thorne.
Totino’s Pizza recently released what is undoubtedly one of the strangest ads ever after it let Tim and Eric loose on their brand. And it’s continued the madvertising trend by proving Buzzfeed wrong and using some supposedly unusable stock images.
What would you do with the print outs of all of the letters from your bank? Perhaps make a bonfire? Kiwibank is so proud of its communications with its customers it’s printed them out and hung them off its headquarters in Wellington.
Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.
With the enactment of the Financial Markets Conduct Act earlier this year, Government opened the door to peer-to-peer lending, meaning that micro lenders—whether banks or payday loan companies—would be next in line to take on the challenge posed by the peer-to-peer threat. StopPress takes a look at what HarMoney brings to the table.
With a new app called Wakie you could be getting one every single morning. If you so desire.
The ALS charity got a whole heap of cash by challenging people to tip a bucket of icy water over their heads. And KidsCan is hoping its challenge—getting people to don a Santa suit and do a short run—will too. So, to help bump up the numbers, DDB has laid down the gauntlet and challenged other ad agencies and corporates to get involved in the event.
On 26 November, TV3 celebrated its 25th year—or ½ half century, according to Jono and Ben—on air in New Zealand. And since joining the fray in 1989, it has come to represent a significant chunk of the time Kiwis spend in front of box in the living room. But the introduction of a new TV player isn’t the only thing that has changed in that time. These days, we have more screens to choose from than ever before, and this is changing the way we consume media. Interestingly, across 30 countries surveyed by Colmar Brunton on screen use, the denizens of only four—the UK, France, Spain and New Zealand—still spent more time consuming media on a TV than on a smartphone.
The finalists of the NZ Direct Marketing Awards have been announced and perennial award-hoggers Colenso BBDO/Proximity are in the lead with 18 nods, followed by justONE/.99 with 16, FCB with ten, and Chemistry Interaction with eight.
In both surfing and skateboarding culture, a harmonic groan often accompanies a wipeout. Whether it’s a group of pros waiting in the channel at Teahupo’o or a few mates just having a bowl session at the local skate park, this groan serves as a salute to the fallen. And the more severe the wipeout, the more animated and pronounced the reaction from the specators on the sideline.
Barbara Miller, a spokeswoman for the US National Candle Association, told The New York Times last year that 35 percent of the $2 billion of annual candle sales happen in last three months of the year. And, in an effort to get more of its candles in stockings this year, Ecoya has released a beautiful festive film that celebrates the joy of giving and getting.
Changes at Insight, Fairfax, BrandWorld, MediaWorks and MoreFM.
Colenso BBDO and Assembly have borrowed a few tips from The Incredible Hulk in a new Just Juice campaign that shows a series characters drinking juice and then transforming into different, more colourful versions of themselves. But rather than turning into a massive green monsters with temper problems, the black-and-white, 2D characters simply change into happier, colorful 3D versions of themselves.
It’s not often, especially not in the digital age, for a trailer to accompany the publication of book. However, for the release of ‘Surviving Middle School,’ a tongue-in-cheek guide for young girls, writer David McGrail has gone all out by commissioning the production of a three-minute clip, which gives a hyperbolic glimpse at what happens when school girls make the wrong choices.
In recent months, Sky TV has been very active in the digital channel with a variety of promotions, including several Facebook campaigns and a pair of Buzzfeed-based efforts. And this trend is now continuing with the launch of a new competition called GameFace, which is designed to drive interest in the upcoming Cricket World Cup. Update: this campaign has been put on hold in respect to the passing of Philip Hughes.
Hyundai launches a customer platform that acts as a rewards system, entertainment centre, and Hyundai community hub all in one.
After Apple announced the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Samsung came out firing (once again) with a comparative print ad that pointed out the next best thing was already here in the form of the Note 4. And its approach to promoting the Galaxy Tab S is similarly comparative.
The Rumpus Room, the UK-based sister company of The Sweet Shop, recently completed a mobile activation to commemorate Lewis Hamilton’s victory for this season’s Formula One World Championship. The activation was set up to lead into the final race in Abu Dhabi , and featured footage sourced from the driver’s seven million fans, who often share their support via social media. The Rumpus Room invited fans to share their experiences via a mobile web app, and this content was then cut and edited into a video dubbed #TeamLHmovie, which was released only hours after the race.
The programmatic bus rolls on, with Magna Global predicting a 31 percent annualised growth rate through to 2017. And with Google’s latest consumer barometer showing Kiwis use an average of 2.7 devices each, a new Kiwi agency called Made Media—a collaboration between sales manager and partner Michael Buhagiar and Latch Digital—believes it’s found a gap in the market for a locally owned and operated demand side platform that brings those two elements together.
With a total of 1.2 million subscribers across the world, the Kiwi vlogger Jamie Curry (of Jamie’s World) is one of only two New Zealanders to meet the YouTube star threshold of having more than a million subscribers. And her resonance with 13- to 24-year-olds recently caught the attention of Coca-Cola Australia, leading the drinks company to collaborate with the teen on the ‘Colour your summer’ campaign.