Back in the day, giving up food or money was the ultimate sacrifice for a cause. But in an age when parents punish their children by taking away electronic devices, ASB is taking social media use away from its most avid team member for a week to help its sponsor organisation St John.

There are plenty of songs that take the piss out of social media (one of the best in this category is College Humour’s ‘Look at this Instagram’). But you know what there aren’t enough of? Serious songs about social media marketing, like this one, which was performed at a conference and made us throw up in our mouths.

Hell is getting set to launch its new smoked rabbit pizza, just in time for Easter. And, like many companies launching new products, it sent out a goodie bag to selected media to draw attention to it. But, unlike many companies launching a new product—and in quintessentially controversial Hell fashion—it also included this unusual ceramic toy.

When a company grows its revenue 1116 percent in three years it’s obviously young. But software developer Alphero is wise beyond its years thanks to co-founders Caroline Dewe and Kostia Shinderman, well used to specialising at the big end of town.

Trade Me is touting the transformation of its clothing category into a more fully fledged e-commerce experience as an opportunity for Kiwi retailers to go omni-channel. The company began the process of transformation late last year to allow greater customisation and recommendation and to target big labels users couldn’t find on the site.

Yahoo has brought back the Digital Stars programme, which recognises the work of up and coming digital media planners and buyers. This year it’s partnered with Yahoo7 in Australia and is offering two winners a trip to Mumbrella 360 in Sydney.

There’s method in Amazon’s madness as it breaks into the streaming media market, if the new TVC for Amazon Fire TV is anything to go by. The madness is the star courtesy of crazy specialist actor Gary Busey, who in talking to inanimate objects shows the value of a voice search feature that actually listens.

Nissan is using its 80th birthday celebrations with a very techy promotion to pay homage to owners of its vehicles who find it hard to part with their steeds in favour of a new model. ‘Love stories’ between owners and their cars can be shared on a new website or social media and some families even get a 3D printed model of the family with their old vehicle when a new one is delivered.

The burger selfie trend, or food selfies in general for that matter, are a strange reflection of the smartphone era. But while the trend is hot Carl’s Jr in the US is grabbing a bite of the action ahead of the latest X Men movie release, Days of Future Past.

McDonald’s brand Georgie Pie has tracked up to more than 25,000 fans in a bit over a month since agency Fuse launched the Facebook page. The 25-44 year old demographic who ate all the pies back in the day are a key target, but pie newbies are also on Fuse’s radar.

Trade Me-owned site Holiday Houses is moving with the shift to mobile, getting a new version that caters for changing traffic trends. Visits to the site from tablets have jumped 75 percent since this time last year while smartphone visits have more than doubled in that time.

If your company is investing heavily in digital but it’s not paying off, your CEO, head of marketing or IT boss could be the problem. Top performing companies are those whose chief executive sets and follows a digital strategy and those who can identify a strong relationship between marketers and those who spend technology dollars.

Not many ads tend to completely steer away from showing off their product when making a 60 second TVC, but that is exactly what Leo Burnett and Canon Australia have done in the latest ad. “No One Sees It Like You…#whatdoyousee?” is the newest addition to the ‘No One Sees It Like You’ campaign.

As digital technology advances, the lines between reality and virtual reality become increasingly obscured. And while this trend has spawned some disturbing results, the team at Auckland-based production company Mr Señor has twisted it into something creative by developing an entire music video using footage from Grand Theft Auto V.

Online retail sales were down this February compared to last, with a three percent drop making a marked constrast to last February’s five percent gain. And Kiwi buying from offshore website merchants continues to have the jump on domestic players, according to BNZ’s latest monthly stats.