APN NZ gets a new adman, Colenso BBDO adds a couple more to its flock, management shifts at Haystac, Jan Hellriegel aims to get Aeroplane off the ground, Jonathan Usher takes on new role with Datacom, Getty mans its new fort, Boyd PR adds a double and Mark Baillie moves up the Fisher & Paykel chain.
David Kester, director at Thames & Hudson, and the ex-chief executive of the UK Design Council and D&AD, recently ventured back to New Zealand as part of NZTE’s Better by Design CEO Summit and talked about design’s relationship with innovation, how successful companies explore and experiment and how smart companies use design within their business to remain flexible as markets rapidly change. We sat down for a chat.
The Condescending Corporate Brand is a very entertaining Facebook page that takes aim at ridiculous attempts by brands to ‘engage’ with ‘fans’ on ‘social media’. And Countdown has made it onto that list by asking its fans to take part in a “fruity showdown”.
Jono and Ben recently referred to the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) by its old acronym LTSA. In reponse to this verbal misstep, Anthony Frith, the media manager at NZTA, sent the pair a sensational email.
The future is near! AJ Park patent specialists Anton Blijlevens and Jillian Lim touch on some interesting patents to look out for on the shelves.
You know what the world needs more of? Shoes, that’s what. There simply aren’t enough options. So thankfully, in the spirit in past comebacks like Griffin’s Choco-ade, Twinkies, Temuera Morrison and Dunlop Volleys, Bata Bullets will soon be back by popular demand and adorning the feet of hipsters and nostalgic types everywhere.
DraftFCB has had a stellar year in 2013 and a few of its award-winning campaigns seem to be the kind that inspire the ‘I wish we’d thought of that’ phenomenon among competing agencies. That marks a change from previous years when it wasn’t quite as highly regarded for its creative output. But it’s tough to imagine its new Paper Plus campaign featuring anthropomorphic rapping presents will sit in that category.
Toronto-based John St. has moved on from case studies and catvertising to the treacherous world of prankvertising.
Ah, November. A time of joy, facial hair, commercial oneupmanship and retailers and marketers already trying to grease the wheels of consumerism with their Christmas campaigns. New Zealand doesn’t seem to have been too badly affected by early Christmas fever yet, but the UK is already running a very high temperature, with John Lewis, Cadbury and a few others launching their efforts, many of them long-form.
To celebrate the end of the academic year and show off the soon-to-be graduates, Media Design School (MDS) will be hosting an end-of-year shindig at Ostro Bar on 12 November from 6 to 8pm. PLUS: read about the tongue-in-cheek invitations sent to the agencies. UPDATE: sweet treats sent to agencies to coax employees into attending.
Telecom has demo-ed a slew of ways customers can make the most of its 4G network in the real world of work and home. The showcase of what’s designed to be faster or easier using 4G, 3G, fibre and wifi comes on the eve of the telco’s 4G launch in parts of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch tonight.
Willie Jackson and John Tamihere announced during their show that they will not return to RadioLive for the remainder of 2013. This comes shortly after all advertisers refused to run their ads during the pair’s show.
Foursquare, Memphis Meltdown and Freedom Farms all got some decent brand exposure in front of 80,000 people at this year’s instalment of the Red Bull Trolley Grand Prix. PLUS: Red Bull wins friends and influences companies with its cool factor.
Cadbury took the win in the March round of Colmar Brunton’s Ad Impact Award with its animated, bicycling easter bunny. And it’s added another trophy to its cabinet with the launch ad for Mini Drops taking September’s title.
Earthwise, a maker of environmentally friendly cleaning products, climbed to the top of this year’s Deloitte Fast 50 list of companies with 1004 percent growth, while mobile media specialists Snakk Media and digital agency Young & Shand, which was a Rising Star last year, made the top ten with growth of 486 percent and a 467 percent repsectively.
DDB and DraftFCB were each awarded a point for their recent entries into the Newsworks ‘ad of the month’ competition. This moves DDB above Ogilvy to top of the Agency League table, with DraftFCB now sitting in fifth on two points.
Flying Fish director Joe Lonie’s 12 minute film Honk If You’re Horny won big at the annual Show Me Shorts Film Festival, taking out best director, best film and best actor for veteran Andy Anderson’s “gripping, humorous” performance as a lascivious taxi driver telling a filthy story. And, with this festival being New Zealand’s only Academy Award-accredited film event, it means the film is eligible to enter the 2015 Oscar awards in the short film category.
Yesterday marked the second anniversary of fuel-saving discount scheme AA Smartfuel, which has thus far accumulated over 1.6 million unique registered cardholders since its inception in 2011. PLUS: read about comedian Urzila Carlson’s involvement with the programme.
ANZ, Countdown, Briscoes and Yellow have gone public about withdrawing advertising from RadioLive after an interview by the station’s hosts Willie Jackson and John Tamihere with a caller ‘Amy’ who said she was friends with an alleged victim of the Roastbusters gang.
Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.
While the quarterly circulation and readership numbers offer a glimpse at the state of the magazine industry—and specific titles—at a moment in time, the Magazine Publishers’ Association is trying to change the conversation and draw attention to the strength of the medium as an advertising channel. And it’s aiming to do just that by talking to the industry about the results of a recent piece of research.
The Listener’s – intended or unintended – jab at KiwiRail is a fine example of satire.
Tourism New Zealand, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and Education New Zealand lauched the ‘New Zealand Story’ campaign on 6 November. The multi-channelled campaign features a website, video and toolkit to encourage prospective investors to bring their business to New Zealand.
ASB’s new HQ in Wynard street seamlessly combines the corporate and public sphere with an office space that’s both inviting and practical. PLUS: find out how they have incorporated eco-friendly heating and cooling systems into the building.
MediaWorks has announced that all primetime series from Fox “will be immediately replaced in the schedules,” meaning that shows like The Simpsons and Modern Family have already been removed from scheduling.
Vodafone has launched a new competition in its official app for the New Zealand Music Awards, an event its sponsored for 10 years. The ever-evolving app has become a central showpiece in the tech company’s sponsorship of the event.
KiwiRail Freight and KiwiRail Scenic have released television commercials in an effort to remind Kiwis that rail is still relevant and enjoyable. Auckland-based agency Hot Mustard took charge of the Freight campaign, while Wellington-based Clemenger BBDO held the reins at KiwiRail Scenic Journeys.
Catching a fast train isn’t quite the quickest way to get to another city — it would be far quicker if we could just walk through a door. French high speed rail service SNCF has brought this scenario to life with clever experiential marketing in a new campaign with TBWA Paris.
Mi9 is locally launching the versaTiles ad format it rolled out across the Tasman about six months ago, which it says makes it more accessible for advertisers to spread their message via email. The local versaTiles release follows Hotmail’s relaunch as Outlook.com, which has 1.2 million account holders in New Zealand.
Gigatowners trying to be crowned the winners of Chorus’ initiative to grant speedy internet to one lucky region are showing their creative sides as the competition hots up. The contest got its first meme recently with nice casting of The A-Team hero Mr T.