The cover story in the latest NZ Marketing discusses ANZ Group’s mission to win the hearts and minds of New Zealanders and mitigate the effects of inevitably sending the well-liked National Bank brand to the glue factory. It’s one mother of a marketing challenge. And the financial vultures are circling. But ANZ, a brand that’s long been at or near the bottom on the customer service/satisfaction league tables when compared to its competitors, is doing everything in its power to better connect with Kiwis by spending up large on above the line advertising, dropping rates, supporting communities, raising funds and snapping up a host of high-profile sponsorships. And it’s added another big one to the list by announcing a three-year deal with the New Zealand Olympic Committee.

Smartphone penetration is now thought to be around 30 percent in New Zealand, and that number is increasing rapidly. So Countdown has jumped on the mobile bandwagon and upped the ante in terms of customer experience by launching what it’s calling a New Zealand-first iPhone app that features a digital shopping list and barcode scanning technology, as well as the ability to check prices, find recipe ingredients, collect loyalty points and shop online.

Given YouTube’s current pervasiveness, it’s hard to believe it didn’t exist until February 2005. And back then, the expensive tools of the trade meant high-quality video was largely inaccessible to the hoi polloi. Now, recording technology is cheap and ubiquitous and broadband means consumption is rising rapidly. The seemingly insatiable desire for online video means it is a huge area of focus for brands and marketers and how to tap into some of the possibilities this exciting realm affords was the topic of discussion at the Marketing Association’s Brainy Breakfast last week.

As David MacGregor wrote in Idealog recently, stuff is dead but print smells nice. And as well as sniffing the May/June edition of NZ Marketing, you can also put some of your other senses to use by delving into stories about the seemingly imminent departure of The National Bank from the local banking scene, Peter Cullinane’s old media/new media manifesto, how DraftFCB has quickly gone from middle-of-the-pack to top of its game, how best to target the gold in them thar New Zealand hills with rural media, the ins, outs, ups and downs of mobile marketing and a technology showcase that looks at some of the bells and whistles to make your marketing work smarter.

FMG has been on a mission to cement its place as a key player in the rural insurance sector. And it’s hoping a new print campaign by Saatchi & Saatchi Wellington that launched over the weekend will help raise the awareness even further—and tell the FMG story to even more New Zealanders.

An Auckland start-up is combining digital advertising and charitable causes to help improve the world—one desktop at a time. And the founders of DonateYourDesktop.co.nz hope they can soon put the screens of many millions of computers around the world to better use.

Yahoo! New Zealand has announced the arrival of a new awards baby called the Digital Stars, an initiative that aims to find and reward the best young media planners and buyers in New Zealand.

Just four Kiwi agencies were in the running for Clio Awards, one of America’s most prestigious ad industry awards ceremonies, and only one ended up taking anything home, with Alt Group winning a silver for Fisher & Paykel’s Social Kitchen in the environmental design section.

Aside from being a perennial favourite in the most hated jobs list, another peril of being a journalist is what some may call ‘income disparity syndrome’. Those from the fourth estate often liaise with successful types who earn too much, eat at nice restaurants and drive nice cars, before heading home to eat gruel for dinner, keep warm by hovering around the fire in the 40 gallon drum and wrap up lumps of coal in newspaper to give to their children for birthday presents. So it was with a mix of excitement and depression that I ventured out to Hampton Downs last week to test my driving skills in an array of magnificent German machines that I will probably never be able to afford. And in a new move for Audi, it’s opening up its Driver Experience Days to corporates and individuals.