First it’s One, nek minnit it’s 60 Minutes. But do not adjust your sets. TVNZ political editor Guyon Espiner will join TV3 in the New Year, as a journalist on the current affairs programme 60 Minutes.
2degrees has sought urgent Commerce Commission action to stop Telecom from damaging competition in the mobile market. Telecom has confirmed it will lock the phones of customers who buy its planned ‘Skinny’ product, forcing them to pay a fee if they want to leave before a certain time. ‘SIM-locking’ is an anti-competitive practice the Commerce Commission warned against in 2008, when Vodafone tried to get away with it. Vodafone backed down after receiving a letter stating the practice was anti-competitive
DDB’s executive creative director Toby Talbot had a bit of a leaving do last night. And, to acknowledge his departure, a couple of his cheeky cohorts decided to create a rather unique farewell card that was strategically placed across the road from SPQR on Auckland’s Ponsonby Road and referenced a long-standing agency in-joke about his oft-misspelled name.
Annabel Langbein recently shacked up with Silver Fern Farms in an effort to peddle more of its meaty wares. And we’ve got a couple of copies of her Free Range in the City book to give away. Just tell us what Christmas delights you’re planning to feast upon and imbibe this year. In addition to the books, six lucky carnivores can win a private dinner party at Langbein’s Auckland house, including return flights and accommodation, by picking up some Silver Fern Farms’ lamb or venison before February and entering online using the unique code found on specially marked packs. Visit www.bestcutsbestrecipes.co.nz for more information.
Christmas is a time to celebrate enduring traditions. Trees, mistletoe, binge eating, rampant consumerism. But in adland one of the most enduring traditions is seeing what progressive Auckland church St Matthew in the City puts on its billboard to celebrate the festive season and waiting for the angry response to ensue. Last year it was M&C Saatchi showing Mary and Joseph’s post-coital awkwardness and this year it’s the follow up from TBWA\: a billboard showing a shocked Mary looking at the results of her pregnancy test.
He’s about to head back to the homeland for a plum posting with RKCR/Y&R in London after five successful years as DDB’s executive creative director. So, since he’s breaking up with us, we figured the least Toby Talbot could do is fill in our end of year questionnaire.
Colenso BBDO has had some good (Doggelganger, Impulse Saver, V Paintball and Mountain Dew Skate Pinball) and some bad (having its biggest client depart) in 2011. Managing director Nick Garrett and creative chairman Nick Worthington combine forces to do their end of year opining.
We regularly see reports in the media about brands using Maori language or images in a way that’s offensive to Maori. There was the ka mate haka on the tea towels, the ta moko designs on the faces of models posing for a French magazine, the sale of the MAORI personalised plate on TradeMe, to name but a few.
After plenty of rigorous discussions between various marketing big-brains, the finalists of the 24th RSVP and Nexus Awards have been announced and DraftFCB is sitting pretty with 12 nominations across the Nexus, RSVP and RSVP Craft categories, followed by Colenso/AIM Proximity with eight (plus three more for AIM Proximity on its own), justONE with seven, Ogilvy with five and Affinity ID with four.
Colmar Brunton and global partner Millward Brown’s Futures Group have peered into the digital tea-leaves to identify some emerging trends for next year. Among their predictions – gamification, “virtual togetherness” and real-time online decision-making will be the big hitters of 2012, changing the way marketers interact with consumers via digital channels.
Through a series of huge product relaunches and lotteries innovations, as well as great campaigns for Lotto, Instant Kiwi and Big Wednesday, NZ Lotteries has increased its sales by more than $250 million in recent years, an increase bigger than the total chocolate confectionary category in New Zealand. And head of marketing Wendy Rayner has played an integral role in that rise. As a result, she won the prestigious TVNZ-NZ Marketing Marketer of the Year award this year. Here’s what caught her attention in 2011.
After another year of nurturing, moulding and shaping young creative minds and preparing them for a life spent pushing commercial messages/sipping champagne on superyachts, The AdSchool’s course leader Kate Humphries delivers her verdict on 2011’s work.
The Death Star has landed a couple of big fish, won some big awards, launched some big ideas and welcomed—and farewelled—some big creative boffins this year. DDB’s managing director Justin Mowday dives into the choppy waters of 2011.
With summer suddenly upon us brands are turning to the experiential space to engage with consumers who are out enjoying environments ideally suited for building brand awareness and loyalty. Beaches, zoos, parks, waterfronts and city streets are about to provide a tableau of (hopefully) meaningful and engaging brand activity to provide some ‘surprise and delight’ moments to make your summer more fun and enjoyable.
Proudly Kiwi-owned indie agency Federation kicked off in 2008 and it pumped out a lot of work this year, with good campaigns for the likes of Warehouse Stationery, Cavalier Bremworth, Fisher & Paykel Finance and The Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind. DDB NZ’s ex-managing director Sharon Henderson opines on 2011.
When she’s not being a non-executive director for New Zealand Rugby League, the Cancer Society or the gang responsible for the Dunedin stadium, Jen Rolfe, the ex-director of Saatchi & Saatchi digital, is spreading the digital and direct gospel with Rolfe, the eponymous boutique agency she started last year. So, here’s lookin’ at 2011.
Who’s it for: 2Degrees Mobile by TBWA and Film Construction
Why we like it: Two words, Rhys Darby. He appeals to all demos with the trademark quirky geek style. And we want some “handy auto-writing arms” too.
Who’s it for: Axis Awards 2012, CAANZ …
As Warner Music’s Eric Morse said at the Marketing Today conference, the growth of the web is now letting brands and agencies target individuals, not just markets. And justONE’s Ben Goodale has been trying to ride that 1-to-1 wave in 2011. Here’s his take on the year that was.
There was both joy and despair when Air New Zealand announced it had killed off Rico. And whether or not you liked the fur and fang, the digital trickery employed by .99 and the cute tie-in with Cluedo was a clever way of sending the non-specific spokebeast off. Now his murderer has been found and in a merging of mascots, Richard Simmons is back in front of the camera for Air New Zealand, along with the very talented puppeteer behind/inside Rico, Tyler Bunch.
Kathryn Wills joins Reach Media. McNally blows in to APN NZ Media, while Hornblow bows out. Chris Monaghan gets more to experience. Dan’s the new man of the afternoon, and McCann’s driving Mr. Maisey.
According to Nielsen’s AIS data, Revlon spent $4.1 million on advertising in New Zealand in 2010 and $3.3 million to the end of October this year (base rate card value), largely in magazines and TV, and, as part of a global alignment, MediaCom has taken over the media planning and buying in New Zealand from DraftFCB.
It was a big year of rugby for adidas and TBWA\ was behind much of the work done to leverage its sponsorship of the All Blacks. ‘All In’ and Stand in Black were solid campaigns, but for many they were overshadowed by the PR shitstorm that ensued after the jersey price debacle. And as the global sports giant shifts its focus away from rugby and towards other sports, so the focus also shifts away from the New Zealand branch and towards the two agencies it uses in Australia.
The days of the digital wild west could be numbered, if the Law Commission has its way. In its latest paper News Media Meets New Media, the commission has proposed a single regulator across all types of news media in New Zealand. One “independent of both government and the news industry,” that will outline the standards and accountabilities that it believes should apply to all news media and bloggers, in the digital age.
Christmas is close, and this sees The Warehouse, Noel Leemimg, Farmers, Harvey Norman, Telstra Clear, Bond and Bond, Holden, Telecom, and Chrisco, all jiggling for space on the tinsel-trimmed bandwagon. Dad’s dance moves are lampooned by Microsoft. Mel B, on shedding her baby weight with Old Spice… sorry, ahem, that should read Jenny Craig. Plus BNZ, on how to ‘basically’ get a remote-controlled flying shark for free.
It’s been around one year since Andrew Holt joined Clemenger BBDO in Wellington as managing director. And quite a year it’s been, with the agency winning the New Zealand Post account, an AXIS Gold for its creative Radio NZ radios and launching new campaigns for Dulux, Mitsubishi and the New Zealand Transport Agency. Here’s what caught his eye in 2011.
The latest installment of the Countdown family soap opera sees the Colemans struggling to cope, after mum Nikki returns to work following the birth of her baby. MacDonald’s targets office girls who enjoy being engulfed in waves of runny brown stuff, and Vodafone shows how you can spend Christmas with the people you really love – your Facebook friends, while sharing Christmas dinner with your family.
Whether it be the contextual Subaru print ad after the Great Auckland snow, the cheeky billboards for Independent Liquor, the clever Adshels showing the temperature in Fiji over winter, or some of its edgier ads for Hell, Barnes, Catmur & Friends has pumped out some pretty classy work this year. Here’s what Paul Catmur made of it all.
Y&R has won a large proportion of LG Electronics business including strategy, creative, media, digital, social, and sponsorship, effective immediately. The incumbent was Punch.
The 2012 Axis Call for Entries has gone out. So get those entries in… and find out if your blood, sweat, and tears are worth any gold, silver, or bronze.
Slim picking this week, but TBWA\ and Sydney’s Saatchi & Saatchi share the spotlight in today’s recruitment news.