The Marketing Association’s 2011 “Marketing Today” Conference held at The Langham Auckland began with an apt quote from William Gibson. “The future is already here. It’s just not evenly distributed yet.” And, as well as an update on all on traditional the marketing concepts like market research, direct marketing, brand management, the conference also provided fresh insight into ‘new-age’ marketing concepts like closer integration of marketing with IT, gamification and social media marketing.

Parallel importing. That’s been legal in New Zealand for ages, hasn’t it? Well, yes and no. If we’re talking about branded goods and not music, films or software, then parallel importing has been legal here since 2003 and it’s allowed traders to import genuine goods bearing a trade mark (think L’Oreal perfume or Sony cameras) that are sourced from an overseas supplier rather than the authorised distributor in New Zealand. So what legal weapons are available to local businesses whose investment is being put at risk by cheap imports? 

Logan Brown’s Shaun Clouston last night opened the WLG pop up restaurant kitchen, where Melburnians are being treated to a flavour-filled fortnight of food flown over from the capital of cool.

The global gaming industry shows no signs of slowing down and Kiwi developers are getting their share of the pie – the local game development industry grew by a whopping 46 percent this year.

The Media Design School AdSchool (formerly Axis) End Of Year Show is on tonight from 5.30 until 8pm at the new building at 92 Albert Street. And they want you industry juggernauts to sit down in front of the fresh-faced students, grunt a bit, leaf through a few pages and then decisively and/or contemptuously slap down a special sticker or two before wafting off again in the direction of the bar.  

Hopefully you’ve already expanded your marketing mind and devoured the November/December edition of NZ Marketing from cover to cover, but in case you missed it, here’s a rundown of the joys you can behold if you get yourself a copy, including the entertaining and enlightening advertising goose chase that ensued in our quest to interview one of New Zealand advertising’s most intriguing characters, Ogilvy’s Greg Partington. 

In what appears to be just a spooky coincidence an army of red shirts invade both the Warehouse and Vodafone ads, Pak’n’Save revisit 1987 and get stuck with Stick Astley, Daniel O’Donnell, Gin Wigmore and Florence and the Machine all sing for their supper and the latest in the TSB alien saga.

There have been a few changes in Colenso BBDO account set-up lately, with one big loss and a few smaller gains. And now it’s announced some changes to its senior staff line-up, with executive creative director Nick Worthington being promoted to the new role of creative chairman and long-standing creative director Steve Cochran, who has worked on much of Colenso BBDO’s award-winning work over the past 13 years, replacing him as executive creative director. 

The Clemenger Group, New Zealand’s largest communications group, has bought Wellington-based digital activation agency, TOUCH/CAST. The deal gives Clemenger Group the majority stake in the business, while TOUCH/CAST retains a significant share.

DesignCrowd launched on the New Zealand market a few weeks back and while not everyone might be a fan of crowdsourced design, the company certainly plans to stick around. Its presence in the Kiwi market and beyond has been given a booster by way of a $3 million investment from Australian VC firm Starfish Ventures. DesignCrowd chief executive Alec Lynch said the money would be used to enhance the company’s service in Australia, New Zealand and beyond. And after a chat on the phone, he was also quick to defend crowdsourcing, describing it as an “opportunity, not a threat” to existing design agencies.

Trouble’s a brewin’ in beersville with Monteith’s and Moa both claiming to be the first craft beer available duty free.

Procter & Gamble (P&G) will break a 26-year-long tradition when it begins its first ever New Zealand brand campaign on Sunday night.  P&G owns supermarket brands such as Pantene, Duracell and Gillette but had, until now, deliberately remained in the shadows of its brands.

Good Magazine’s December/January 2011 issue has beaten off fierce competition to be hailed as winner of The Maggies: Magazine Cover of the Year 2011. The cover features an image of a handmade pohutukawa wreath evoking the Kiwi Christmas spirit, and beat titles across all five categories, to be crowned overall Magazine Cover of the Year, as well as winning the Lifestyle category.