Years of pain, suffering and putting up with calls from antagonists who try to dull the throbbing hurt by saying ‘it’s only a game’ might—and should—all be forgotten on Sunday night. And, from a marketing point of view, what a ride the RWC has been. There have been enthralling PR disasters with the likes of MasterCard, Adidas, Telecom and the IRB; there have been PR masterstrokes, like getting the whole NZ-based Tongan community behind their team; there have been great campaigns and stunts that sit somewhere between sneaky and savvy from the likes of Steinlager, NZ Pure, Vogel’s and KFC; there have been more than three million Tweets about the tournament and the teams involved in it; and, despite many doubters, Martin Snedden and his gang of RWC 2011 optimists managed to reach their massive ticket sales target and, with 87 percent of tickets sold, showed that marketing and fulfilment don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Hopefully that ride comes to an appropriate conclusion in Auckland, which, as one cad said, has looked like an artist’s impression for the past six weeks. And hopefully Richie McCaw gets to lead the ticker tape parade down Queen St in Telecom’s pink fist car, perhaps with the injured Captain Underpants riding shotgun. 

Vodafone and Smudge Apps launched what being called New Zealand’s first large-scale augmented reality smartphone app recently to celebrate its sponsorship of the upcoming Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards. We’ve got two of the fancy e-shirts to give away and all you have to do is invoke the spirit of Keanu Reeves and tell us which part of reality you’d most like to augment in the comment wall. 

The online domain has created a whole new portal when it comes to the dissemination of ideas and creativity. Crowdsourcing is one of the trends to ride on the back of web-induced capabilities, but in the design domain, it has proved controversial. With companies using it as a way to source, among other things, new logos, some designers complain that it undermines the expertise of qualified designers and design companies. But, like it or hate it, it looks set to stay and in New Zealand, it’s just received a boost with DesignCrowd launching a New Zealand crowdsourcing site, DesignCrowd.co.nz. 

In a world gone social, influence is critical. And Telecom is bolstering its earned media credentials with the launch of Smart Network, a new online hub that showcases the work of a bunch of creative Kiwis. 

Gamification, the use of game concepts to engage users, may be the new buzzword in digital marketing, but if you’re hoping to ride the merry wave to the top, marketers need to do their homework first.

The Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind (RNZFB) has launched a new online collection tool for its Blind Week appeal, 25-31 October, making it the first charity in New Zealand to do so.

In the latest example of the ongoing hostage swapping drama between DDB Group and Clemenger, DDB Group’s direct and digital arm Rapp Tribal has appointed AIM Proximity general manager, Colenso head of integration and ‘reality hacker’ Andy Bell as its new general manager. 

A friendly reminder from the Marketing Association that entries for the 2011 RSVP and Nexus Awards close on Friday 21 October at 5pm. Busy folk, or those with poor time management, can apply for an extension until Friday 28 October, 5pm by emailing event manager Marilena Rosu and coughing up $50. 

With a big pitch on the go and some unwanted attention from the Commerce Commission and the ASA for misleading and irresponsible advertising, Vodafone’s been in the news a bit recently. But it’s got something slightly more positive to shout about now: an augmented reality (AR) application to celebrate its sponsorship of the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards.

New Zealand’s small group of ‘technology evangelists’ have the ability to powerfully influence the technology buying decisions of more than a third of Kiwi consumers – making them a critical target market for vendors.

The stuff.co.nz mobile team has triumphed at the 2011 W3 Awards in Los Angeles, bringing home not one but two commendations from a pool of 3,000 plus entries.

…as Jules Lloyd hangs up her McDonald’s apron, creative boffin Barry Low joins Image Centre, Desiree Doyle departs CAANZ to work on her tan, Adshel head honcho Steve McCarthy heads off into the distance, iSite names a national sales manager, Fairfax expands its network, Titan Media Group adds two to the crew, the MA’s Kelsey Waters goes digital and, after the sale of Synovate was approved, Ipsos comes to New Zealand. 

Much like the mighty All Blacks’ heroics on the weekend, New Zealand’s Brandspank has walked away with a decent bit of recognition at this week’s Australasian PROMAX awards.

When it comes to the latest fundraising initiative for Christchurch, it’s a case of both what you know and who you know. Pixels for Christchurch launched last week at the Yoobee flagship store in Auckland’s Britomart. With the helping hand of brand development agency FlyCreative and Shortland Street star Kiel McNaughton, among others, artist Shane Hansen’s artwork ‘Arohanui Otautahi’  was broken down into 100,000 pixels that were made available for public purchase. The ultimate goal is to raise $100,000 for Christchurch and so far over 18,000 pixels have been sold.

Heartland agency Tracta have rolled out a new safety campaign for Unison, the power company that owns, designs, manages and operates the electricity network for the Hawke’s Bay, Taupo and Rotorua regions.

Last week’s contribution from infographics.co.nz saw New Zealand at the bottom of the heap when it came to corruption. But being at the bottom of the heap this week for the most significant oil spill will be of little consolation to Bay of Plenty residents currently dealing with the fallout from Rena.

NZ Lotteries has given the digital signage sector a big fillip with the roll-out of LCD promotional screens to 600 of its top Lotto stores around the country, the biggest roll-out of its kind in New Zealand. And so far, the enticing new technology is doing the business. 

Digital media agency PHDiQ has launched a new interactive campaign for Rexona, where fans can record and upload video messages in support of the All Blacks.