The retail industry has been crying into its cornflakes for the past few years as the perfect storm of recession, the rise of e-commerce and, more recently, massive natural disasters, has battered the sector. But according to brand consultancy Interbrand, which has just released its inaugural Best Retail Brands report, there are “true and measurable signs of optimism” in what is likely to be a fragile recovery. 

…as overachieving Kiwi expat Mark D’Arcy hops on the Facebook bandwagon; DraftFCB’s Matt Scott sits down as chair of the Direct Marketing Network; Tony Clewett is named as New Zealand’s Caples ambassador; Pacific Micromarketing announces a new business development consultant; and EYE Shop announces its new Aussie/NZ overlord. 

MasterCard Worldwide has appointed Acumen Republic as its New Zealand communications agency after a competitive pitch and it will manage MasterCard’s corporate, consumer and government relations, as well as marketing communications activity for its sponsorship of Rugby World Cup 2011 and the All Blacks.

ANZ launched its big Rugby World Cup promotion with much pomp and ceremony last week. But it’s obviously not too late to get involved, because Microsoft New Zealand announced today that it has signed up as an official sponsor of the tournament. 

New Zealand’s territorial waters are 15 times larger than our land mass, but just 0.3 percent of that area is fully protected in marine reserves, compared to around 20 percent of our land with equivalent status. And as part of a campaign to change this unbalanced attitude and eventually get 30 percent of our waters signed up as marine reserves, the WWF and its agency partner Ocean Design have enlisted some of the country’s leading creative minds to share their views on what New Zealand’s seas mean to them. And it’s asking Kiwis to do the same.

After the earthquake New Zealanders everywhere quickly reached into their pockets, but many wished they could do something more practical to help. Well, small Tauranga-based advertising agency Flame had a stroke of inspiration after realising it had valuable assets lying around in the form of old billboards skins that would otherwise go unused, so a few quick calls to clients and billboard operators like iSite and Oggi and Flame’s Zak Lassey says it managed to round up a few hundred skins that were easily utilised as tarps for roofing, long drop covers, tents, or wherever else they were needed in Christchurch. And, as they’re still needed, he thinks other, larger agencies, clients and media owners should follow its lead.

In the wake of the Christchurch quake and the intense international media coverage that followed, many businesses—and plenty of individuals—have been trying to let the world know that New Zealand is still able to be toured and explored. As you’d expect, Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) has been leading that charge and has launched a campaign called New Zealand is Open, which saw ads run in Australian and United Kingdom national Sunday papers last weekend.

Inboxes are groaning under the weight of the emails sent out by daily deal sites at the moment. And successful Australian group buying site Cudo and MediaWorks will soon be adding a few more. But while new collaborative buying sites seem to be a dime a dozen at the moment, the newest boy on the increasingly crowded block claims to have a big point of difference: the deals will be promoted regularly on television by a real live human.

At 8.30pm this Saturday lights will be going out—or so it’s hoped—to help draw attention to climate change. And as this fantastic new ad shows, those who ignore Earth Hour do so at their peril.