Podcast nerds rejoiced last week when the second season of Serial, the most popular podcast ever made, was launched. And as the medium matures and grows in popularity, brands are starting to get more involved, either through advertising on the good ones or, in some cases, making their own.
Visions of the future are fertile territory for psychics, science fiction writers and highly paid consultants. And as Spark attempts to move from dumb pipes to digital services, it’s joined in the fun and created Spark Life 2025 to show what life might be like ten years from now. And NZME has helped bring its vision to life online.
The local industry is currently a little obsessed with conflating different foods together to create a delectable (and some very questionable) hybrids. We’ve had Whittaker’s chocolate milk, Cadbury’s Vegemite atrocity and St Pierre’s sushiwi. Internationally, brands are also dabbling in the art of fusion, but now DC Shoes has taken it beyond cuisine to create a new hybrid sport by combining surfing and motocross. In a new video commissioned by the brand, motocross daredevil Robbie Maddison is shown riding a customised motorcycle across the surface of the Pacific Ocean, before dropping in on a wave (undoubtedly annoying the surfers waiting in the lineup).
Vimeo has long been lauded as the go-to platform for discerning filmmakers and serious creatives who want to share their work. Now, it’s teamed up with technology giant Samsung to produce a video series that explores the ideas and infinite meanings of connection and “examines the human relationship with technology”.
Brand identities need to evolve to keep up with changing organisations, audiences and markets, writes Brian Slade. And Ports of Auckland did exactly that.
Good old fashioned interruptive display advertising is the golden goose that keeps laying for the local TV networks. But integration is so hot right now. And, whether it’s sponsorships, programme partnerships, production partnerships or one-off branded content projects, it’s a big part of TVNZ’s focus for the future. Following its new season launch this week, head of sales Jeremy O’Brien and general manager of media solutions and insights Lyndsey Francis talk turkey about its plans for next year and what the TV landscape might look like soon.
A range of media owners are trying to find the sweet spot between ads and editorial. And the likes of MasterChef NZ and The Block NZ have been able to appeal to commercial interests without alienating the viewers. TVNZ’s latest effort in this regard is Purina Pound Pups to Dogstars, which arose from its million dollar branded content initiative and is currently in production. Plus: TVNZ’s new logo.
Michael Goldthorpe went along to TVNZ’s new season launch at the Viaduct Events Centre. And he got inspired about the potential for New Zealand to become a branded content powerhouse.
Beer drinkers who want to take a step towards becoming beer connoisseurs can now look forward to Lion’s latest content marketing campaign on TVNZ.
Mitre 10 Dream Home returns to Kiwi screens on 2 July at 7.30pm after a few year hiatus. And, along with the naming rights sponsor, TVNZ has signed up a host of other commercial partners who will spruik their wares in the TV2 show, including ASB, EECA Energywise and plenty more.
As consumers continue to find ways to avoid commercial messages, TV networks, brands and agencies are increasingly trying to make them unmissable by putting them inside some of their most popular programmes rather than inbetween, with the likes of MasterChef, The Block or the raft of talent shows all aiming to take things much further than a traditional sponsorship. And, as TVNZ’s head of sales Jeremy O’Brien announced at the network’s new season launch last week, TVNZ is trying to become more pro-active about cementing these relationships with brands with the creation of a new branded content initiative set to launch in 2014.
After a tough few years for the automotive industry, most of the manufacturers are getting back up to speed, with some agressive marketing campaigns and more favourable economic conditions leading to a 14 percent increase in new car sales in September. Ford increased its share by nine percent, and it’s hoping to increase that even further for its Mondeo model with the help of a paid-for reality show called The Test Driver.
MediaWorks TV launched its new season line-up in Auckland this morning. And there’s sure to be some gasps, both of horror and delight, following the much anticipated announcement of the return to screen of controversial broadcaster Paul Henry.
MediaWorks has been in the news a bit recently, with the unexpected departure of its TV wunderkind Jason Paris and continuing discussion about the sizable debts of its owner Ironbridge. But it’s not all bad: its two-channel strategy appears to be paying off in terms of share, ad revenue is up and general manager of integration Melanie Reece says the “sleeping giant” of branded content and product placement is starting to wake up, as evidenced by the success of New Zealand’s Next Top Model and the inclusion of new sponsors like 2degrees into the show.
Special Group, Salt Interactive and Orcon took the humble web banner to places the web banner has never been before in New Zealand and took gold in Online Advertising for their efforts with Orcon. And, by adding Twitter and Facebook functions, it became a rare beast: a banner that was actually shared among friends, showing that interactive utility shows its stripes when impressive content is created to suit the medium. Special Group also won bronze in the branded content for the Volvo ‘Blindfold’ campaign.