Browsing: Didge

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Digital loyalty: how Vodafone integrated its reward programme into the MyVodafone app
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Last week, Vodafone released its Fantastic Fridays TVC, a creative effort that stoked the dying embers of hate that viewers still held for Rebecca Black’s 2011 viral song while simultaneously introducing the telco’s new reward programme. And while the spot was greeted with revile from some quarters, there were few complaints from the Vodafone customers who stand to receive rewards as part of the programme. Here’s a breakdown of how Fantastic Fridays has been incorporated into Vodafone’s existing MyVodafone app.

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iHeartRadio promises not to drive parents mad with kids’ radio station
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TRN has launched Kiwi Kids, a new iHeartRadio radio station that continuously plays songs and rhymes written for Kiwi Kids and performed by the nation’s top children’s musicians. And while, to some parents, this might sound like a scene borrowed from Dante’s Inferno, iHeartRadio’s artwork accompanying the launch carries the promise that the new station “won’t drive mum and dad crazy”.

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Reading more, remembering less: is the internet making us stupid? Or just more selective?
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One fact that has stuck with me over the years—and flashes up in front of me occasionally when I’m deep in a time-sucking online/social media rabbit hole—is that the same part of the brain that responds so favourably to pokie machines is the same part of the brain that responds so favourably to the constant arrival of notifications on your phone, in your inbox or on social networks. So, like digital meerkats, many of us are constantly popping our heads up and looking for the next information fix. And, as a recent Victoria University study has shown, the online realm is having an impact on our reading behaviour.

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Twenty study shows Kiwi business websites are late to the mobile-optimised party
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Despite the fact that more Kiwis are buying online—and buying with their mobile devices—many Kiwi businesses aren’t taking that into account when it comes to their websites. And that’s costing them dearly, says a report from direct marketing and digital agency Twenty. It says bad user experience cost Kiwi businesses over $1 billion in sales to overseas websites last year, a big chunk of the total $2.3 billion spent online by Kiwis for the year in total. And it might be worse this year, with the jump in online spending since last year twice as high for offshore than for local.

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Inside: Ubiquity
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We speak to Ubiquity’s Nathalie Morris about her team’s philosophies around developing for a changing world, about being number two, and about what exactly you do when you’re the “technical muscle” for a marketing campaign.

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Contiki gets vloggers onboard again for the Roadtrip 2014, and this time it’s got a Kiwi flavour
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Contiki is back with its YouTube vlogger roadtrip for the third year running, once again piggybacking on the millions of pairs of eyeballs already following every single step those vloggers take. This year New Zealand might be captive too, with Kiwi star Shannon Harris onboard as the only person from outside North America. Sales director Tony Laskey believes The Roadtrip is potentially one of the most powerful marketing strategies Contiki has ever used.

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Postr launches, promises to pay consumers for hosting ads
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In April, StopPress reported that a team of Wellingtonians was planning to launch a technology start-up called Postr, an app-based service that would get brands into consumers’ pockets by serving ads on their smartphone homescreens. And now, only a few months later, the project has officially launched and is accessible to the Kiwi public.

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The ad blocker threat: what media owners are doing to stop ad avoidance
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In the traditional media channels, advertising couldn’t be avoided. When viewers listened to a radio broadcast or watched a television show, ads were an inevitable part of the experience and often provided a momentary break to run to the bathroom or make a cup tea. But with the growing tendency of online viewing, this coerced ad-watching is no longer a given. Simple software downloads, such as AdBlock, now give viewers direct access to the content that they want to watch. So what are media owners doing to protect their advertising?

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Auckland app tells jafas where to go
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Over the last week, Heart of the City has been promoting its ‘Where Next?’ app, which was first announced in May. Designed in collaboration between VMob and Colenso, Where Next? puts VMob’s platform to work with a free iPhone and Android app designed to personalise the information visitors get about events, attractions, retail and hospitality, venues, deals and places to find out what’s on.

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Google NZ-backed project produces teen marketers
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New Zealand marketers this is for you – the Web Rangers programme has provided you a pool of marketing talent for the years to come. The programme, backed by Google NZ, Netsafe and Y&R, enlisted 14-17 years olds from around the country to tackle the issue of cyberbullying and promote safer and smarter internet use – because who better to come up with a marketing campaign than the demographic itself?

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Quickflix snaps up two local shows, responds to Lightbox and Sky
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Last week, shortly after the release of Telecom’s Lightbox offering, Quickflix announced an agreement with South Pacific Pictures that gave the veteran in New Zealand’s SVOD market rights to over 120 hours of local content via Go Girls and Outrageous Fortune. And given that Lightbox’s head of programming and local content Maria Mahony admitted to StopPress that she was currently in talks with local film distributors to secure a deal to screen several local shows, this announcement by Quickflix will no doubt be competitive blow to the newcomer.

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Lifting the Lightbox lid: a look inside Telecom’s new digital venture
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Ever since Telecom was legally precluded from using the ShowmeTV name, the industry has been curious as to what moniker would be introduced as a replacement. Since that debacle three months ago, Telecom’s digital ventures (TDV) unit has been very cagey about releasing any further information about its online TV offering. But now that all has been revealed, we sat down with head of programming and local content Maria Mahony to find out more about what Lightbox offers.

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Parking spots on demand
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Theres an app for everything these days. From one that tells you the best time to go for a pee during a movie to an app that prevents embarrassing drunk dials, it’s amazing that we don’t have an app that reminds us to blink. Now, adding to the list of ridiculous apps, theres one that sells public parking spots.

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WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg on taking over the world one blog at a time
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WordPress has become synonymous with blogging and online writing. And while there’s no guarantee of the quality of the content released via the interface, Wordpress founder Matt Mullenweg has effectively democratised online publishing, making it possible for everyone from the emo teen to the food-loving grandmother to share their thoughts online. The tech entrepreneur recently stopped off in New Zealand, and Idealog sat down to with him to find out a little more about what makes him tick.

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From agency to muesli – Jono Sorensen’s next venture
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When Jono Sorenson left advertising agency Carat in March to become a sales director at Diverse Media, he signed up there for only three days a week – because the rest of his time he now devotes to muesli.
He and fellow muesli-fan/fiancé Lucy Leckie have launched The Muesli Hub – “a platform to build your own muesli online and have it delivered to your door”. They want to inspire people to re-prioritise breakfast.

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The duality of Snakk Media: snakes and ladders at the mobile start-up
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Snakk Media’s preliminary financial results released last week showed a 92 percent year-on-year increase, shifting up from $3.6 million recorded between March 2012 and March 2013 to $7 million in the most recent results. Add to this the fact that the company has just announced plans to open a Singapore office in addition to those in Australia and New Zealand, and it seems that Snakk Media’s new chief executive Mark Ryan has a lot to smile about less than a year into his job. But a recent drop in the company’s share price and the fact that it continues to operate at a loss means the company’s evolution has had its fair share of ups and downs.

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Sky joins Telecom in the race to become the ‘Netflix of New Zealand’
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Sky TV plans to increase its digital offering before the end of the year with the introduction of a subscription video on-demand service (SVOD), which will stand alone from Sky’s pay television services and be available to both Sky and non-Sky customers. This announcement comes shortly before Telecom is expected to announce the release of its SVOD services. So who will become the Netflix of New Zealand?

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London cabbies are striking because of Uber; will the same happen here?—UPDATED
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London traffic became even more congested recently as 12,000 taxi drivers staged a protest by blockading various streets throughout the English capital. Their dissatisfaction finds its genesis in the expansion of Uber, an app that allows potential passengers to connect with nearby taxi drivers. We chatted to Roger Heale, the executive director of the the New Zealand Taxi Federation, about the potential of the same happening here. Updated with comments from Uber.

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Weirdly intuitive: the tech behind Handley’s Shoulder Tap campaign
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When Kiwi entrepreneur Derek Handley advertised for a new right hand human, his campaign The Shoulder Tap had more than 1000 applicants from more than 30 countries – from billion-dollar hedge fund managers to prison managers to activists. Yes, Handley’s reputation and vision pulled for sure, but there was also some clever Kiwi technology behind the campaign.

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ANZ dips toe into digital publishing with BlueNotes
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To some degree banks have always been publishers, producing voluminous pamphlets and documents relating to their accounts, interest rates and credit card deals. And while this has served the utilitarian purpose of providing information to both current and potential clients, it has always been a bit vapid in the story-telling department. So, in an effort to fill the narrative-shaped hole in its offering, ANZ has launched BlueNotes, a digital publishing site updated daily with news stories directly relevant to the bank and the financial industry.

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Rainger & Rolfe turns the furry tenants at Auckland Zoo into online brand ambassadors
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Over the last few months, Auckland Zoo has been putting its colourful and varied range of tenants to work by having them feature in a series of YouTube videos designed to draw attention to the attraction in the Super City. Rainger & Rolfe, the agency behind the on-going digital campaign, has held the Auckland Zoo account since 2011 (the account was originally held by Rolfe Limited and then moved across after the merger with Rainger Connect).

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Sky gives ‘come with us’ microsite a facelift, promises to wow with Spritz technology
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Sky has given its ‘come with us’ microsite a facelift by introducing an interactive browsing feature that takes the visitor on a short promotional journey through the programming currently on offer to subscribers. PLUS: The broadcaster has also announced a partnership with Boston-based, text-streaming company Spritz, which recently unveiled technology that allows viewers to read text on screens one word at a time without having to move from word to word or around the page.

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Powerade revamps website and launches new TVC, aims to get Kiwis off the couch
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Coca-Cola-owned Powerade has introduced a new app and updated its website in an effort to encourage Kiwis to lead healthier lifestyles. Rather than focusing on the Powerade product range, the new website instead provides users with a performance hub where they can set fitness goals, receive training programmes, track their performance and map runs. These digital upgrades coincide with the release of the sports drink’s ‘Performance is everything’ campaign, which was recently activated via an Ogilvy-created TVC that features All Blacks Liam Messam, Beauden Barrett and Julian Savea battling on a rugby field through a heavy downpour.

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Spotify and Pandora’s connected cars intrude on radio’s safe zone
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When in-car tape and CD players were first released, various analysts predicted the possible demise of the radio industry on account of the fact that people could customise their own playlists to personalise the listening experience. And while the industry managed to survive the tape deck and CD shuttle, the digital age is posing a new threat to radio’s continued dominance of in-car listening.

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Online box sets and the on-demand arms race
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On 25 May, after screening the first episode of the second season of House of Cards, MediaWorks made all the episodes for the show available for online viewing via its on-demand service, 3NOW. The new season of the popular Netflix show will be available for 28 days from the release date, giving binge viewers four weeks to squeeze in all 13 episodes. But does this move make sense, given that television has traditionally relied on keeping viewers hooked all the way through? And what is TVNZ doing in this area?

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