Amid some major changes in the radio industry as NZME and MediaWorks embarked on their new multi-platform strategies, Gill Stewart stepped down as general manager of The Radio Bureau in February after around ten years in the role. And she’s now stepped up to the position of chief executive of the Marketing Association, replacing Michael Pryor.
Today’s consumers are fickle. It’s becoming harder to find loyal customers who won’t jump ship at the sight of a sweeter deal. They demand more for less, and are more willing than ever to shop around rather than sticking with a ‘preferred’ brand or provider. The telco industry knows this better than most. And you can find out how some of the country’s biggest players are dealing with it, differentiating themselves and inspiring customer loyalty and at the MA’s next Knowledge Bites event on Tuesday.
Michael Pryor, currently general manager strategy and business performance at IAG New Zealand, has been appointed as the chief executive of the Marketing Association, replacing Sue McCarty, who announced her departure in February after six years at the helm.
After around six years at the helm of the NZ Marketing Association, and with a number of big accomplishments under her belt, chief executive Sue McCarty has announced her resignation.
The finalists of the NZDM Awards have been announced, with Colenso BBDO/Proximity and justONE/.99 leading the field on 13 each and Loyalty NZ next on ten.
The MA announces its board members, Andrew Reinholds gets the Cannes call-up, Hauraki adds a couple of comedians, Impact PR shacks up with House of Travel, Kiwi expat Tom Markham heads to New York, and Prodigy signs Samuel Bennetts.
In addition to the usual suspects of ‘market share’, ‘customer retention’ and ‘campaign ROI’, Dennis Kibirev found that warm-and-fuzzies such as ‘lives changed’, ‘worthwhile causes supported’ or ‘communities improved’ were cited at the Marketing Association’s first Not-For-Profit event last week.
Last year, when Lindsey Redding passed away, one of the posts he had written called a ‘A Short Lesson in Perspective’ started circulating again. In it, he concluded that life in this industry didn’t really pass his ‘overnight test’ and that those sitting in “a darkened studio or edit suite agonising over whether housewife A should pick up the soap powder with her left hand or her right” should do themselves a favour and go home to see their family. There’s no doubt this profession is a demanding one—and it seems to be becoming more demanding by the day—but it’s also got plenty going for it and, in a new video series aimed at promoting the industry, the Marketing Association has decided to get some of those positives from experienced campaigners.
54 percent of Kiwi online shoppers now own a smartphone, according to PwC. And thanks to the search engines in their pockets they are likely to know things about your market before you do. This should put the mobile customer experience near the top of the to-do list for many companies and the MA’s September Brainy Breakfast, which, for the first time in several years will also be held in Wellington, focuses on five key mobile experience trends that will help get you up with the play.
The RSVP & Nexus Awards have been rewarding insight-driven marketing for 26 years, but after an industry-wide review headed up by Ben Goodale, managing director of justONE and chairman of the Marketing Association’s Agencies’ Council, there have been some big changes this year, with a whole new structure and a new name: the New Zealand Direct Marketing Awards.