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.
When iconic ad man Martin Lindstrom starts preaching ethics and green sensibility, you know the writing is on the wall for business as usual in the marketing world. But it’s not really Lindstrom calling the tune here. He’s just the weatherman pointing out the massively changed consumer climate. In New Zealand, 88 percent of us want to buy more sustainable products and services according to Colmar Brunton’s B3W research 2010 & 2011, with spends increasing even in tough times.
Coca-Cola South Pacific, giffgaff and comparethemarket.com from the UK, KidZania from the US and Digital Alchemy from Australia arrive next week to spill the beans to New Zealand marketers on how they’ve harnessed modern direct marketing to take their businesses to another level.
The MA’s Digital Day Out Event last week was an opportunity to see how advertisers and consumers are interacting via social networking sites, the internet, TV, mobile devices, tablets and instore digital signage. And what may be involved in the future if those relationships hope to be strengthened.
Given YouTube’s current pervasiveness, it’s hard to believe it didn’t exist until February 2005. And back then, the expensive tools of the trade meant high-quality video was largely inaccessible to the hoi polloi. Now, recording technology is cheap and ubiquitous and broadband means consumption is rising rapidly. The seemingly insatiable desire for online video means it is a huge area of focus for brands and marketers and how to tap into some of the possibilities this exciting realm affords was the topic of discussion at the Marketing Association’s Brainy Breakfast last week.
DraftFCB was told it had won the Vodafone account on Friday afternoon. And as if that wasn’t enough good news for one day, it also won the Grand Prix at the RSVP and Nexus Awards that night for the Electricity Authority’s What’s My Number? campaign.
The Marketing Association’s 2011 “Marketing Today” Conference held at The Langham Auckland began with an apt quote from William Gibson. “The future is already here. It’s just not evenly distributed yet.” And, as well as an update on all on traditional the marketing concepts like market research, direct marketing, brand management, the conference also provided fresh insight into ‘new-age’ marketing concepts like closer integration of marketing with IT, gamification and social media marketing.
Along with industry specialists traditionally seen in the judging line-up for the RSVP and Nexus Awards, the Marketing Association has confirmed several new faces for this year’s panel.
Put 16 November 2011 in your diary folks, because the Marketing Association reckons the list of big brains on the bill means the Marketing Today conference is shaping up as the biggest marketing event of the year.
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.
The call for entries for the 2011 RSVP and Nexus Awards has been put out. So marketing gurus are once again being encouraged to showcase shining examples of the campaigns and projects they’ve created that stimulate a conversation, ask for a response, prompt some deeper brand involvement and lead to a sale, lead or other measurable change in behaviour.
Jeremy Irwin has been the main man at the Association of New Zealand Advertisers (ANZA) for the past 15 years. And always having to take the side of advertisers and marketers means he’s fought—and won—plenty of ferocious battles with academics, politicians, special interest groups and other antagonists. He’s stepping back from the public policy coalface to focus on some well-deserved rose sniffing and, one week ahead of TVNZ-NZ Marketing awards night, Irwin was inducted into the TVNZ Marketing Hall of Fame in front of a 350-strong crowd at the Marketing Association’s Brainy Breakfast yesterday. Here’s what he told us about his long and esteemed career in the last issue of NZ Marketing.