As ad blockers hide more traditional forms of advertising and consumers disengage with brands preaching to them on social media, influential individuals are providing an important link to consumers. We talk to The Social Club co-founders Justin Clark and Georgia McGillivray on how they’re connecting brands with eyeballs in New Zealand and where the industry is heading in 2017.
Over two years since first announcing the project, Spark is finally nearing the completion of The Boroughs, its project to bring five high-tech basketball courts to Aucklanders across the city.
McDonald’s has revamped its executive team through a trio of recent appointments. David Howse has stepped in as managing director, Jo Mitchell has been promoted to director of marketing and Brid Drohan-Stewart has joined the organisation as head of marketing. PLUS: former director of marketing Chris Brown and former managing director Patrick Wilson depart.
In a new fundraising initiative for the Northland Rescue Helicopter (NRH), Boyd PR tells a tale of the Whangarei-based service’s three choppers—nicknamed Juliet, Mike and Lima—to spread a message about the service’s importance and staying safe.
Data company SSI (Survey Sampling International) has been around for quite some time, but the organisation is now looking to increase its prominence in New Zealand by putting boots on the ground in the local market. We chat to global chief executive Chris Fanning about the rationale behind this shift in local strategy.
Standard Media Index (SMI) has released a snapshot of advertising spend across the different media platforms for the past two years to reveal digital’s rapid growth has yet to overtake TV’s share of the dollar.
A new generation of shoppers is driving demand for brands to make a positive social impact, and speakers at the PwC Herald Talk on Conscious Business say it’s about building value through values.
Eight months into his new role, 2degrees’ chief marketing officer Roy Ong has already launched a campaign, finalised a pitch and reorganised his team. He sets aside a few minutes to chat about his plans for the business.
Spark Venture’s data business Qrious is set to arm marketers with the knowledge and know-how of how they can tackle their data mountain and incorporate it into marketing strategies with the launch of The Data Strategy Whitepaper.
You don’t need to look far across the marketing to find a reference to ‘big data’. And yet, despite its pervasiveness at industry lunch tables, the phrase remains misunderstood. We chat to Qrious’ Simon Conroy the kinds of questions marketers should be asking when it comes to the testy issue of big data.
It’s been over a week since Spark launched Spark Jump, an initiative to provide subsidised broadband to families in need. We chat to Spark’s GM of corporate relations Andrew Pirie about the telco’s wider social strategy, its purpose and using technology to make a difference.
TRA’s Colleen Ryan uses a positive experience at an Italian restaurant to illustrate the joy that consumers can experience when the freedom from choice is coupled with a dash of the unknown and unexpected.
Fly Buys has made a few innovations to its service lately, having recently published a new and improved flyer-turned-magazine with Tangible Media and now it’s launched a new email approach developed with 1-1 and JustOne.
You know it’s mayoral election time when your street, mailbox and favourite cafes become flooded with images of smiling candidates. It’s usually not long until someone puts spray paint to billboard, which often solidifies the images even more in one’s memory. But, having your face plastered over different types of media isn’t cheap and this is a luxury Auckland mayoral candidate Chloe Swarbrick, who has next-to-no funding, doesn’t have. We chat to Swarbrick about what it’s like running a campaign with little money and if this would have been possible at all ten years ago.
Marketing, sales and IT are increasingly occupying the same bed. So Dynamo6 founder and managing director Igor Matich asks whether one of these is set to fall out the bed at some point.
New World has released its latest collectible miniatures, but this time it’s not tiny plastic Nutri-Grain packets, cooking oil or Super Wine biscuits, it’s taken a more sustainable turn and has launched Little Garden instead, enabling kids to collect miniature seedling kits. We chat to GoodSense managing director Kath Dewar about New World’s decision to move away from plastic collectibles.
Facing an onslaught of international, low-cost competitors, Marley New Zealand decided to take a stand, launching a campaign that reversed the commoditisation of one of its electrical piping products.
Burger Burger, nestled in Ponsonby Central, has fast become one of the most popular burger joints in town. It has lured customers with its tasty but affordable burgers, delicious milkshakes and witty marketing style. It has also recently expanded, opening up a restaurant dubbed Fish Fish. Burger Burger has amassed more than 40,000 followers across Facebook and Instagram, here’s its co-founder and creative director Mimi Gilmour on the business’s digital approach.
Two-thirds of New Zealanders support either legalising or decriminalising marijuana, according to a New Zealand Drug Foundation study released this week, and Labour and New Zealand First have come out in support for a referendum on the matter. Henry Oliver looks at what opportunities could be created for marketing and branding if marijuana is legalised, and what it might mean for New Zealand’s economy.
TRA’s Luke Procter unpacks Adidas’s successful brand culture from his own experience as a ‘sneakerhead’.
Hallenstein Glasson chief information officer Chris Reid chats about the giving consumers a consistent retail experience, not only across the group’s 110 stores in New Zealand and Australia but also online. And one thing he’s adamant about is that being omnichannel doesn’t equate to latching onto every new digital trinket.
Social influence doesn’t just happen by accident, argues Dean Taylor. It’s often the result of a strategic plan well executed.
Your stereotypical beer ad often involves a man, seemingly dying of thirst, glugging down large mouthfuls of the bubbly, golden elixir. But, it turns out, women get thirsty too and are still largely underrepresented when it comes to beer advertising, despite the fact more affluent women started drinking beer last year than any other group.
The finalists of this year’s TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards have been announced after a record number of entries were received. It won’t be long until champagne-filled glasses will once again be clinked together at the Langham, celebrating the best of marketing over the past year.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople broke box office records with an opening weekend take of over $1.2 million and it has gone on to win critical acclaim across the world. There’s no doubt that the film is a local cinematic pleasure, but sometimes this isn’t enough to secure commercial success. Marketing, or the lack thereof, can often play a major role in whether or not a film succeeds. Fortunately, there was quite a hefty campaign behind this one.
In a world of clogged up newsfeeds, sometimes the best content is bogged down by the biggest content. David Thomason uses Philip Simon, a down-to-earth, anti-smoking advocate and infectious personality as a gleaming but under-exposed example of social media gold, and wonders how marketers can use more holistic examples like this in their approach to social change, all while keeping it real.
Australian-owned marketing technology company Squiz has recently expanded in New Zealand, adding an Auckland office to its pre-existing Wellington base. Upon the move, we talked to New Zealand managing director Patrick Fitzgerald about the changing landscape of marketing technology, how the lines are blurring between marketing and IT departments and what the technology developers are doing to help.
Today Countdown announced it’s rolling out a refresh of its own brand range, as well as introducing a new category to its line up, expecting the massive task to take about two years, with the first hint of the change to be visible on supermarket shelves in May.
In a congested space like the electricity market, it’s difficult to stand out from the crowd. But, Flick is on a mission to do just that with its educational, customer-centric approach, socially conscious advertising and digitally savvy service. And making sure the brand stays true to its purpose is general manager of brand Jessica Venning-Bryan, one of the company’s leading lights.
Yes, the craze is not over yet and we doubt it will be anytime soon. Countdown has just released its latest range of collectibles with Disney in what’s been a clever partnership for the supermarket chain, because as we all know, kids (and let’s be honest, many adults) go nuts over Disney. Here’s a look at its latest marketing ploy in the form of projectable cards.