TVNZ’s head of news and current affairs Anthony Flannery has said in the past that Breakfast’s popularity comes down to a good combination of “light and shade”. And the balance will be tipped in favour of light come September 3 when a new Saturday edition of the show that will be co-presented by Rawdon Christie and Toni Street is launched.
3 News has already had a swipe at TVNZ’s poor coverage of the Christchurch and Japanese earthquakes with some comparative advertising earlier this year. And it’s keeping the pressure on the national broadcaster with a new campaign to promote the variety of news offerings available throughout the day.
… as Countdown’s marketing doyenne departs for the Aussie mothership, MediaWorks looks inside to fill the sales manager role in its integration department, DNA’s Aaron Carson changes tack, Miranda Gregg says goodbye to AJ Park, bcg2 welcomes a New York import, ecostore’s not-for-profit arm Fairground Foundation appoints its first employee, Tourism Australia finds a New Zealand marketing manager, Lily & Louis joins Kim Kardashian after winning the local Skechers business, and online/social media agency VeNa appoints a New Zealand country manager.
When Paul Henry was signed up by MediaWorks to host the drive show on RadioLive, there was an understanding he’d be involved in the occasional TV project as well. But aside from an interview on 60 Minutes, the bespectacled cackling offender has been slightly conspicuous by his absence on the telly. That will all change on Friday night when a self- (and dwarf) deprecating skit about his fictional quest to make the autobiographical potboiler What was I thinking into a movie airs on The Jono Project on TV3.
Put yourself in the shoes of a rugby hater for a moment. Almost everywhere you turn you are bombarded by earnest, emotional ads from sponsors of the All Blacks or the Rugby World Cup talking about long-awaited victory, national pride, unwavering support and inner belief, while the ‘cluster ruck’ of domestic broadcasters (Sky, Rugby Channel, TV3, TV One and Maori TV) screening, repeating and analysing the Big Rugby Event (BRE) means it will probably be quite difficult to escape the tournament when it kicks off. No doubt, there is plenty of excitement in the air, but MediaWorks and Special Group have decided to zig while everyone else is zagging with a cheeky, entertaining new campaign for FOUR that references the overkill and positions the channel as ‘The Home of Not Rugby’.
In a move that draws parallels with the Radio Network’s recent Classic Hits’ station brand shift, MediaWorks’ More FM has also been busy on the refresh front, unveiling a new look that features a spotted logo and the positioning phrase: “Live it. Love it. Sing it.” According to More FM Network programme director Ande Macpherson, who joined the station in February to help reconnect the brand to its core values, there’s been a disconnect with what More FM actually stood for.
…as Sweet Shop director Sam Holst tastes gold at Cannes, Alt Group continues to win things, shifting PRs, MediaWorks signs up a new Breeze host, ASB’s tech guy is acknowledged for customer service innovations and 2degrees adds a couple of newbies.
…as ex-Air New Zealander Steve Bayliss heads back to the FMCG realm, MediaWorks says goodbye to one senior player but welcomes another in the radio ranks, Mango adds a duo to the fruit salad and Cannes and YouTube announce the winners of the Young Lions and Goodwork competitions.
MediaWorks has announced that television chief executive Jason Paris, who has been in the role for just over a year after shifting across from TVNZ, has resigned.
TVNZ and MediaWorks are always competitive, as the rather confrontational comparative promo TV3 ran after the Japanese earthquake showed very clearly. But this was taken to a new level on Sunday when TVNZ sent out a press release saying 60 Minutes had “lost almost half its audience since March and almost 300,000 viewers per week since February”. Embarrassingly, the figures TVNZ used were wrong and, understandably, MediaWorks is none too pleased.
…as Kerry Smith is farewelled; Tequila finds its new general manager after a lengthy search; Mango adds three new fruits; and one of The Sweet Shop’s directors gets the nod for his film to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
The latest radio survey was released last week and, as expected, various ‘we’re number one’ claims came spewing forth. Of course, these claims are based on what the people actually listen to. But we all know the people don’t know what they’re talking about. That’s why we need experts to make decisions, and the experts have done just that to decide on the winners of the NZ Radio Awards.
…as Aegis opens a new activation division and Apollo Marketing’s Will Riley gets the plum posting; Graeme Underwood moves across the hall and Rachel Lorimer takes over publicity duties at MediaWorks; Simon Kozak is appointed high priest of The Church; Greg Shand sells his share of Baldwin Boyle Group after 25 years with the company; Datamine finds a managing director in its existing ranks; and Ian Hughes announces some changes at Bigmouth voice agency.
The first Radio Industry Research Committee radio survey of 2011 has been released, with the Edge, Newstalk ZB and The Rock all claiming various number one station status. But, take away all the press release trickery and competitive gamesmanship and the the radio industry as a whole will be feeling pretty chuffed with a 5.1 percent increase in the number of humans tuning in to commercial radio since the last survey.
The latest TV viewership figures for March are out and, amid the many regularly overused adjectives (primarily staggering, dramatic, massive and all-important), both warring parties are, as per usual, claiming victories, with TVNZ’s news audience increasing substantially and MediaWorks trumpeting a big rise in more lucrative eyeballs since the launch of FOUR. And while there’s always a bit of press release-based argy bargy when these numbers are set loose, it’s pistols at dawn when it comes to the morning news figures.
Hey look, a Friday afternoon press release about New Zealand’s favourite cliff-walking broadcaster Paul Henry, who has, blow me down, officially signed up with MediaWorks, both for radio and television duties. And here we were thinking he’d go to Stratos.
MediaWorks will be dishing out a new honour to a member of the media fraternity at this year’s CAANZ Media Awards in memory of long-time staffer Sandy Smith. So get your nominations in for the inaugural Inspiring Individuals Award.
Inboxes are groaning under the weight of the emails sent out by daily deal sites at the moment. And successful Australian group buying site Cudo and MediaWorks will soon be adding a few more. But while new collaborative buying sites seem to be a dime a dozen at the moment, the newest boy on the increasingly crowded block claims to have a big point of difference: the deals will be promoted regularly on television by a real live human.
The New Zealand Press Association now has fewer mouths to feed after cancelling content contracts with some of the country’s larger media companies. And while those affected by the loss claim it will have limited impact on their news services, it does appear to be an acknowledgment from the print media sector that different mediums are now competing head-on for online traffic—and the advertising revenue that follows.
MediaWorks has been under a huge amount of financial pressure recently as its private equity paymasters Ironbridge attempt to cut costs and squeeze out some much-needed cash. And while the losses reported in 2009 were massive, things appear to be looking up slightly, with figures for the year ended August 2010 showing earnings before interest and tax of $50 million, an 11 percent improvement on the previous year’s total of $45 million. Consolidated revenue across the group was $258 million for the year, up one percent from $256 million the year before.
Soon-to-launch business directory 0133 has partnered with Mediaworks and deployed a free-to-call service to take non-emergency queries and ease pressure on already strained emergency phone numbers in Christchurch.
To celebrate the launch of MediaWorks’ new channel FOUR this weekend, Special Group decided to create a massive inflatable duck and, after filming it for a channel ident, berthed it in the Auckland viaduct for passersby to marvel at (puntastic kudos to Tim Newman for coining the phrase ViaDuck). Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman’s oversized aquatic birds have been deployed in cities in Europe, Asia and South America, so no-one ever claimed it was an original idea. But not only has the giant yellow duck been done overseas, it’s also been done in New Zealand—and not too long ago either.
With a new TV channel about to launch, a few smart cookies at the helm who have well and truly laid the gauntlet at the feet of TVNZ, some positive radio results, good news on the interactive front and a new group buying venture on the horizon, 2011 is destined to be a fairly exciting one for MediaWorks. And, after a summer of reflection, Roger Beaumont, the director of marketing and communications, has decided the house is in good enough order for him to step down from his role.
New Zealand has a nigh-on unhealthy obsession with oversized novelty items. Carrots, L&P bottles, trout, salmon, sheep, kiwifruit… the list goes on. So what better way to celebrate the arrival of MediaWorks’ new mainstream entertainment channel FOUR this weekend than to set a 12 metre high, 14 metre wide inflatable duck loose on Auckland harbour.
Hot on the heels of the Yellow/Groupy deal and in line with the online acquisition strategies of other major media networks, MediaWorks has entered group buying territory, signing a joint venture agreement with Cudo Australia, Microsoft and Nine Entertainment Co. to launch Cudo in New Zealand.
Education is all about aspiration; about the promise of knowledge eventually leading to a better lot for the students and their loved ones. And Special Group’s new ‘Change Starts Here’ brand campaign for the Unitec Institute of Technology aims to tap into that—although in a way not seen before in New Zealand.
Vicky Te Puni
… a dynamic duo is announced for Effie duties, TVNZ’s Breakfast gets its new co-hosts, adstream NZ increases its staff arsenal, MediaWorks says goodbye to some long-serving news staffers and Robyn Janes opens a production outfit in Hokitika. This is the last edition of Movings/Shakings of 2010. There, there, don’t cry. We’ll be back next year and we promise to quench your nigh-on insatiable thirst for employment scandals, unexpected departures, dastardly poachings, new postings (all of which will be written in capital letters to show their importance) and various industry accolades.
It’s all go at MediaWorks TV at the moment. Demographic targets have been tweaked by the new puppetmaster Jason Paris, the Special Groupies are now turning their golden hands to channel rebrands and relaunches and the latest news is that MediaWorks TV has made yet another internal promotion, with Graeme Underwood (aka Woody) taking up the position of general manager, national sales, a role that was vacated by Linda Farrelly when she was promoted to director of sales.
MediaWorks TV launched its new season line-up in Wellington this morning. And the Auckland launch is scheduled for tomorrow. But there’s sure to be slightly more interest in some the programming decisions than there usually is after it announced today that its two major channels are set for a rejig, with C4 being re-launched as a mainstream entertainment channel known as FOUR and TV3 moving directly into TV One’s demographic territory.
New Zealand’s glitterati braved the elements and put on their best ‘take my photo’ smiles, Paul Henry used the c word and the broadcasting industry came together to pat itself on the back for a job well done over the last rather difficult 12 months as the winners of the Qantas Film and Television Awards were announced. And, in the usual stoush between the major networks, TVNZ came out on top.