Browsing: opinion

Opinion
Adapt and prosper: how to harness the four big digital trends of 2013
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There are a number of factors that have come together to help shape the key digital trends for the year ahead, says Theresa Clifford. The move to the Cloud over the past three years has revolutionised technology, mobile has become the new platform of choice and the introduction of social media channels has brought with it the need for multi-channel engagement strategies. And, to paraphrase Charles Darwin, it is not the smartest or cleverest that will survive in this digital age, it will be those organisations that are most open to change.

Opinion
Your s*!t Facebook strategy just started costing
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Recently many people have been whingeing that Facebook has changed its algorithms, forcing brands to pay more for the same reach they were getting previously. But, as Justin Flitter writes, perhaps Facebook’s changes simply highlight a weak Facebook strategy built on buying likes with big competitions instead of actual engagement and relationship building.

Opinion
Magazines and the virtuous circle of value
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There is little value in reminding agency folk that magazines are well targeted and engaging, says MPA’s commercial director Katrina Horton, as a recent survey shows everyone’s pretty much in agreement there. But there is value in talking about why magazines are well targeted, how readers are engaged and what this means for advertisers.

Opinion
Love in the time of digital
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The digital realm offers marketers a deep understanding of its customers. But it’s what you do with the understanding that counts. Theresa Clifford with her four principles of customer engagement in the digital age.

Opinion
Rise of the machines
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DraftFCB’s Steph Pearson was one of two winners of Yahoo!’s inaugural Digital Stars competition. And this glimpse into the future of media earned her that title.

Opinion
Personal data leads to personal choice
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In response to an article in yesterday’s Herald based around the fact that New Zealanders have little idea about how their personal information is collected and sold by ‘data brokers’, the Marketing Association’s chief executive Sue McCarty outlines the ways the local marketing community is balancing the protection of consumers’ rights with the right of marketers to add to their business’s success.

Opinion
The future: the Draper and the data
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PHDiQ’s Brendan Hewitt was one of two winners in Yahoo! New Zealand’s inaugural Digital Stars programme. And this opinion piece on the future of the digital realm earned him a trip to Ad:Tech in Sydney next year.

Opinion
Leveraging trust: newspapers on the comeback
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Peter Thomson, founder of media agency M2M International, ventured to New Zealand to present the keynote address at the New Zealand newspaper industry’s biggest night, the newspaper advertising awards. And given newspapers have survived the advent of radio in the 1930s, cinema news in the ‘40s and TV in the ‘50s, he believes there is no reason to believe they won’t prosper in the digital age.

Opinion
Confessions of an advertising standards nitpicking professional
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Around one year ago, Mi9’s Dan Robertson put his hand up to be a representative of the ‘dark side’ on the ASA complaints board. To his surprise, that label turned out to be bang on, with advertising that would in most cases generate complaints in other mediums often flying imperiously online. And, as online advertising takes a bigger slice of the pie, he thinks that needs to change.

Opinion
The delicate art of the cease and desist letter
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Earlier this year, Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc issued a cease and desist letter to author Patrick Wensink regarding the cover design of his recent novel, Broken Piano For President, which closely resembled the Jack Daniel’s whiskey label. And, as AJ Park’s Damian Broadley and Jude Antony write, the company’s response is a great reminder that the tone and approach of any communication should be carefully considered.

Opinion
The Facebook fallacy and the problem with personalisation
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I remember when Michael Wolff was very bullish about the internet in the 1990s, so when he starts sounding warning bells, we had better take heed. And the way he paints Facebook—and a belief that its advertising model will eventually collapse for being so limited—is not unfamiliar to anyone who ever wondered, during the dot-com boom, just why those companies were worth that much.

Opinion
You’re invited to my party
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My four-year old had a birthday party a while back. Nothing fancy, just a few mates, an obstacle course, a cake, a piñata, goody bags – the usual stuff. But the build up to that birthday was something else. He was so excited that anyone and everyone got an invitation. And it got me thinking: what’s the difference between a four-year old birthday party and a customer loyalty programme? If the boy is the brand, the product is fun and the party gives you double points on Tuesdays; here’s why I think there’s stuff we can learn from four year olds.

Opinion
The pros and cons of anonymity
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Given the attitude of ‘the normals’ towards marketing and advertising, it’s fair to say the industry has a few perception issues. Before I started this job, I envisaged being in the eye of the wankery storm in Auckland, surrounded by people who wore shiny shirts, drove ridiculous cars and used business jargon with absolutely no sense of irony. That’s occasionally true, of course, and my Invercargill-based parents are obviously deeply ashamed at what I’ve become, but, in my relatively short time spent writing about the industry, I’ve found it to be, by and large, full of exceptionally smart, talented, creative, hard-working, hard-playing, competitive and often very opinionated businesspeople. For some, the fact that it attracts extroverts is part of the industry’s appeal. For others, however, some these extroverts—and their often anonymous views posted on websites like this—give the industry an air of unprofessionalism. So, as we get set to relaunch StopPress, we thought it was a good time to delve into the thorny issue of online opinions.

Opinion
Same old ideas, exceptional execution: Cannes and the seven creative territories
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“But I had that idea.” Spend any time in an agency creative department and you’ll hear that a lot. It’s usually true. In fact, if I think back a decade to adschool (and communications theory before that) there’s a well-founded, pointy-headed theory that there are only seven creative territories. And, just like the seven musical notes, true creativity is about the song you choose to write. So what better place to explore that theory than through the winners of this year’s Film Lions? I spotted six of the seven core thoughts—same old ideas, incredible craft. Or, to mis-quote Edison, one percent inspiration, 99 percent execution.

Opinion
Nefarious business or holy grail? The thorny business of endorsements
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We were interested to read about Ian Smith’s apparently coincidental attack of the Pures during his commentary of the first All Blacks vs Ireland test, a three match series being sponsored by Steinlager, which is soon to launch its 2012 campaign featuring a new ambassador ($10 says it’s Ian Smith). Lion and Sky denied there was any attempt at nefarious aural product placement. But even if there was, it’s highly unlikely it would do anything: remember the old wives’ tale about subliminal messages being played in movie theatres that supposedly made people buy more Coke and popcorn?

Opinion
State of the experiential nation
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I was lucky enough to recently attend the largest Event & Experiential Marketing summit in the world in Chicago. I immersed myself in three days of learning with over 500 others from around the world and came away feeling a whole bunch of things: inspired (absolutely), brain whipped (definitely), and connected (in a myriad of ways). But mostly I feel charged up about the future of the industry in New Zealand.

Opinion
Home brand is where the supermarkets’ hearts are
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With the recent opening of New World and Countdown Metro in Auckland’s CBD, it seems New Zealand supermarkets are following in the footsteps of their overseas counterparts. While I can’t hide my excitement in having convenience re-enter my life, I do wonder if this may be the start of a slippery slope. Once the supermarket giant shows its face, it’s only a matter of time before the own brand phenomenon takes hold, a development that could mean the bounty of boutique food producers that currently grace our shelves may be squeezed out.

Opinion
Everything is dead: Kevin Roberts on life in a ‘super VUCA world’
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The {insert thing here} is dead theme is a very common one in an industry that’s enamoured with the new. Newspapers are dead, magazines are dead, TV is dead, retail is dead, radio is dead, full-service agencies are dead .. and the list goes on. Typically, these rather evangelical assertions come from those with a barrow to push, not from those who are part of the ‘establishment’. So we were surprised to read a story about Saatchi & Saatchi’s global chief executive Kevin Roberts claiming marketing is dead, strategy is dead, management is dead and big ideas are dead in a presentation he gave at The IoD’s Annual Convention. 

Opinion
Large hangover leads to sausage rolls, pointless post about lookalike
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Sam RB, writer and performer of NZ's Olympic song 

Former prime minister Helen Clark

As is customary at this time of year, StopPress is suffering from some serious AXIS-related brain functionality issues today. And not even early morning sausage rolls have been able to help. So, in honour of last night’s winning Doggelganger campaign–and to fill some space without really having to think—here’s a lookalike.

Opinion
Off to the social: nzgirl and the journey towards ‘social magazines’
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Launched pre-Google and pre-Facebook, nzgirl was one of the first kids on the online block with its first release all the way back in December 1999. Since then it’s had a few incarnations and we’ve ventured into clothing and merchandise, retail stores and an advertising network. But the one constant amongst 13 years of change has been that it keeps on keeping on. And through all the twists and turns I’ve taken it on in pursuit of the holy digital grail, the site itself, which was relaunched today, has continued to perform. 

Opinion
Air New Zealand’s rare loyalty miscue—UPDATED
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I fly a lot. I fly a lot with Air New Zealand. It’s my favourite airline in the world and I consider myself an honorary Air New Zealander (the name that Air NZ uses for its employees). Everywhere I go I evangelise my airline (Air New Zealand is owned, in part, by the New Zealand taxpayer so it is, in effect, my airline). So, given all this, it’s a sad day when I’m forced to write a post bemoaning a move that New Zealand’s airline makes.

Opinion
Data, data everywhere, but nothing worth a drink
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“And the winner is… no one.” That was the result for the top prize at this year’s Nexus Awards after the judges scratched their data-weary heads and decided New Zealand’s best data work wasn’t good enough to justify the big prize. There was lots of talk about standards to maintain and excellence required and all the rest of it. But the bottom line is: we went backwards. We all got together to celebrate the best data thinking of 2011 and our standout result was “please try harder”.

Opinion
Why are the malls not empty yet?
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Apparently retail is dead. Online shopping is destroying it and, if you believe the hype,all the malls will soon be full of tumble-weeds. Due to constantly improving and sophisticated e-commerce, e-tailers like Amazon, or little online ‘stores’ set up and run through TradeMe it would seem that consumers have very little incentive to shop at brick and mortar stores any more. The social aspects of shopping are now being attacked by start-ups like Svpply. And group buying and the tipping point theory are still there as well. So why are the malls are not empty yet?

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