Kurt Vonnegut is now seen as a counter-culture icon. But before that he worked in PR for General Electric before he hit the big time. And he can teach people in this industry something, says Kelly Bennett.
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After nine years of owner and directorship of Bare PR, Rebecca Purdy has announced she has sold the business in order to focus on The Generalist PR, a company she started to represent clients who did not fit under the natural umbrella.
As the jandals are replaced by actual shoes and businesses around the country kick back into full gear, Steph Lowe looks at what the year ahead might hold in store for PR practitioners.
You can’t underestimate the power of the All Blacks when it comes to sponsorships. And it’s even better if you can get them half naked, as Jockey did recently as part of a successful activation for New Zealand Fashion Week.
Last night Campbell Live broadcast a show dedicated to the generosity of New Zealanders, GJ Gardner and various suppliers who pitched in to help a couple who had bought a house that was infested with termites. And it was a great example of the power of positivity—and the marketing value of good, genuine corporate citizenship.
One of the country’s larger PR companies, SenateSHJ, has merged with PR Partners in Auckland, bolstering its expertise in consumer and ICT sector and making it one of the largest privately owned communications consultancies in Australasia.
Around one year after launching, One Plus One Communications has signed up as an affiliate of Publicis Groupe-owned MSL Group, which has more than 100 offices in 46 countries. And founder and managing director Kelly Bennett says the deal means it will be able to offer international muscle to local clients if the need arises, add international clients requiring assistance in this market to its roster and potentially work with other Publicis Groupe agencies in New Zealand.
The traditional PR model may be eroding, but PR agencies and corporate comms teams still serve an important business function, says Kelly Bennett.
The University of Canterbury Futures communications team has reigned supreme in its campaign to reinvent itself after the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes, taking home the supreme honour at the 40th annual Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) Awards.
Drones are often associated with remote-controlled killing and maiming in war zones, but they’re starting to find a more peaceful, playful place in the real world, whether it’s taking a selfie with a difference, delivering a pizza or, potentially, dropping off your online purchases. And to announce its arrival in the Auckland market, Energy Online has put one to good use to get punters chatting about a mysterious UFO.
TUANZ CEO Paul Brislen will step down in June after more than three years in the role to join former Porter Novelli execs Jane Sweeney and Carolyn Kerr at their yet-to-be named agency. Brislen’s focus will be on much broader subject matter than the technology sector he’s worked in since the 1990s.
Rather than adopting the shock-inspired approach, DraftFCB has instead chosen to use a PR stunt to show off the utility of the new Sony waterproof MP3 player. The Auckland-based agency dropped the product into a bottle of water and then placed it in vending machines located in areas where the target market would be likely to pass them.
To promote the global release of the new Xbox One console, the folk at Microsoft and Pead PR dropped one into the shark tank at Kelly Tarlton’s Aquarium. Until the official release date at midnight on 21 November, the highly coveted device will be protected by the ocean’s apex predator. And this publicity stunt continues a long tradition of using sharks in marketing.
After departing Eleven PR a few months back and passing the TBWA\ baton to Lauren Vosper, Kelly Bennett has officially launched his new PR consultancy One Plus One Communications and is looking to fill the gap he believes exists “between some of the more well-established, traditional corporate PR agencies and others, which are often housed within advertising agencies or media companies, that offer consumer and activation services”.
Brian Sweeney is a man on a mission to rebrand New Zealand as something other than the land of hobbits and sheep.
There’s been plenty of change at TBWA\ over the past few months, with Todd McLeay and Toby Talbot coming on board to take over from David ‘I’m not fucking retiring’ Walden and Andy Blood. And now there’s some more change, with Eleven PR’s founder and managing partner Kelly Bennett leaving to set up his own corporate public relations business.
ANZ’s corporate affairs and marketing team has already received plenty of plaudits for last year’s horse management. And it has been acknowledged again after winning the PRINZ supreme award for its ‘New Zealand Simplification Project’.
Marian Salzman, chief executive of Havas PR North America, PR Week’s 2011 PR professional of the year, a 2012 addition to PR News’ Hall of Fame and one of Business Insider’s 25 most powerful people in PR, is venturing to New Zealand as the keynote speaker for CAANZ’s international Marcomms forum on 3 July. Here’s what the award-winning blogger, brand marketer, public relations executive and social media innovator had to say about the global move towards real-time creativity, the role of digital and social and how the industry can do more good.
After going through 58 entries from the corporate, consultancy, not-for-profit and government sectors, the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) has announced 23 finalists in its annual industry awards—as well as the addition of Daniel Tisch, chief executive of Argyle Communications in Canada, and chair of the Global Alliance, to the Supreme Award judging panel.
Hazel Phillips’s recent rant about the paucity of some PRs inspired Mango’s Claudia Macdonald to create a list of tips and tricks for those hoping to get into the industry.
Idealog editor Hazel Phillips gets to the root of what annoys her about some PR approaches, while providing a pretty handy list of do’s for those not wishing to gain her wrath.
Free ice cream, t-shirts, Kim Dotcom and the chance to attend the launch of mega.co.nz drew a crowd of more than 200 people outside of the Giapo ice cream parlour in Auckland yesterday.
The modern world is quick to jump on PR fails, and they certainly make for good fodder in an age of rampant sharing on social media. But in an effort to get people to appreciate the complexity of PR issues, Wellington PR agency BlacklandPR has created a list of what it deemed the most difficult PR challeges of 2012. And the merging of Christchurch schools took top spot.
How to measure PR is an ongoing debate and this question was at the centre of a big review by the CAANZ Marcomms Leadership Group last year. And while advertising value equivalent (AVE) has been rejected in many other markets as outdated and insufficient, a survey conducted for Hotwire, the global integrated PR and communications agency, has shown that it’s still prevalent in Australia and New Zealand. So it’s doing its bit to address the issue with the launch of its own meausurement framework.
After nearly eight years in business, PR agency JML Communications is shedding its moniker and rebranding as PR Partners.
They say a good idea come from anywhere. But who gets to execute—and bill for—those ideas? Sue Hamilton thinks it’s time PR agencies put aside their differences, keep hunting for the Holy Grail and worry about the bill later.
As the face of the Student Volunteer Army in the wake of the Christchurch earthquakes, Sam Johnson was an obvious candidate for the title of Young New Zealander of the Year. And now he can add Communicator of the Year to that, with PRINZ honouring him at an event for senior PR pros last week.
Don’t waste people’s time with babble, says Anna St George. Use great content to get customers to know, like, and trust you.
The fourth Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity in Singapore saw close to 5,000 pieces of work submitted from 22 countries across 16 categories. Eleven PR’s managing partner Kelly Bennett participated as a juror in the PR category and shares his thoughts on some of the work and the judging process.
New Zealand is a nation built on exports, and historically they’ve come from the primary sector. All going to plan, the country will be exporting more of its IP in the future and that’s what Eleven PR, which was established in New Zealand, launched in Australia less than two years ago and won the PR agency of the year award at last week’s Mumbrella Awards, is planning to do.