Last night New Zealand’s TV talent celebrated the technical nouse of local producers at the New Zealand Television Craft Awards, and it was Lippy Pictures’ Jean that owned the night as it claimed eight of the 10 craft awards. PLUS: the finalists of the New Zealand Television Awards have been announced.
The market is set to get a sharper picture of New Zealand’s viewing behaviour as the local TV Peoplemeter panel grows by 50 percent across New Zealand. And while The Commercial Communications Council and ANZA have welcomed the change, there’s still a missed opportunity to ensure accurate reporting of ad breaks.
The first season of The Block NZ was a huge success for MediaWorks. For the sponsors, however, it surpassed even their high expectations of what television can do.
Masthead advertising company BrandWorld has added another brand to its stable, with The Extra Mile aiming to attract corporates that have positive tales to tell. And it’s got some fairly big names on board to tell them.
NZTA, Clemenger BBDO and The Sweet Shop’s Legend campaign became something of a pop cultural phenomenon when it was released last year, with a couple of lines quickly becoming part of the Kiwi vernacular, t-shirts bearing images of Ghost Chips being worn around the country, and hundreds of parodies, spoof ads and TradeMe auctions referencing the original. And while all those involved in its creation are still smarting a little after the most talked about ad of 2011 went home without any gold at the AXIS awards, it appears there is some justice in the world, because it quite rightly received 11 percent of the vote to win the StopPress/ThinkTV TVC of the Year.
Total online advertising spend in New Zealand for Q1 2012 totalled $79 million, up $11 million year-on year. But that figure is down almost $10 million on Q3 2011. And over on TV, total television advertising revenue for the March quarter rose four percent to $125 million, up $4 million on the first quarter of 2011.
Television viewing in New Zealand is at its highest ever level and television advertising took the top spot off newspapers for the first time ever last year according to the ASA ad revenue figures. So reports of its death appear to be, as the saying goes, greatly exaggerated. Of course, recording technology means interruptive advertising ain’t what it used to be and you can’t just buy attention like you used to, but despite the many digital distractions that are now available to brands and agencies, the power of a good TV ad is still unquestionable, primarily because it is one of the best ways for brands to convey emotion, tell stories and, in most cases, get their messages in front of as many humans as possible.
Nielsen has now implemented its new Unitam model, which takes into account both overnight viewing and time-shifted viewing and also features an expanded panel, so it marks a new step in the way TV ratings are gathered in New Zealand. Added to that, the two major broadcasters are both back into full swing and many of the big new and returning shows that were trumpeted at the vastly different new season launches last year are now on the box. So how is New Zealand watching? And how are the new season ratings stacking up?
Last year New Zealanders spent more time than ever watching television. While the average person’s viewing time of three hours and 22 minutes per day remained unchanged from 2010, more people tuned in each day, resulting in growth of total hours viewed up two percent.
They used to be called the Qantas Film and Television Awards, but after Qantas grounded all its flights (metaphorically speaking) last year for this and the Media Awards, the name of the screen industry’s night of nights has now been changed to the Aotearoa Film & Television Awards (AFTAs) and Aviso Design has created a new logo that ThinkTV chief executive Rick Friesen says better reflects the nature of the awards.
A couple of weeks back, a group of ridiculously good looking, extremely important and intimidatingly intelligent advertising, marketing and media folk from Skyline Garages, Barnes, Catmur & Friends, ThinkTV and StopPress took a wee trip to the new and particularly classy Auckland Viaduct establishment Snapdragon to celebrate a famous, if slightly controversial, victory in the inaugural Think TV TVC of the Year competition with a good old-fashioned long and fairly wet lunch. We promised some photos of this auspicious event to inspire jealousy (and possibly even vitriolic comments), so fill your boots. And if you’re looking for a venue for your next event (or power lunch), we can assure you Snapdragon is a very good option.
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…as Fiona Woolley swaps postage for precision German engineering, Insight Creative hires a new strat man, Matt Shirtcliffe reprises a South African role, 3rdeye gets Pearced, Nicky Dunn swaps TV for shoes and Oktobor finds a new friend in Radiate Sound.
Who’s it for: Whittaker’s Peanut Slab by Assignment Group
Why we like it: Good honest chocolate. Very good entertaining montage. And there are plenty more very funny ‘swear by the slab’ moments here.
Who’s it for: Persil and Curious Film
Why we like …
Despite the beliefs of slightly extremist doomsayers who claim television is dying and the days of big brand ads and mass awareness marketing are over, most would agree that television commercials are still one of the most effective ways for brands to convey emotion, tell stories and, in most cases, get their messages in front of humans. Since StopPress was sent into the wild in September 2009, we’ve been celebrating that collision of art and commerce in our TVC of the Week section, which, as the name suggests, showcases what we deem to be the best locally-created TV ad(s) of the past seven days. It’s supremely unscientific, of course: it has nothing to do with research, testing or sales figures, it’s simply based on gut feel; on whether an ad is funny, beautiful, engaging, well-made, memorable, creative or occasionally even so bad it’s good. Well, now we’re taking it a step further with the first annual StopPress/ThinkTV TVC of the Year Award. So get in there and vote for the ads that have tickled your fancy in the past year.
It’s good news for broadcasters, couch sellers and pizza delivery folk, but it’s bad news for obesity campaigners: the latest research from newly established industry body ThinkTV has shown New Zealanders spent more time than ever watching television in 2010, with the average square-eyed Kiwi tuning in for three hours and 22 minutes every day, 20 percent more than in 2007.
For decades, TV has been seen as the go-to medium when it comes to mass awareness marketing. But, with other media eating into its share as consumers modify their media habits, it isn’t the eyeball powerhouse it once was. TV is still a very attractive proposition, however, and is undoubtedly the best way for brands to tell stories, so the major New Zealand broadcasters have joined forces in an effort to start talking themselves up and launched a spruced up, industry funded organisation called ThinkTV.