As the number of screens we own rises and content that was once limited to the TV spreads its way across new platforms, it appears ye olde faithful television is remaining resilient with Kiwis yet to avert their eyes entirely according to the latest New Zealand multi-screen report by Nielsen.
Prime TV has unveiled a new, colourful look to coincide with the new programming schedule for its 2016 season.
In 2014, Noel Leeming took a break from the regular retail approach of shouting about price and product to revamp its brand and launch a platform that focused on explaining what the items in store—and their underlying technology—enabled. This repositioning cost the company around $5 million, and it is now looking to build on this investment by rolling under a series of new spots that again focus on telling the stories of the products.
TVNZ is looking to offer advertisers a means by which to reach male audiences through a new free-to-air TV channel. We chat to the broadcaster’s chief executive Kevin Kenrick about why it’s made this move.
In 2015, the maturation of New Zealand’s SVOD market was tracked in the column inches of media journalists across the industry. And this trend has already continued this year with Netflix making headlines by extending its service to 130 countries across the world and then saying that it was looking into clamping down on VPN users to ensure they can’t log into global content. We chat to Lightbox chief executive Kym Niblock about what’s likely to happen in the SVOD market in 2016.
Over the last two years, TVNZ has invested significantly in large-scale campaigns to keep Shortland Street fans engaged with the show during the summer hiatus. And as was the case last year, the strategy has paid off with the latest campaign resulting in over 410,000 interactions. PLUS: Shortland Street fan dresses in black to mourn the passing of Dr Wendy Cooper.
The ladles and the drills came to blows last year, as the local editions of My Kitchen Rules (MKR NZ) and The Block saw TVNZ and MediaWorks go head to head with their respective multi-night format shows. And the competitive banter between the networks is set to continue this year, with both shows returning to Kiwi screens. The first round of the bout went to MediaWorks, with the Block coming out on top in the 25-54 demographic as it attracted an audience of 158,800, narrowly ahead of the 157,100 people who tuned in to watch MKR.
The decision to place an aged loved one into assisted care is never easy. On the one side you have the pride of the the grandmother or grandfather, who has been independent for longer than their children have been alive. And then on the other side, you have the children who don’t want their parents to feel as though they’re being imprisoned in a home. And in its new TV ad by Rainger & Rolfe and Film Construction, Oceania Healthcare addresses this awkward situation by showing that sometimes both the parents and their children are on the same page without realising it.
In an ongoing series, StopPress talks to a range of newsmakers to find out how those trying to shine lights into dark places are keeping their own lights on and whether commercial realities are leading to editorial compromise. Next up, Ben Fahy talks with TVNZ’s chief executive Kevin Kenrick.
It has become commonplace for the organisers of corporate events to encourage those in attendance to Tweet about the experience. And last night’s TVNZ NZ Marketing Awards was no different. Throughout proceedings, references were made to #TVNZmightymarketer and some of the well-dressed folk responded had a bit of fun on the platform. Here’s a rundown of the action as told through Tweets.
It isn’t difficult to find someone making a negative comment about Sky TV’s service on social media. The broadcaster is a proverbial punching bag, with shots regularly flying in from Kiwis across all the available channels. And yet, despite the continuous stream of negativity, Sky’s revenue and profits continue to rise at a time when digital disruption is cutting a huge chunk out of the profitability of the other broadcasters.
Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.
While Sky was officially founded 28 years ago in 1987, it was first beamed into New Zealand households 25 years ago. And to celebrate the silver anniversary it’s got a bunch of artists to capture the essence of why we watch TV. And it’s also repaying the loyalty of subscribers by offering them an opportunity to win one of 25 fan experiences in New Zealand and around the world.
Accenture recently showed that 87 percent of individuals watch TV with their devices within arm’s reach, meaning that a smartphone can quickly become a medium by which to escape the advertising that punctuates a television show. Add to this the fact that Google’s recent Consumer Barometer report showed that 72 percent of Kiwis own a smartphone and that almost a quarter of the population now access the internet more often via a smartphone than any other device and it becomes clear that smartphones are a place where brands should be. This is not to say that television, which continues to reach 92 percent of the population, should be abandoned as an advertising channel, but that it should rather be used in conjunction with other available channels. Snakk Media has just launched a way for Kiwi advertisers to do this.
Today, MediaWorks announced via a story published on 3News that John Campbell would be leaving Campbell Live and that the show would be replaced by an alternative current affairs programme in the 7pm slot. The new show is expected to start within the next six to eight weeks and will run Monday to Thursday, with a yet-to-be-announced entertainment show running on Friday evenings.
Last night, an average of 333,000 Kiwis tuned in to watch Beau Monga crowned as the winner of the second season of The X Factor NZ. And although this was well below the 446,000 viewers that tuned in for the last finale in 2013, MediaWorks spokesperson Rachel Lorimer saw some positives in the numbers.
While Sky was incorporated in 1987, its social channels were drawing attention to its 25th birthday yesterday. The remotes have changed a lot in that time, as has the broader media market, and while it still counts over half of the country’s 1.6 million households as subscribers and raked in record profits last year, there’s no doubt the competition has ramped up significantly in recent years. So, in honour of this milestone, here’s a story we wrote last year about Sky’s fruitful relationship with its long-serving agency DDB.
We keep hearing it: TV is dead and digital is the dream; your ticket to ever-lasting marketing glory. But BrandWorld’s Mike O’Sullivan says TV is still alive and well and consumers’ passion for video shows no sign of letting up.
After farts, contestant scandals and fiery familial encounters, The Bachelor NZ concluded on Wednesday and, according to data from Nielsen, the finale attracted 900,500 viewers. This number averaged out at 461,1000 over the course of the show, and the ratings show that 227,100 viewers in the 25-54 demographic tuned in to watch Art Green choose Matilda Rice over Dani Robinson.
“When the copyright owners are posting videos of Taylor Swift [to YouTube] before giving them to us to play it leads us to question why we exist,” says Flame Tree Media founder and director Dan Wrightson. And for this reason he’s decided to change direction of the channel after 21 years.
Fly Buys has released a new campaign via Clemenger BBDO that emphasises the variety of rewards members can get with Fly Buys and how easy it is to receive them by simply “getting stuff free by doing the stuff you do every day”.
he Cricket World Cup final on Sunday saw nearly half the nation sitting on the edge of their seats rooting for the Black Caps as Sky’s viewer ratings soared. The 11-hour match attracted a whopping 1,964,500 viewers across Sky Sport and Prime TV, with free-to-air channel Prime posting its highest ratings ever, according to Sky’s director of communications Kirsty Way.
Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.
It’s still early days, but The Bachelor NZ has thus far performed well for MediaWorks, particularly in the 25-54 category that media agencies prioritise when purchasing ad slots. According to Nielsen’s online ratings, the show has attracted over 100,000 viewers aged between 25 to 54 in each of the episodes that have screened to date. And these ratings have been consolidated by strong on-demand stats as well. PLUS: MediaWorks looks into introducing a registration model to its 3Now platform.
Until recently, advertising across MediaWorks’ various properties was sold by independent sales arms. And while this approach worked at a time when the lines between channels were clearly defined, it has become largely impracticable to a company that is already running integrated campaigns on major shows and is also on the verge of launching an ambitious cross-channel show fronted by Paul Henry. Since last May MediaWorks has been restructuring its sales teams, and the company’s head of revenue Liz Fraser and commerical director Paul Hancox believe they have now finalised a structure that is better suited to a landscape typified by blurred media lines.
Netflix, which launched in the Kiwi market today, yesterday announced that its pricing structure will include three different subscription options: $9.99 for single-stream standard definition plan; $12.99 for a two-stream high-definition plan; or $15.99 for a four-stream ultra-high definition plan. And this announcement has been met with swift responses by the players currently in the market. PLUS: traditional broadcasters also announce some changes.
It’s been exciting times at MediaWorks in recent months, with big restructures in the business and man-slaughterers, fraudsters, bullies and drink drivers featuring on TV. Across at TVNZ, there hasn’t been quite as much drama and its new reality format Our First Home has been plodding along rather than taking the nation by storm, but one moment has made it to US clip show The Soup. Plus: searches for the word ‘fart’ spike after a case of flatulence on The Bachelor NZ.
MediaWorks’ decision to fire X Factor NZ judges husband and wife duo Natalia Kills and Willy Moon, after their scathing comments towards contestant Joe Irvine, has had a positive impact on the show’s rating, lifting viewership by 100,000 sets of eyes. Plus: a look at some of MediaWorks’ other missteps over the last few weeks.
Television and movie producers—and advertisers—are always looking for new and interesting ways to incorporate modern technology into their storytelling techniques. Here are a few interesting examples.
TVNZ’s new reality DIY show Our First Home is showing early signs that it might have what it takes to dispossess The Block NZ (screened by MediaWorks) of its throne as the nation’s most-watched reno-reality show. According to data from Nielsen, the show had a viewer rating of 456,000 for its first episode—and TVNZ’s commissioner of factual entertainment Tony Manson believes that the show has enough substance to keep Kiwis entertained throughout the season. Update: ratings in the 25-44 demographic.