Stories about TVNZ published on StopPress – Aotearoa/New Zealand’s daily news site for the advertising and marketing industry.
As the campaign promoting MediaWorks’ The Block NZ warms up, TVNZ has launched its campaign for the first local version of My Kitchen Rules (MKR), which will screen in the same 7.30pm primetime slot. And Genesis Energy has been announced as the show’s major sponsor.
Yesterday, Slingshot sent out a release to the media saying that Sky had taken the “unjustified and petty” step not to play any ads from the internet service provider (ISP) that feature references to global mode, a new service that hides the IP addresses of users and gives them access to international video streaming websites such as Netflix and HULU. And now, in a follow-up announcement, Slingshot has confirmed that TVNZ has followed suit by also pulling the plug on ads that reference the controversial service that was unveiled a few weeks ago.
There are times when pop cultural knowledge comes in handy. And The Herald is no doubt wishing some of its staff had watched a bit more Jackass after an embarrassing blunder on the front page of today’s paper.
A doffing of this week’s cap to Skinny, TVNZ, James Hardie and Red Bull.
Over the course of the last few weeks, TVNZ has been riling up support of the Kiwi masses via a serious of humorous TVCs in anticipation of the cross-Tasman battle that will soon see team from New Zealand take on Australia in the latest rendering of The Amazing Race. The campaign has now been shifted into its next stage, which features a cross-Tasman tug of war and a mini Amazing Race featuring local celebs. PLUS: see which records were broken by the premiere of Resurrection.
Many of those who drove to work at the right time on 14 July claim to have found the Kiwi roads free of the traffic jams that usually typify the morning commute. This fortunate state of the road was largely attributable due to the nation’s universities and schools being closed for the winter break, but the fact that 419,000 people (according to Nielsen TAM) tuned in to TV One to watch Germany take on Argentina in the final of the World Cup definitely also played a part.
When it comes to reaching New Zealanders, ye olde traditional broadcast media is still on top, with the results of NZ On Air’s independent media consumption study showing the majority of Kiwis are still consuming lots of linear television and live radio every day. But music audiences, the young and the Asian community are leading the charge to digital platforms.
In the traditional media channels, advertising couldn’t be avoided. When viewers listened to a radio broadcast or watched a television show, ads were an inevitable part of the experience and often provided a momentary break to run to the bathroom or make a cup tea. But with the growing tendency of online viewing, this coerced ad-watching is no longer a given. Simple software downloads, such as AdBlock, now give viewers direct access to the content that they want to watch. So what are media owners doing to protect their advertising?
Now that the Cannes hangovers have subsided and that the lions have been placed on the mantles, attention can shift to the local awards scene, which is currently gearing up for the 23rd edition of the TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards after last week’s announcement of the finalists.
If Nielsen’s World Cup ratings are anything to go by, then it seems that the Kiwi appetite for football has grown over the last four years. On 13 June, 215,000 Kiwis tuned into TV One to watch the opening match of the tournament, a significant jump up from the 61,000 that tuned in for the 2010 opener in South Africa.
Up against an international field of broadcasting heavyweights at the Promax Global Excellence awards in New York last week, TVNZ Blacksand and Sky TV have both walked away with gold and bronze gongs.
Tux, TVNZ and Greenpeace raise their bats and ackowledge the crowd this week.
In an effort to share the festivities with the Kiwis and expats who aren’t fortunate enough to be in Brazil for the World Cup, TVNZ’s Blacksand has set up an ad-hoc carnival in Auckland. Placing the seemingly innocuous duo of a mini-goal and a football alongside a ‘kick me’ sign, the Blacksand team waited out of sight, with their cameras ready, for any passersby to take the bait. Those who did kick the ball into the net were then caught off gaurd by an impromptu carnival made up of football players, samba dancers, capoeira performers and fans from all over the world.
Following on from last year’s elaborate faux real estate campaign for Agent Anna’s first season, TVNZ’s in-house agency Blacksand has again tapped into the fake reality theme for the promotion of the dramedy’s second season. Shot in an actual rental home, the stunt features Robyn Malcolm in character as klutzy Anna Kingston showing real visitors—and potential tenants—around a home, which has been set up with a variety of booby traps that result in some awkward interactions.
Earlier this week, TVNZ caught 12 staff members off guard by announcing that the current affairs show 20/20 would no longer be airing local content from the end of June this year—giving those working on the show just over a month’s notice of the change in direction. PLUS: see what TVNZ had to say about the NZ Herald article by John Drinnan.
On 25 May, after screening the first episode of the second season of House of Cards, MediaWorks made all the episodes for the show available for online viewing via its on-demand service, 3NOW. The new season of the popular Netflix show will be available for 28 days from the release date, giving binge viewers four weeks to squeeze in all 13 episodes. But does this move make sense, given that television has traditionally relied on keeping viewers hooked all the way through? And what is TVNZ doing in this area?
As brands aim to ensure consumers’ see their ads on TV rather than take the time to make a cup of tea, go to the toilet, check their phones or push fast forward, they’re inserting themselves into TV shows and creating new content platforms. And that means integration is becoming increasingly important—and adding more to the coffers of the world’s broadcasters. But it’s a fairly new development and it’s a rapidly evolving sphere, so TVNZ has kicked off a restructure of its Media Solutions and Insights team “in order to deliver better solutions to clients”.
This is just a quick reminder that the entry window for the TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards is almost closed. Although the call for entries deadline is 23 May, this date can be extended to 30 May upon application. Those interested in entering can still download an entry from the event website.
The 2014 TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards have shifted into the next gear of preparation with the announcement of the panel of judges who have been confirmed for this year’s event, which will be hosted at the Langham on 28 August.
As Jeff Bezos says in his book The Everything Store, there are two types of companies: those that exist to raise prices and those to exist to try and lower them. Amazon is in the latter category, of course, whereas most media companies would be in the former. But Q3 has proven to be something of an anomaly, because TVNZ has decreased its ratecard prices while MediaWorks has increased them. So what’s the rationale behind those decisions?
There are a whole heap of great marketing success stories in this country. But you’ve got to be in to win. And you’ve also got to craft a quality entry if you hope to stand out from the pack and win a TVNZ-NZ Marketing Award. So if you want to improve your chances, check out these six pieces of advice from past winners and 2014 judges Wendy Rayner, Ant Rainger, Jacqui Bridges, Michael Pryor and Bryan Crawford.
StopPress understands that .99 has won the FIFA U20 World Cup account after a competitive pitch that involved what is thought to have been four agencies. But it isn’t all good news at the agency at the moment. It has also been confirmed that .99, like its fellow Clemenger-owned agency Colenso BBDO, is currently in the process of letting some staff members go. PLUS: TVNZ wins rights to broadcast 22 games during for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
It has been talked about for years—and experimented with from time to time—but, in what could be seen as the opposite of pull my finger, mall wanderers who push a button on a billboard will get to sample the smell of homemade cooking as part of a new campaign by oOh! Media and TVNZ to promote the new season of My Kitchen Rules Australia. PLUS: the numbers for the show’s first week.
Moves and shakes at Interbrand, TVNZ, Tangible Media, New Zealand Story and Vena.
As the curtains were drawn on the fifth season of MasterChef NZ, the TVNZ team could tap each other on the back for once again dominating the ratings for the duration of the hit show. And this accomplishment will taste even sweeter given that it came in year when MediaWorks attempted take over the food porn throne with its bold—and at first confusing—The Great Food Race.
For some, industry awards are about acknowledging excellence. For many others, they’re more of an excuse to get loose. And, to celebrate last night’s inaugural Beacons, the trio from Auckland Daze put that sentiment into song—and used the power of opera to give those who take their jobs a bit too seriously a prod.
The search has begun for the next 26 winners keen to etch their names in the nation’s marketing history, with the call for entries for the 2014 TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards now open.
Although the release of last week’s ad spend figures by the ASA served to confirm trends that have been obvious for quite some time, a general consensus among those in the industry is that the figures don’t give an accurate reflection of changes that are occurring in the industry. Several senior industry figures share their thoughts on the structure of the annual ad spend report.
Kiwi players are trying different models to grab on demand eyeballs as the use of the platforms grows exponentially. TVNZ expects shows offered ‘first and fast’ will come to join its top on demand content, Sky
has its eye on more live streamed channels and MediaWorks is gaining traction with 3Now.
