Author archives
January 27th, 2012 by Ben Fahy
Mobile devices are basically seen as a necessity these days and, like a dog without its bone, there’s almost nothing more depressing than seeing a modern human try to function without its phone. For marketers, these devices offer some very exciting creative possibilities, and MediaWorks has jumped on the ‘social TV’ bandwagon and released what it believes is a world-first smartphone app called Pluk that uses audio recognition technology to deliver content from the TV straight to the user’s phone. Read more »
January 26th, 2012 by Ruby Porter
It’s not just Whitcoulls, with its very public financial struggle and consequent sale in mid-last year, that is being affected by the slow sales of books in New Zealand. With literacy levels dropping year on year, the lack of trading is also keeping our country’s authors downtrodden and many of our stories untold. But the New Zealand Book Council, just like other separate entities like NZ Book Month, which won the not-for-profit gong at the TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards last year for trying to put a book in the hands of every Kiwi, is out to change this. And it’s latest ad, which was made by Colenso BBDO and follows up from the haunting and very well-awarded Going West with some more engaging paper artistry, aims to show the printed word can shape and inspire. Read more »
January 26th, 2012 by Ben Fahy
If you believe the digital doomsayers, free-to-air TV is currently experiencing death by a thousand cuts. But in New Zealand, it seems as though TV is slowly clawing its way back to the good old days after data released by industry body ThinkTV showed a two percent or $11 million rise in total ad revenue to $618 million for 2011, up from $607 million in 2010 and $569 million in 2009. Read more »
January 25th, 2012 by Ben Fahy
After a few years of quiet on the Y&R NZ front, it’s been pretty much all good news recently, with a host of new accounts locked in and some big creative hires to brag about. And it’s continued down that positive track by naming Saatchi & Saatchi Wellington’s associate creative director Scott Henderson as its creative director in Wellington.
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January 25th, 2012 by Ben Fahy
In what will be a big loss for both Colenso BBDO and the New Zealand marcomms community, planning director, talented author, effectiveness evangelist and well-liked bearded brain box James Hurman has accepted the role of planning partner at Ogilvy Shanghai, bringing an end to four very successful years on College Hill. Read more »
January 25th, 2012 by Ruby Porter
It hasn’t been a particularly ice block friendly summer in New Zealand. But at least the ice block advertising looks to be of good quality, because, for the second month in a row, ice blocks have run away with Colmar Brunton’s Ad Impact Award after Tip Top’s ‘Tongue Twista’ Popsicle ad was judged the winner of the December round. Read more »
January 24th, 2012 by Ben Fahy
Who’s it for:Open Polytechnic by Ogilvy Wellington, Firstlight Productions and Teaspoon Films.
Why we like it: A very well-made and engaging TVC that backs up the successful Open World campaign and zeroes in on the Open Polytechnic’s main competitive advantage: relative freedom. With time increasingly of the essence these days, it … Read more »
January 24th, 2012 by Ben Fahy
Barnes, Catmur & Friends won the Tourism Fiji account in mid-2009 and set out on its mission to grow New Zealand visitor arrivals from 100,000 per year to 120,000 by 2011. Since it took over, and despite the ongoing political uncertainty, arrivals have gone up 18 percent on the back of some good creative comms, including an enticing TVC, a billboard that showed how hot it was in Fiji during the New Zealand winter and a well-received Adshel promotion that ‘Fiji’ed’ a few hundred locals. But, despite these local results, Tourism Fiji has decided the best approach to “ensure the best possible return on the Fiji Government’s significant annual investment in marketing Fiji to the world and to effectively position Fiji competitively into the future” is to find a lead global advertising agency to develop and implement a new global masterbrand strategy. Read more »
January 24th, 2012 by Ben Fahy
As brands try to rise above the rabble and somehow etch themselves into the minds of consumers in a positive fashion, experiential marketing—and the associated brand generosity—is becoming much more prevalent. And, as the multi-faceted Great Pascall Road Trip campaign shows, these experiential elements are increasingly becoming the glue that helps bind major promotions together. Read more »
January 20th, 2012 by Ben Fahy
It was not without a sigh and a grunt that agencies with relaxation on their minds received a notice from the Treasury on December 15 asking for interested parties to put their hands up if they wanted to work on the ‘extension of the mixed ownership model’ account. They obviously don’t know Christmas is a time of reflection for the marcomms industry. But it seems the biggest live pitch at the moment (aside from the decision on Vodafone, which is still thought to be in the hands of the global bods), is now down to the shortlist stage. Read more »
