It’s been a rough ride, and with the whiff of restructure in the air, there will undoubtedly be a bit more roughness to come. But Telecom has steadied the ship in 2012 and, with Jason Paris at the helm and a resurgent Saatchi & Saatchi helping to create one of the best campaigns of the year, it is starting to get back on the goodfoot from a brand and storytelling point of view. Head of brand and insights Charlotte Findlay takes the stage.
1) Favourite campaign that isn’t yours
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvdHrjJP3Nw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_RowU43ncwPak ‘n Save Stick Man. A great advertising property that continues to deliver wit and hard out retail at the same time. And Lindauer. Intoxicatingly good music.
2) Favourite campaign that is yours
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_F0KUB0puoTommy and Boris.
3) Least favourite campaign
All the banks. ‘We live in your world’. Do you really? Feels like a lot of cash is being spent on life-philosophising across all the banks, rather than on new services, web and app improvements etc (the Westpac Queen St branch refit is pretty cool, though).
4) Best brand
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bSA0vIRczwZ. Brave move to rebrand, forecourt concierges, huge employee engagement, ‘good in the hood’ initiatives.
5) Best stoush
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlfPtwrwhm4iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3. How inspired of Samsung to use the iconic Apple queue for its own ends.
6) Heroes
Gus Roberts & Corey Chalmers at Saatchi & Saatchi. Thanks for making Telecom’s ads New Zealand’s most popular.
7) Villains
Refer banks above.
8) Most memorable marketing moment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-b7rYgzzpMRoad death campaigns continuing to do some of the best storytelling, bordering on mini-dramas, like Ghost Chips and Donna Time.
9) A few predictions for 2013
Data-driven marketing being less of a talkfest and more of a reality. Everyone’s been talking about this being the central plank of their marketing plans, but in 2013, it feels like this will become more of a reality for marketing departments, including ours.
More in-house creative shops being set up/utilised.
Smartphones as the preeminent tool in the majority of New Zealanders’ lives. Secure contactless payments via smartphones will also become more common as trials such as ours with Westpac and Auckland Transport come to fruition. In fact, we hope our joint venture mobile wallet technology will be available towards the end of 2013.
