Latest :: StopPress

Rookie marketer of the year: Jasmine Griffin, J.H. Whittaker & Sons

By StopPress Team, 2012-09-04 10:54:16

In just 18 months, Jasmine Griffin has helped turn Whittaker’s from a fairly traditional FMCG marketer into a company lauded for its digital and social media savviness.

TVNZ profits plump up as Kenrick looks to review strategic direction

By Ben Fahy, 2012-09-04 09:27:13

TVNZ's balance sheet took a hit last year after the ill-fated TiVo investment was written off. But, despite an almost $4 million decrease in underlying earnings, the bottom line is looking healthier, with after tax profit for the year ended 30 June 2012 increasing from $2.1 million in 2011 to $14.2 million this year. PLUS: new chief executive Kevin Kenrick's speech at the TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards.

MediaWorks attempts to bridge the US gap with Fast Four sub-brand

By Ben Fahy, 2012-09-04 08:41:04

One of New Zealand's perennial entertainment bugbears is the fact we have to wait a bit longer for our content than many other markets. It certainly doesn't seem quite as bad as it once was, but, due to the big spoiler known as the internet, the delay is still bad enough to get Coro St fans riled up. And you don't want to see Coro St fans when they're angry. So, to try and remedy this national sense of FOMO (and perhaps limit the associated pirating), MediaWorks has unveiled a new sub-brand called Fast Four that trumpets the fact Kiwis will be able to watch some of their favourite shows on-air within a week of their world premiere.

Telecom and Droga5 answer a few curly customer queries with new straight-talkin', animal-heavy website

By Ben Fahy, 2012-09-03 15:38:47

The 'new Telecom' carries with it a fair bit of baggage, some of it well-deserved and based on its legacy, some of it based on misperceptions and a general lack of understanding about the oft-confusing telco realm. And in an effort to address some of those issues, Telecom has taken the fairly brave step of opening itself up to the masses and launching a new website called www.whytelecom.co.co.nz that's part PR campaign, part customer service innovation and part public service announcement. And, in quintessential Telecom fashion, it's gone heavy on the animals.

Marketing Excellence: Air New Zealand and Rob Fyfe

By StopPress Team, 2012-09-03 11:30:00

From product and price to advertising and loyalty, Air New Zealand is customer-centric at every point of the experience and marketing-led at every point of the business. And its consistency over the past three years makes it a worthy winner of the inaugural Marketing Excellence award.

As big as the printing press: Alec Ross on the wonders—and dangers—of the web

By Esther Goh, 2012-09-03 09:52:03

It is a scientifically proven fact (or will be, once somebody gets around to studying it) that the internet favours extremes. Trolls (like spammers) are inescapable. And as senior advisor for innovation to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Alec Ross said in his keynote address to the Project Revolution conference last week, moderation and compromise tend to get punished in the process.

Get caught in Charlie Robertson’s web of effectiveness

By StopPress Team, 2012-09-03 09:24:39

For all you effectiveness sponges out there, Red Spider Network's Charlie Robertson, a world leading strategic planner in brand strategy and communications and the international guest judge for this year’s Effie Awards, will be spreading the good word tomorrow night at at a function hosted by CAANZ, TVNZ and AUT Business School.

Tasti and Contagion dial up the Kiwiana

By Ben Fahy, 2012-09-03 09:03:48

Despite the almost audible industry sigh whenever another campaign is released with a focus on New Zealandness—and there's been a few of them recently—the fact remains that New Zealanders are quite interested in themselves and their culture. And Tasti and Contagion have taken that to the nth degree with a campaign that hopes to find 'New Zealand's Kiwiest Kiwi'.

Kiwi kids are winning kids: Belowtheline takes big haul at APPA awards

By StopPress Team, 2012-08-31 13:10:59

Following on from its performance in the recent APMA Star Awards, marketing and promotional agency Belowtheline has won big at this year's APPA Awards, taking home five awards including a gold, two silvers and two bronzes.

Supreme + Automotive: Volkswagen New Zealand

By StopPress Team, 2012-08-31 12:46:59

We'll be showcasing all the winners of the TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards on StopPress over the coming days. And we're kicking things off with big winner Volkswagen, which invested heavily in indigenous research and advertising to better connect the brand with Kiwis, launched some very successful new products and quickly went from ‘niche street to main street’.

Movings/Shakings: 31 August

By StopPress Team, 2012-08-31 11:27:49

Alana Schultheis joins The Pond, Michael Cornwell takes Samsung NZ's top marketing gig, Mango nabs a triple, Luke Shanahan goes global with Robber's Dog, and VeNA looks on the Bright side.

Beer chase! Beer hands! Happiness! Flexy time! Black out! Time-travelling rodents! Spot the difference! Armstrong! Freudian slip!

By Ben Fahy, 2012-08-31 10:48:14

Cops and robbers like you've never seen, overcoming a glassy affliction, how the iPhone5 will bring you true happiness, Old Spice flexes its musical muscles, Guinness paints it black, the Kia hampsters go to the opera, Louis Vuitton plays spot the difference, the trouble with two Armstrongs, a classic Freudian slip, a condescending corporate brand page, BBH's sarcastic Cecelia prize, entertaining reviews of the Bic pen for ladies, and meat paintings.

From sluggish German to lively local: Volkswagen drives off with supreme TVNZ-NZ Marketing award in the boot

By Ben Fahy, 2012-08-30 23:59:00

2012 marks the 21st anniversary of the TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards. And, in keeping with the traditions of the land, it emerged into adulthood this year with a new central theme of Everything Marketing and eight new categories, including financial, technology, automotive, utilities/communications, lifestyle/travel/leisure and sponsorship. And coming out at the head of the field with the supreme award was Volkswagen, with ex-Westpac and soon-to-be BNZ head of brand Ian Moody named as marketer of the year, Whittaker's Jasmine Griffin named as rookie marketer of the year, Air New Zealand taking the marketing excellence award and Pfizer, Z Energy and Red Witch both picking up multiple awards.