In a recent column in NZ Marketing (and again in StopPress) John Baker expressed some opinions on the recent launch of Standard Media Index (SMI) in New Zealand and on media agencies in general. Paul Head, the chief executive of CAANZ, responds to some of the specific comments on behalf of its member media agencies.
There’s been plenty of spy-related news recently after the Edward Snowden leak. So it’s pretty good timing for the launch of CAANZ and TBWA\’s Effies call for entries campaign, which taps into the shadowy world of blacked out documents, lie-detection. and subterfuge. Perhaps they know more than they’re letting on?
The Cannes Lions are looming and, as Colenso BBDO’s managing director Nick Garrett said in a recent interview about the refreshed Axis Awards, “something has a better chance at the end of a 12 month cycle if it’s had exposure and has started to do well at international awards”. So can we predict how the Kiwi agencies might do at the world’s most prestigious industry awards? Here’s a league table from the Axis Awards based on the same points system used by Cannes (and CAANZ), with one point for a finalist, three points for bronze, five points for silver, seven points for gold and ten points for grand prix.
Hazel Phillips’s recent rant about the paucity of some PRs inspired Mango’s Claudia Macdonald to create a list of tips and tricks for those hoping to get into the industry.
After a record 290 entries across 21 categories, 99 finalists have made it through to the final rounds of judging for the Media Awards. And the usual suspects are on top, with OMD on 36 finalists (11 from its Wellington office), Spark PHD on 20 and DraftFCB Media on 16.
TBWA\ welcomes more new blood, Brendan Hewitt gets the nod as a rising media star, Marlen Smith pushes the CAANZ advertising barrow, Beat gets growing and Hotwire launches new analytics tool.
After last year’s Axis Awards, shit hit fans when two of the country’s best campaigns—NZTA’s Ghost Chips and Steinlager’s ‘We Believe’—were largely snubbed. Since then, CAANZ, the CAANZ board and a collection of the country’s executive creative directors have been working together to make sure it doesn’t happen again. And a few important changes were announced at an event last night at The Bluestone Room in Auckland.
The plug is pulled on the NZ Television Awards, but the CAANZ Media Awards and Canon Media Awards are puffing out their chests after record entries. Plus: preliminary media awards judges announced.
In an effort to create more efficiencies across departments—and, of course, reduce the $60 million spent on the purchase of advertising and media services in New Zealand in 2011—the Government has been on a mission to assemble a panel of trusted advertising soldiers to join its army. And, after a bit of a delay, it’s chosen its longlist and asked successful parties for their “best and final offer”.
For all those media minds looking to have their say on the best media thinking of the past year, prospective judges need to have their applications to join the Media Awards panel in by 4pm this Friday.
The advertising industry has its fair share of detractors. But research shows its contribution is overwhelmingly positive, writes CAANZ chief executive Paul Head.
Big changes to the awards schedule, the creation of ethical guidelines and general herding of agency cats to try and push the industry forward ensued last year for CAANZ. Chief executive Paul Head has his way with 2012.
No one likes to be shouted at, not least by the likes of the Big Save Furniture lady and Harvey Norman, who for the past goodness knows how many years have had sales on every other day apparently worthy of an aural assault. But that’s all set to change this coming Sunday, when Television New Zealand decreases the decibel limit of its television advertising as part of a sound compression agreement signed by all the major networks.
Westpac’s Martine Jager heads back to Oz, Colenso shares the account management love, CAANZ announces four new board members, indies band together to create new agency forum, Orangebox makes a big Wellington hire, Fairfax goes Peat mining and Alexander Communications goes global.
How to measure PR is an ongoing debate and this question was at the centre of a big review by the CAANZ Marcomms Leadership Group last year. And while advertising value equivalent (AVE) has been rejected in many other markets as outdated and insufficient, a survey conducted for Hotwire, the global integrated PR and communications agency, has shown that it’s still prevalent in Australia and New Zealand. So it’s doing its bit to address the issue with the launch of its own meausurement framework.
They say a good idea come from anywhere. But who gets to execute—and bill for—those ideas? Sue Hamilton thinks it’s time PR agencies put aside their differences, keep hunting for the Holy Grail and worry about the bill later.
DDB, Barnes, Catmur & Friends, 2degrees, Clemenger and Colenso all walked away from the Langham last Thursday with varying degrees of Effie-inspired joy in their hearts. You can check out all the winners here. And, thanks to CAANZ and Richard Leonard, those more interested in the humans who attended can check out a few pics below.
200 of the industry’s brightest eyed and bushy tailed young things turned up to the Marvel Grill in the Wynyard Quarter last week to kick off the Young, Bright & Broke group’s inaugural event. And we’ve got the photos by Courtney Herbert to prove it.
If you haven’t rocked the horns at CAANZ’s Battle of the Ad Bands yet, you should put it on your advertising-related bucket list. But if you can’t wait until next year, this year’s festivities were captured beautifully—and, for those in the film, probably embarrassingly—by the gang at Flying Fish.
Don’t waste people’s time with babble, says Anna St George. Use great content to get customers to know, like, and trust you.
Last week, the musical visionaries from Barnes, Catmur & Friends (and James ‘Black Jim’ Blackwood on drums) banished the ghosts of Battle of the Ad Bands past and took home the top prize. And for all those who weren’t there, and all those who were there but may have slightly hazy memories, here’s a few action shots taken by Dallas Pickering.
The shots were downed at the door, the undies went flying onto the stage regularly and the screams were deafening last night as seven bands came together and rocked the hell out of the King’s Arms for the fifth annual Battle of the Ad Bands, a night that some jokingly—or not so jokingly—call the most important in advertising. And after being there or thereabouts in previous years, the worthy rock gods and goddess in Barnes, Catmur & Friend’s Friends Electric finally took the top prize, prying it from the cold dead hands of TBWA\, which had won it for the past two years but didn’t feature in this year’s festivities.
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.
Spark PHD welcomes back an old friend, CAANZ announces its international Effie judge, Healthy Life Media’s allergic reaction, Adshool students have something to crow about, The PR Shop goes corporate, TEDx announces its speaker line-up and Adobe appoints a new communicator.
The whisk(e)y is being gargled, the leather vests are being shined and powerstances are being perfected. Which can mean only one thing: preparations are underway for The Battle of the Ad Bands. Seven agency bands have put up their hands to rock your world this year. So here are the contenders gunning for rock godhood, along with the classic movie songs they’ve been given to perform.
TVNZ’s Eric Kearley joins Rick Ellis at Telstra, Air New Zealand shifts some troops, Copper prepares for growth with a double, Rory Carter opens the doors of Red Dennis, Getty bolsters its APAC marketing team, CAANZ welcomes a new recruit, Kip Brook heads into academia, and James Mok and Kelly Bennett get the call up for Spikes Asia.
According to CAANZ, one of the big challenges facing the communications industry is the way it is sometimes perceived by clients—and society more broadly. So, in an effort to address this and show that it is in fact what chief executive Paul Head calls a reputable and professional industry that adds value to businesses, the communications industry will be governed by a formal set of rules after CAANZ introduced its new ‘Code of Ethics, Practices, and Obligations of CAANZ Members’.
Go to any industry function and someone is bound to mention the term ‘bullshit bingo’, a game where attendees nod knowingly at one another when meaningless jargon is uttered. And CAANZ, Barnes, Catmur & Friends and Film Construction’s Steve Saussey have taken that to a new, very entertaining level by producing “an award-winning, persuasive, brand-building, results-getting, call for entries viral video” for the Effies that manages to, as Paul Catmur says, jam as many advertising techniques into one piece of communication as possible with the limited budget they had.
The creative gang have had their fun at AXIS and Cannes, so the focus now shifts to effectiveness awards. And, in addition to the local call for entries for the 2012 Effies going live, Effie Worldwide have announced the results of its second ever effectiveness index, with Colenso BBDO, DraftFCB and DDB ranked in the top 20 most effective agencies in the world.
I was lucky enough to recently attend the largest Event & Experiential Marketing summit in the world in Chicago. I immersed myself in three days of learning with over 500 others from around the world and came away feeling a whole bunch of things: inspired (absolutely), brain whipped (definitely), and connected (in a myriad of ways). But mostly I feel charged up about the future of the industry in New Zealand.