Tag: DDB Aotearoa

Auckland, New Zealand – DDB Aotearoa has welcomed two new members to its strategy team, namely Charlotte Marks and Laura Davies as joint heads of planning. 

Both experienced strategists, Davies and Marks say they are excited to be working together to help take DDB’s planning team to new heights. 

Previously the strategy director at DDB Aotearoa, Marks joined the team two years ago and immediately made an impact, delivering strong results across a vast client portfolio.

Speaking on her appointment, she said, “DDB has a special knack for developing both longstanding, emotive brand campaigns and timely, innovative creative solutions. The planning team play an important role in the process, identifying powerful insights that go on to strike a chord with New Zealanders and produce a positive outcome for our clients. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Laura and Rupe to strengthen and grow DDB’s planning team.”

Meanwhile, Davies was previously the strategy director at Saatchi & Saatchi, and she brings in over a decade of experience working across telecommunications, government, FMCG and retail in both New Zealand and abroad. 

“Rupert and Charlotte are both brilliant strategic minds but also genuinely wonderful people. When Rupert reached out, I was only weeks away from having my daughter and while many agencies would have ended discussions there, Rupert and the team at DDB didn’t even blink. They have waited patiently for me to finish my maternity leave and their flexi policies have made it so easy for me to step into this role as a new mum – it’s wonderful to finally be here,” Davies said.

DDB Aotearoa Chief Strategy Officer Rupert Price said, “Charlotte has proven herself to be an incredible strategic mind and her promotion is well-deserved. I’m looking forward to working with Charlotte in running the Planning team and ensuring our strategic product continues to go from strength to strength.”

He added, “Charlotte and Laura are already proving themselves to be a formidable double act and I’m excited to see what we do together as we continue to build New Zealand’s biggest and best agency strategy team.”

New Zealand – The stretched-out postponement of the Tokyo-based Olympics is about to be broken off as the global event is slated to begin competitions on 23 July; and with this highly-anticipated event coming to reality, vibrant conversations among spectators are expected to arise– of course not excluding sports-loving Kiwis. 

In a new campaign, broadcasting network Sky touches on this culture to not just celebrate but to even further encourage this woven practice of giving unsolicited sporting opinions and advice, or on a more positive note – the sharing of passionate conversations and dialogue by Kiwis on the realm of sports. 

Called ‘Be an Expert’, the campaign is a series of three spots that highlight the everyday scenarios of locals sharing their thoughts and insights on the highly technical, specialized sports during the Olympics season.

Done in collaboration with creative agency DDB Aotearoa, the three spots aimed to playfully capture the passion of Kiwis for discovering new sports every four years or rediscovering those sports that take on a new significance in the world’s biggest stage.

Sky’s Head of Brand and Sport Marketing Helen Fitzsimons commented that the ‘Be an Expert’ campaign aims to nab Kiwi’s passion for sport, and is a reminder of the unifying nature of sporting events like the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

“With Sky’s Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 coverage spanning twelve channels, we wanted the campaign to encourage everyday New Zealanders to do what they do best – get among the action, talk to their friends and family about it, and support our athletes throughout the duration of the event,” said Fitzsimons.

Meanwhile, Gary Steele, the executive creative director Gary at DDB Aotearoa, shared that the insight behind the campaign will be ringing true with Kiwis from all backgrounds as they all embrace their inner sports pundits over the next few months. 

“Every four years, a large percentage of New Zealanders undergo an overnight transformation into experts across a wide range of technical sports – and we wanted to showcase a playful, tongue-in-cheek response to this cultural phenomenon,” said Steele.

The campaign is already running through three 30-second TVCs, OOH, and Digital.

Auckland, New Zealand – McDonald’s in New Zealand has launched a new campaign created by DDB Aotearoa, in a bid to shed light on the quality of food the fast food chain assures from every raw produce used in their meals.

Titled ‘Ordered From Here’, the campaign follows the journey of four New Zealanders ordering from a McDonald’s drive-thru. When they ask what’s in the product, the group is transported to the fresh source of the items. For instance, the beef patties originate from the herds grazed at Whangara Farms in Gisborne, or the apples of the ‘Apple Pie’ from orchards in Hastings.

Macca’s, as McDonald’s colloquially known in New Zealand, is particularly proud of its long-term support for quality local food producers and this campaign stems from a desire to share that story with Kiwi audiences who may not be aware of it. Furthermore, the challenge was to tell that story in a way that was both informative and entertaining.

For McDonald’s New Zealand Head of Communications, Simon Kenny, the question of what ‘really’ goes into Macca’s menu comes up all the time, and there’s a great story to tell.

“McDonald’s New Zealand’s ‘Ordered from Here’ is a fun, light-hearted exploration of where our local ingredients are sourced. The new television commercial (TVC) takes a fantastical approach to tell our food quality and provenance story, which is a bit different to what we’ve done in the past, Kenny said.

He added, “Beyond the TVC we then have more depth to the story told across other channels for those who want to find out more.”

Meanwhile, Gary Steele, ECD at DDB Aotearoa, commented, “The fact that Macca’s get their potatoes from Ashburton is a great message but telling someone your potatoes come from Ashburton without putting them to sleep is a real task. We wanted to share Macca’s great provenance story in a way that got the point across without feeling like a guided tour of the supply chain that the viewer didn’t sign up for.”

The campaign, originally 60 seconds long, is also live as 30 and 15 second spots in mediums such as cinema, magazine, electronic direct mail (eDM), outdoor advertising, digital/web, as well as in social media, PRs, and in-store.