Tag: New Zealand

Auckland, New Zealand – Creative agency Colenso BBDO has announced new changes in their creative leadership lineup. First off, Simon Vicars has been appointed as the agency’s new chief creative officer, while executive creative director Maria Devereux adds up the role of chief innovation officer to her lineup.

Vicars has worked in New Zealand, Berlin and most recently London where he was creative director at adam & eve DDB. Prior to joining adam & eve, he spent six years at Colenso BBDO, where he worked with campaigns for brands such as Samsung, The Pedigree Child, and Instant Kiwi.

Meanwhile, Devereux’s career has also spanned two countries, allowing her to build a body of work steeped in innovation across both Canada and New Zealand. Her stint at Colenso BBDO include work with State Insurance and NZ Breast Cancer organization, and PEDIGREE.

Angela Watson, managing director at Colenso BBDO, remarked that the two appointees are homegrown talents who have spent formative years at Colenso, headed off overseas to gain international experience and recognition, before returning home to them.

“From DB Export Brewtroleum to Pedigree SelfieSTIX, their track-records for creative and effective work are seriously impressive. They both embody the unique creative spirit of Colenso and have that brilliant and rare mix of extreme talent and wonderful humanity. We’re excited about what’s coming and the epic things we’re going to do together,” Watson said.

Auckland, New Zealand – Out-of-home media company JCDecaux in New Zealand and global digital out-of-home marketplace VIOOH have launched their programmatic offering in partnership with Air New Zealand.

Said campaign is the first to run programmatically across JCDecaux New Zealand’s airport portfolio. Additionally, it is the first campaign in New Zealand to leverage the global integration between VIOOH’s supply-side platform and Yahoo’s demand-side platform.

The offering, called as ‘JCDecaux PROGRAMMATIC’, is now available to all advertisers interested in booking digital inventory in and around Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown Airports, and offers the benefit of short-booking lead times and the ability to ‘switch on, switch off and pause’ a campaign. Programmatic digital out-of-home also provides the ability to buy inventory on specific days or during selected dayparts, and based on specific triggers, such as the weather. 

“The launch of JCDecaux PROGRAMMATIC in airports is an important first step towards the wider launch, which will include all JCDecaux roadside Digital Large Format locations, planned for early 2022. Programmatic buying is set to transform the industry in New Zealand, offering advertisers access to high-quality out-of-home inventory with true control and even greater flexibility,” said Mike Watkins, country head at JCDecaux New Zealand.

JCDecaux New Zealand’s exclusive global supply-side platform VIOOH, automates the planning and trading of digital out-of-home. Globally, VIOOH is connected with over 34 DSPs, including foundation partners for the New Zealand market Yahoo and Vistar. In New Zealand, JCDecaux’s programmatic offering will be DSP agnostic, with more integrations planned in the coming months.

“I’m delighted to be announcing our first programmatic out-of-home campaign in New Zealand. New Zealand is a new and growing market for VIOOH, so I’m excited to see how our programmatic out-of-home offerings will enable more advertisers in this market to have access to high quality, targeted media activations for their digital out-of-home campaigns, and therefore drive more efficacy and optimized results,” said Jean-Christophe Conti, chief executive officer at VIOOH.

The campaign is also made possible by dentsu and Yahoo’s omnichannel demand-side platform (DSP).

“Yahoo’s omnichannel DSP makes it easy for advertisers to connect to consumers no matter where they are. To have JCDecaux, a leading out-of-home player, plugged in and trading programmatically on the platform opens up a new world of possibilities. This is only the start of our very exciting global partnership with VIOOH and JCDecaux,” said John McNerney, director of platforms for ANZ at Yahoo.

Meanwhile, Richard Pook, GM for products and partnerships at dentsu, commented, “It’s great to see JCDecaux launching programmatic outdoor with Air New Zealand, offering them flexibility, superior efficiency and audience buying capability. As we fully scale inventory availability in New Zealand over the next few months, I am sure that clients and agencies will rapidly embrace this new and exciting way of buying out-of-home audiences.”

Sydney, Australia – Leading accommodations platform within the sharing economy, y Airbnb, has appointed independent public relations agency, Thrive PR, as its sole PR agency for the ANZ region.

The appointment will see Thrive supporting Airbnb’s consumer and corporate public relations work, and initiating a number of major projects throughout the year. Led out of Sydney, Thrive will be boosting Airbnb’s strategy and creative duties, with specialist support across key locations including Melbourne, Brisbane, and Gold Coast, as well as Perth, and Auckland.

Leilani Abels, Thrive’s founder and managing director, believes that both companies share the same entrepreneurial spirit and passion for community and creating memorable experiences. 

“I’m excited for our consultants to have the opportunity to work with Airbnb’s first-class team, on an incredible brand and with a world leader in its category. We have begun our journey to deliver great value, innovative thinking, and business impact to Airbnb,” said Abels.

In August this year, Thrive has announced the appointment of two new senior hires, namely Natanael Bloch, the new group account director for Melbourne, and Taryn Silver, the new account manager for Sydney, to lead its specialist business team called Business, Purpose, and Brand Reputation.

New Zealand – October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and for its commemoration, the Breast Cancer Foundation NZ has partnered with the youth poets of Māori, the indigenous group of New Zealand, to share a message of body positivity.

The poet group Ngā Hinepūkōrero tackles a barrier to mammograms that are not often discussed – body shame and embarrassment.

In partnership with creative agency Colenso BBDO, the campaign centers around the poem ‘Ahi Kā’ performed by the group which is a protest poem that calls on women to love their bodies the same way New Zealand’s first women did.

With embarrassment often cited as a reason women avoid mammograms, and Māori women among the most at risk but least screened for breast cancer, the campaign seeks an important role to play.

Ngā Hinepūkōrero shared that they are thrilled to be part of a national campaign that encourages women to honor their whakapapa by loving their breasts and getting a mammogram.

Whakapapa is a fundamental principle in Māori culture, where reciting their whakapapa meant proclaiming their Māori identity, and recognizes one’s connection to a wider context and to land.

“The way wāhine Māori feel about our bodies has changed throughout generations. From our ancestors’ respect for their bodies, to our grandmothers’ feelings of shame and unacceptance, to the current generation’s reclamation of te ao Māori attitudes towards the body, and the love that comes from that,” the group said.

The message “Honor your whakapapa by loving your breasts. Get a mammogram.” is shared through print and film featuring breast cancer survivors. The poem has been brought to life through illustrations by designer Atarangi Anderson and animation by creative studio Creature Post.

The campaign launched 3 October with a 30” film and has rolled out across TV, OOH, and online. 

New Zealand – Pedestrian Group, one of the largest youth-focused publishers in ANZ, has promoted Jaimee Wiggins, its senior advertising and partnerships manager, to the new position of head of partnerships for New Zealand. 

The appointment of Wiggins comes after Pedestrian Group inked a long-term partnership with VICE Media Group to be the exclusive publishing and commercial partner for VICE ANZ and Refinery29 ANZ, which launched on 29 July in the Australian and New Zealand markets. 

The new role will see Wiggins lead commercial endeavors for VICE and Refinery29 in New Zealand effective immediately.

Rachel Tikey, Pedestrian Group’s commercial director, says of Wiggins, “Jaimee is a top-performing commercial leader within our business and the ANZ market. She has been a key part of Pedestrian Group’s growth over the past few years – her ability to marry creativity and client objectives for each of Pedestrian Group’s brands is best in class. Jaimee is absolutely the perfect power woman to steer this new arm of our business to success and we can not wait to see what magic she conjures for Kiwi brands across VICE and Refinery29.”

VICE is an international network of digital content, while Refinery29 is a media and entertainment platform focused on young women. Pedestrian Group is also home to other content destinations PEDESTRIAN.TV, Business Insider Australia, Lifehacker Australia, and Gizmodo Australia. 

Wiggins commented, “I am delighted to be given a new challenge at Pedestrian Group and the opportunity to head up partnerships in New Zealand. Originally a Kiwi, I’m not only excited to work in a market that means so much to me, but also to be able to work with the heritage brands I grew up with and to reconnect with people I know.”

She adds, “New Zealand is consistently a challenger market and I can’t wait to work on campaigns that continue to push boundaries and leave their mark on young Kiwis across VICE and Refinery29.”

Auckland, New Zealand – Creative agency Colenso BBDO welcomes a new talent to their creative lineup, Sonya Milford as the agency’s senior digital designer. Milford brings in a wealth of experience in both the design and digital sectors, having worked at Gladeye, TVNZ and TRA. 

The appointment follows after the agency has also promoted Lucy Grigg to the agency’s general manager role.

Milford’s experience in the creative sector include founding the Āhua Collective, a creative group designed to empower queer, trans, black, indigenous people of color (QTBIPOC) and black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) artists, and create a more accessible industry.

Speaking about her appointment, she said, “There is great power in sharing and understanding the stories of marginalized creatives. To ignore that, would be to miss an entire shift in creative innovation. I’m really excited to bring my passion and point of view to Colenso and the work they make.”

Meanwhile, Angela Watson, managing director at Colenso BBDO, commented, “The face of creativity is changing, and Sonya is leading the charge. We’re really excited to work alongside her to empower all voices, in both the work and the wider industry.”

In addition, Tennille Barnes, head of digital production at Colenso BBDO, stated, “I’m really excited to have Sonya join the team, she has fresh energy and spirit that extends far beyond her work. Helping us to drive a new and higher benchmark for creativity”.

Auckland, New Zealand – Creative agency Colenso BBDO has announced the promotion of their managing partner Lucy Grigg into the general manager role, where she brings in work experience across multiple clients including NAB, BNZ, Airbnb, Spark, Fonterra, and DB.

She will be also taking the lead for their client Spark, a local-based telecommunications company.

According to Angela Watson, managing director at Colenso BBDO, Grigg shows an ‘impressive and diverse experience in business, brand building, and communications along with a very special ability to always drive the work forward’, adding that ‘she is an invaluable champion of their work, their people, and their client partners experience, and that her creativity is just what they need as they embark on their next chapter.’

“Grigg is amazing and we’re delighted she’s taking up this new role. It’s always a thrill to be able to promote from within and bring another talented human into the overall leadership of the agency,” Watson added.

Speaking about her appointment, she commented that with her new leadership comes new opportunities and that she is passionate about helping lead the talented humans at Colenso, with Angela at the helm. 

“It’s a pretty exciting time to be part of Colenso – we have a clear point of view of where and what we want to be for our people and our clients, and I’m proud I can be part of something awesome in an agency I love,” Grigg concluded.

Colenso BBDO has worked previously with campaigns to companies like automotive brand MINI, WWF New Zealand, and classifieds platform Trade Me with the Clemenger Group.

Australia – With the convenience that digital apps offer also comes the democratization of undertakings that used to be exclusive to those that only have the expertise and the know-how. For example, through apps, the common consumer is able to accomplish things such as becoming an online seller, and even those that don’t know a thing about graphics are now able to flex a visual artist hat. 

Such is the case of Sharesies, a financial platform in Australia and New Zealand, that aims to dumb down the activity of investing in shares.

In a new campaign made together with creative agency BMF, Sharesies doubles down on its brand promise of making investing in stocks easier for all by drawing similarities between investing and common activities such as playing the saxophone, learning to drive, and kissing in a fun and light series of spots. In reality, they are far from comparable, only except for one thing – before we become a master of the said things, we all start as beginners.

BMF and Sharesies
Sharesies’ campaign is made up of three different ads, portraying a beginner’s experience in playing the saxophone, in kissing, and in driving.

And this is the message that Sharesies wants to send across. Investing may be intimidating, but with the help of the platform, and some good ‘ol encouragement that no skill is ever really mastered with one quick go, it’s possible to start one’s investment journey now.

Sharesies’ platform offers an easy way to have an investment portfolio, giving access to invest in thousands of companies and funds in New Zealand, Australia, and the US. In addition to the main service of Sharesies, investing gets much ‘friendlier’ with the platform meshing a tropical branding with a rather serious and intricate activity. 

Sharesies is a New Zealand-based investing platform and the campaign was launched by Sharesies Australia under the new brand platform created by the BMF agency, ‘Let’s Get Growing’.

After winning a competitive pitch for the account, BMF has created the brand platform with the aim to celebrate investment as a long-term game, one that isn’t won through ‘shortcuts’. 

Pia Chaudhuri, BMF’s ECD, commented, “You’ve been a beginner many times in your life, but being one didn’t stop you then, and it shouldn’t stop you now. Investing can seem intimidating, but just like so many other things, it can be worth taking the plunge. ” 

Chaudhuri adds, “We hope this campaign inspires and empowers investing novices to take heart in the fact we all have to start somewhere, and sometimes, pushing through the awkwardness can bring us one step closer to realizing our dreams.”

BMF and Sharesies
An OOH ad of the campaign by BMF

Meanwhile, Brooke Roberts, co-founder and director of Sharesies Australia, said, “Sometimes, you just need a little bit of help to see the potential you already have. We want to empower our investors with the tools and knowledge to reach their personal goals.” 

Roberts adds, “BMF’s platform is true to our brand and we hope it will get Aussies to take their first investment plunge, and continue to grow, with the Sharesies platform.”

The campaign will run in the Australian market across BVOD, OOH and digital and will be supported with a $10 retail offer covered by Sharesies Australia upon sign-up.

Australia – Pizza brand Domino’s has appointed Adam Ballesty, former general manager at beverage company Seedlip APAC, to be the new chief marketing officer for its operations in Australia and New Zealand. The appointment will take effect on 2 August 2021.

Ballesty takes over Allan Collins who has resigned from the position after almost 15 years.

Ballesty brings with him decades of experience in the industry. Aside from his previous role at Seedlip, Ballesty has also held senior marketing roles with brands including Foxtel, Diageo, and Pacific Brands. He has also managed his own strategy and research business, working on start-ups such as sportswear company Skins and retail company Unistraw.

As the new CMO at Domino’s ANZ, Ballesty will be responsible for all facets of consumer marketing including brand, digital marketing, communications, and product development, as well as leading the development of Domino’s innovation pipeline moving forward. 

In addition, Ballesty will be a member of Domino’s ANZ executive team, working closely with Nick Knight, the CEO of Domino’s ANZ, to continue driving the strategic and creative direction of the brand.

Knight commented that they are excited to have someone of Ballesty’s caliber join Domino’s and are looking forward to the new energy, passion, and direction he will bring to the role as they continue on their journey of growth, improving the customer experience and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. 

“We are confident he will add immense value to the dynamic and innovative marketing team we have here at Domino’s and can’t wait to see what he does in the role,” said Knight.

Sydney, Australia – Advertising agency Clemenger BBDO Sydney has appointed former chief of strategy at global communications and advertising company Saatchi & Saatchi, Graham Sweet, to be its new head of brand planning.

Sweet brings with him almost 20 years of experience in brand strategy across a variety of sectors. Within that time, he has worked with some of the most recognized agencies and brands globally. Aside from his former role at Saatchi & Saatchi, Sweet was previously head of strategy at socially-led creative agency We Are Social. Some of his past roles also include being the planning partner at marketing firm DDB, and the strategy director at full-service media company Bohemia.

Clemenger BBDO Sydney’s Chief Strategy Officer Lilian Sor commented that Sweet has a phenomenal track record as a strong brand planner, and that they could not be happier to welcome him to the Clemenger Sydney planning crew and agency.

“Loving nothing more than navigating the challenges of big brands and holistic communications, Graham is a simplifier and he’s focused on strategy as a means to an end, not the end itself. Optimistic and motivated, Graham is an advocate of creativity and a tech enthusiast, and is sure to enhance our agency and our clients’ businesses,” said Sor.

Just recently, Clemenger BBDO Sydney announced its collaboration with Sydney Water, the organization that manages the environment and health of the city’s waterways. The agency released a new water-saving campaign titled ‘Turn it off, Bob’ to serve as a reminder for Sydneysiders to conserve water.