$8.

90
info.nz@surveysampling.com | www.surveysampling.com
CONTENTS
THE MEDIA ISSUE

SHORTER

2 Editorial
Slowly slowly.

4 Shorts
Numbers, comments, stats and stories.

5 Which online ads are most hated?

Kiwis share their least favourites.

6 What’s it like?
Perspectives on sexism, ageism and race.

10 CCC infographic
A $6 billion industry. SPECIALS

12 Horse’s Mouth 14 The Hot List

Nick Vile. We pick out the best of the bunch in the media business.

46 Integrated or independent?
FCB Media and MBM give the lowdown on their two different media
agency models.

56 In the dock
Alex Lawson on ads that steal time.

58 Horse’s Mouth
Louise Bond.

68 Peep show
Alex Radford on ‘creepy’ tech that tracks.

FEATURES

33 The next big trick

David Thomason discusses targeting
vs. mass media.

40 20/20 Television
Erin McKenzie finds the value of local 61 The transparency issue
TV foradvertisers. Damien Venuto looks at digital advertising’s growing PR problem.

76 Outdoor bounty 70 Merger mania

Lynda Brendish looks at the growth of A chorus of smart industry folks give their take on the future of Sky
out-of-home advertising. Vodafone and NZME/Fairfax.

The Media Issue 2017 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 1

editorial
SLOWLY SLOWLY
DAMIEN VENUTO
Editor
I
n 2014, City University of London professor Paolo
Aversa and his pit crew of data geeks published a
report tracing every innovation in Formula One
over a 30-year period.
What the report found was that innovation in
Formula One technology didn’t always result in
success on the racetrack. On the contrary, in certain
circumstances, the less innovative cars performed far
better than the spruced-up vehicles of their opponents.
An anecdote Aversa recently told the Harvard
Business Review recounts the 2009 season when
Jenson Button, who had finished 18th the previous
year, ended up winning the Drivers’ Championship
in a basic, albeit solid, Mercedes-Brawn car. Racing
against a field of innovative hybrid speedsters,
Button’s modest single-person-mover whizzed past
the competition all season long.
Only a year later, by which time the tech had
been tested on all his competitors, did team owner
Ross Brawn invest in it and, unsurprisingly, won the
championship again.
Aversa’s study showed that time and time again,
teams that held back on innovation or innovated more
cautiously ended up being more successful. The reason
being that changing even a few features of a highly
technical Formula One car introduces variables that
could lead to failure. What’s more is that this principle
can be applied to virtually any technical product.
Of course, we love to mythologise certain
companies as being supremely innovative and
pushing their industries to the brink of madness.
Apple, for instance, is often thrown around as the
exemplar of innovation, changing the world with its
2 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Agency Issue 2017
Editor
Damien Venuto
damien@tangiblemedia.co.nz
021 981 001
stunningly designed contraptions. But think of when Deputy Editor
Apple released the iPhone 7. The general consensus Erin McKenzie
was, ‘Okay, so they removed the earphone jack and erin@tangiblemedia.co.nz
027 339 9531
introduced a pressure-sensitive home button’. Pretty
meh, right? Staff Writer
Jihee Junn
This might be the case, but it didn’t stop people all
jihee@tangiblemedia.co.nz
over the world from queuing for hours and lodging 021 257 0607
pre-orders to get their hands on one. The point here is
Commercial Manager
that Apple understands that small changes designed Vernene Medcalf
to enhance the customer experience are vastly 09 966 0998 or 021 628 200
superior to major redesigns that render the product a vernene@tangiblemedia.co.nz
glitch-ridden disaster. Design
But can this slow-burn method be applied to the Wade Wu
Jessie Marsh
media industry, particularly at a time of enormous
Julian Pettitt
change when innovation is listed as a prerequisite
for survival? Editorial Director/Publisher
One need only look at Procter & Gamble chief Ben Fahy
ben@tangiblemedia.co.nz
brand officer Marc Pritchard’s confession earlier 021 245 4894
this year that his team had erred in trying to be a
“first mover on all the latest shiny objects” to see the ICG Print
David Ashton
importance of adopting a more strategic approach to 021 951 403
innovating in marketing and advertising.
Contact
The obvious counter-argument to this is that
NZ Marketing is published by
advertising is a messy creative process that can’t be Tangible Media
measured against the technical specifications of a 19 Lyon Ave
PO Box 77027,
racecar or a mobile phone. I’m not denying that. But Mt Albert, Auckland 1350
this hasn’t stopped other creative industries from 09 966 0998, 09 360 5702 (fax)
generating enormous success from a more measured www.tangiblemedia.co.nz
approach to innovation. Subscribe to NZ Marketing
A classic example is Hollywood’s remake and sequel via stoppress.co.nz, at www.
strategy, which shows that subtle creative changes to tangiblemedia.co.nz/product/nz-
marketing, by calling
work that already exists can often generate something 0800 782 347 or emailing
popular and enormously lucrative—both of which are, support@tangiblemedia.co.nz
after all, the primary objectives of advertising.
Distribution
Also, it isn’t only cinematic creativity that has a Netlink
penchant for innovating bit by bit. In April this year,
Printing
Justin Bieber collaborated with Luis Fonsi to create
Image Centre
the first Spanish-language number one hit in the US NZ Marketing is printed using
since the Macarena in 1996. vegetable or soy-based inks. Paper
supplied by BJ Ball using wood from
What’s interesting is that the original version of the sustainable, well-managed forests.
song was released in January to a relatively mediocre
US reception. However, rather than canning the song Copyright
NZ Marketing is subject to copyright
and starting anew, Fonsi worked with what he saw as in its entirety. The contents may not
a good core, writing a few English lines and through be copied without written
what can only be imagined as some superhuman form permission from its owners. All
material sent to NZ Marketing
of persistence, recorded the song with Bieber singing will be deemed to be publishable
in Spanish. At the end of it all, it was a touch of slow, unless marked ‘not for publication’.
patient innovation that lifted what was a good track to NZ Marketing invites contributions
but takes no responsibility for
something that will go down in history. unsolicited material.
Isn’t it fitting, then, that the name of the song,
Despacito, translates to ‘slowly’ in English? ISSN 0111 9044
 SK YCI T Y CON VEN T ION CEN T RE

NZMS 2017 is back on 21 SEPTEMBER 2017

Featuring insights from:

INTERNATIONAL KEYNOTE: L’Oreal NZ
Pandora NZ
NICK LANZAFAME,
The Agency 88
Head of Strategic Insights & Analytics, Motorcorp Distributors Ltd
Buzzfeed nib New Zealand
And more!

MARKETINGSUMMIT.CO.NZ #NZMS
Shorts STOPPRESS
By the
STOPPRESS COMMENTS Top five stories on StopPress since March numbers
42.9 percent
The best of the bunch The Hot List: vote for the best thinkers, brands
1 and shows in New Zealand
of New Zealanders
surveyed by Global
Web Index have used
May was a busy month for industry
ASB and Saatchi & Saatchi to part ways ad-blocking tools
awards but the hangovers didn’t
stop people taking to the StopPress
2 after five years to stop websites
from displaying
comment section to have their
advertisements when
point heard, and when ASB and Park like a dick? Prepare to be ‘dicketed’
Saatchi & Saatchi confirmed they 3 visited.
were ending their partnership,
things really heated up. We pick
Local brands suspend advertising on 29.6 percent
out some of the best comments
from the thread: 4 YouTube of New Zealanders
surveyed by Global
Web Index have
“ The reality is Goldstein remains
more impactful than anything
they’ve done since. Clever Kash etc is
5 Spark moves media account from Dynamo
to PHD
deleted cookies to
stop a website from
nice, but nothing like a proper brand remembering them.
positioning that gets consistently
built over time. Saatchi tried to save it
with an old-school ECD ... too late.
” DATA DUMP 16 percent
of New Zealanders
- FAIR CALL Ad blocking: Global Web Index surveyed by Global
Web Index have used
Ad-Blockers %
Motivations of Ad-Blocker Users (Desktop or Mobile) an ad-blocker on their

“ They have produced some

bloody great work for them! Snap
Scholarships and Clever Kash were
• Too many ads are annoying or irrelevant 72.4
mobile phone.

• I find online ads intrusive 59.1

some of the strongest campaigns
• Ads take up too much screen space and get 56.6
13.9 percent
to hit the market. They should be of New Zealanders
in the way
proud.

- ANONYMOUS
” • I think there are too many ads on the internet 56.5
surveyed by Global Web
Index have used anti-
• I try to avoid ads wherever possible, whether 48.1 tracking tools to stop
on TV or online companies monitoring
• I don’t like seeing video ads before I’m allowed 47.2 their internet activites.
“ Every agency has its up and
downs. Sometimes adversity to watch video content/clips
creates opportunity and sometimes • I want to speed up the time it takes for things 44.3 54 percent
it’s good to part ways with a client
to load on my device of males use ad
you’ve had for a long time. New
• I don’t like ads which are personalised based 36.1 blockers.
beginnings and all that. Chin up
on my browsing history
Saatchis, you have friends.

- COMPETITIVE BUT FRIENDS

” • I’m concerned about ads compromising my 30.5 29 percent
online privacy
of females use ad
• I want to stop the battery life on my device 24.7 blockers.
from being drained by ads
“ Yes and now the new agency is
frantically recruiting to service
the client... shot gun to say the
• I want to stop the data allowance on my 10.5
61 percent
phone from being used up by ads (Only asked
least.

- MC
” to those who said they have used a mobile
ad-blocker in the past month)
of 18- to 24-year-olds
use ad blockers.

• Other 2.5

4 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017

 NZ MARKETING

HATE THE MOST?

It’s hard to avoid online advertising when trying to read the news, watch a video
or interact with friends, and for many, clicking out of it has become an automatic
response. But what types of ads cause the most frustration? To find out,
NZ Marketing and its survey partner SSI asked 1,008 New Zealanders which online
advertising they found the most annoying.

0% 50% 100% stats / quotes

Male 28%
Online banner ads 31% of 25- to 34-year-olds find
Female 24% them annoying.

Male “If they have to stop me from doing

55%
Online takeover ads things it’s frustrating and not a
Female 55% good method, but if they are off to
the side it’s better.”

Male 30%
Spotify/Pandora ads 35% of 25- to 34-year olds find
Female 24% them annoying.

Pre-rolls on Male 33% “I don’t like them interrupting what

I am trying to look at it - it feels very
online videos Female 35% pushy and in your face advertising.”

Mid-roll ads on Male 33% 9% of 18- to 24-year-olds find them

Facebook 32% helpful and engaging.
Female

Male “I only want to know about an ad if

58%
Auto-play ads
I click on it to start. I don’t won’t to
Female 62% be made to watch something I am
not interested in.”

Male 20% Only 13% of 18-to 24-year-olds find

Header Banners
Female 20% them annoying.

SSI is the trusted global leader in survey and research solutions for market research firms, B2B and B2C companies. Visit surveysampling.com

The Media Issue 2017 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 5

 Industry folk often trumpet
the importance of having a
diversity of thought within
marketing and advertising as
it adds a broader spectrum
of ideas to solving client
problems. But this is easier
said than done in an industry
known for being young, white
and male. So we decided to
ask three individuals who
don’t quite fit that profile
to share their first-hand
experiences and hear their
perspectives on sexism,
ageism and race relations in
the industry.

6 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017

JOHN MACDONALD
What’s it like being an old-timer?
John MacDonald, TVNZ Marketing Hall of Famer, worked in the marketing industry for 50 years
before announcing his retirement and saying goodbye to BrandWorld (for which he worked as a
consultant for 10 years) earlier this year. We asked him to reflect on those five decades.
During your career did you ever
experience ‘ageism’?
No, I can honestly say it never
arose. Occasionally, I heard words
like ‘there he goes again’ referring
to some hobby horse, but certainly
nothing like ‘he’s too old so what
does he know!’
Are there any risks of getting rid of
experienced thinkers in favour of
‘young hot things’?
Experience in every industry
is very valuable but so is new
thinking. For most managers,
getting a balance is incredibly
important. Constantly having to go
over the same ground is costly and
time-consuming and this is where
the experience comes in.
It’s worth remembering in the
FMCG industry that the brand
leaders 50 years ago are still mainly
the brand leaders today. A few
examples are Nescafé, Coca-Cola,
Heinz Wattie’s, Milo, Dettol,
Weet-Bix, Cadbury, Sunsilk, the list
goes on. This doesn’t mean that new
brands haven’t been invented, but
the originals have held their ground
and their positioning is largely the
same as it was years ago.
All these brands have probably
had a heap of people working on
them in marketing roles and in
their advertising agencies, so as one
manager hands over to another, the
experience has kept growing as well.
But it’s equally important to keep
a brand up to date so that it appeals
to the next group of consumers.
Are there lessons you have learned
from the young ones coming in?
Absolutely, many times, and I have
always tried to encourage anyone
new to the business to have their
Cast your mind back 10 years, and you’re looking at a very different media landscape. 30% of Kiwis are still on dial-up
Internet.
say and share their thoughts.
This is particularly important
as a means of communicating
change—for instance, the last
five years has seen fantastic
growth via digital media. But, at
the same time, it’s always useful
to remember not to be too far
ahead of a particular audience or
consumer needs.
Are there lessons you’d like to share
with those entering the industry?
Many, but some fundamental things:
• Make sure you enjoy what you’re
doing—if not, do something
else. Have a life outside work,
remembering that family and
friends will always be there and
the boss/work may not!
• Take time to fully understand
what you are being asked to do
or to use the jargon. Make sure
you understand the brief fully
before starting as huge amounts
of time and frustration come by
not understanding this. And if
you are a marketer, learn how to
write a really good brief so that
the agency gets it right first time!
• Consumers/customers aren’t all
like us. If you work in an agency
in Parnell or Ponsonby, in most
situations, your consumers won’t
be like you.
• It’s exceptionally important
to understand your consumer
or target, and again it’s worth
remembering that the ‘oldies’—
i.e. 50- to 65-years-old—have
greater purchasing power than
most other age groups. They’re
responsible for most new car
purchases (apart from corporate
purchases), they travel more or
adds to their digital team by importing a digital media planning specialist from NYC in 200
have the funds to travel, they
‘need’ more pharmaceutical/
medical preparations and they
may well be the group that
influences purchasing by their
younger family members.
• In 50 years, the need to supply
consumers with information and
encouraging them to understand
and purchase products and
services hasn’t changed much.
What has changed is how the
information gets to people. Back
then, radio was more important
than TV so the creativity was
very different—i.e. jingles and
jingle writers were the top dogs.
Today it’s changed again with
digital communication needs
starting to overcome some forms
of broadcast or wide media.
How does the age of those entering
the industry today compare with
when you entered it?
so they’re often happy to present
Probably about the same. the recommendations when eight
I was appointed as a marketing out of ten boxes are ticked. On the
director at 28-years-old. The other hand, most women want to
main difference is that back make sure all boxes get ticked, so
then, almost all marketers (i.e. are more cautious getting their
product managers) were male recommendations right and may
and probably older, and came into take longer.
marketing in a variety of ways However, my experience has
(i.e. from the sales force or with also shown that the end result, say
research backgrounds). It’s great a year later, from both genders will
to see today that there’s huge likely be the same.
diversity, with a large number of Having a team with both
women in these positions. genders and a variety of ages
I’ve come to the conclusion is probably best overall to
after all these years that men make a winning combination.
and women in marketing behave Unfortunately, it may be a luxury
slightly differently, so when not available to everyone!
approaching an issue, I needed
time to consider both groups and
answers at the risk of alienating all
my colleagues.
Men tend to take more risks and
get bored with issues more quickly,
7
 shorts / what’s it like
BRIDGET TAYLOR
What’s it like being a female executive
creative director in New Zealand?
With awards from Cannes, D&AD, the One Show and more, Contagion’s Bridget
Taylor is one of the few women gracing the top ranks of the country’s advertising
industry. We ask her for her take on being a female ECD.
How long have you worked in the industry?
I started as a junior copywriter at Aim Direct
as a fresh faced 22-year-old. That was 20 years
ago.
Has your gender ever been a hindrance to your
career in the advertising industry?
In New Zealand, I don’t think being female has
got in the way of my professional progression.
Although once you hit your 30s and find
yourself in more senior roles, there is certainly
an undercurrent of worry that you’ll disappear
and have children. The other interesting thing is
that looks can be both a help and a hindrance.
I remember the MD of one of the agencies
I worked at rushing into the creative
department one day and saying he needed
me in a new business meeting. I was deputy
creative director at the time and headed a
lot of new business pitches. So I grabbed my
trusty Sharpie and notebook and headed off,
questioning him all the way about the client
and the role of creative. We were almost at the
boardroom door when he turned, flustered
and said: “You’re just here to look good.”
I worked for two years in Singapore which
was fascinating. At that time, I believe I was
the third or fourth female creative director to
be appointed in the country. I was interviewed
extensively and many offers were made, but
every agency was terrified of what their clients
would think about having a female in this senior
role. I settled into BBDO and enjoyed wonderful
relationships across clients ranging from
Johnson & Johnson to Diageo. Interestingly, it
seemed this old fashioned attitude sat firmly
with the agencies, not the clients.
Why do you think there are so few female
executive creative directors in the industry?
Let’s start by breaking down the job. Around
85 percent of what you create never sees the
light of day. The process of elimination of ideas
starts with yourself, then your creative partner,
CD, account service and finally your client.
years into 2000, nearly 600K Kiwis watch ONE News each night. brings back Wheel of Fortune
8 as a 30min Noel Leeming advertorial in the One News lead-in. Wins Best Use of TV.
So there is a lot of rejection. I always say: “In
this job, it’s about how many times you can get
punched in the face and get up smiling, still
determined to win.” For some people, male and
female, it’s just too hard.
Then there are the hours. Unfortunately,
creative inspiration doesn’t always strike
between 8.30 and 5.30. So when you have
children, it’s hard to think how you’ll fit
it all in and unfortunately we lose a lot of
incredible talent at this stage. But it’s this type
of life experience that’s so valuable.
How does gender equality in the industry
compare now to when you initially entered it?
Every year there seems to be more and more
females coming through, which is great to see.
Are there any changes you’d like to see in the
industry relating to gender equality?
We’re different. Males and females are
socialised slightly differently and therefore
bring different experiences to the table.
I think this creates a balance of emotion,
understanding, humour and ultimately
stronger communication. So mixed teams are
often stronger.
What’s your advice to other women who want to
get to the top?
• First and foremost, be smart. Use your
brain, personality and attitude to get ahead.
• Don’t focus on you being male or female, just
do your job to the very best of your ability.
• If something feels inappropriate, it probably
is, so don’t put up with it.
• Find a mentor and work on the leadership
skills you need to be truly effective.
• Don’t ever feel you should act like a man.
• Support other women. Just because older
females may have given you a hard time on
the way up, there’s no need to carry that
behaviour on.
I had the rare opportunity to have worked
with two female ECDs on my way up. Because
of this, it never entered my mind that I wouldn’t
get there too. I’ve also had some incredible
support from a range of extraordinary ECDs,
planners, incredible account service people,
clients, directors, creative partners and a very
understanding husband. You can’t do this alone,
your needs will change with your title and you
never stop learning and evolving.
KASMIRA SEWPERSHAD
What’s it like being an Indian woman in the
media industry?
Having worked across the local media environment—including, Saatchi & Saatchi,
MediaCom, Carat, OMD, MediaWorks, Datalicious, TVNZ and currently Phantom
Billstickers as an account manager—Kasmira Sewpershad knows first-hand the
challenges that face an Indian woman working in the industry.
What is it like to be an ethnic minority
woman working in New Zealand?
On the whole it’s very good. I believe
we’re more advanced here in New
Zealand than certain other markets.
I think New Zealanders in general
are open minded, forward thinking
and more accepting of diversity
than our Australian and American
counterparts, for example.
How would you rate the New Zealand
media industry when it comes to
diversity? Is it doing well or is there room
for improvement?
It has improved a lot over the last 10
years since I first started out in the
industry. There is still room to improve
though. In particular, I would like to see
more diversity in senior management
roles. From what I can see, there’s
currently none to very little diversity in
senior management in most places. It’s
just all of the same types of people.
Why do you think diversity is important?
What does it add to the workplace?
It adds a different perspective and
a richness. The people we’re talking
to in advertising and marketing
campaigns are not all the same,
so why do we have all of the same
types of people high up making the
big decisions on what’s right and
what works?
Have you ever personally experienced
discrimination in the workplace, seen it
taking place or heard of someone
else facing it?
Yes, I believe I have missed out on
opportunities due to discrimination and
I have been in situations where I am
sure the approach taken with me would
Bebo is the biggest social networking site in NZ. see it as prime place to support youth with depression,
and win Best Use of Digital for The Lowdown in 200
have been different if I fitted a different
profile, so I believe it’s out there and it
exists. I’m aware of it but it’s never held
me back and I don’t think it ever will.
What are some of the areas in which New
Zealand could do better when it comes
to diversity? How can we encourage this
to happen?
Diversity in senior management/
leadership roles.
The first step would be to encourage
a more diverse range of people to
enter the industry, which we have
become better at over the years. The
the next step is to nurture those people
and make sure we’re giving them
opportunities and appointing them into
leadership roles, which we need to get
better at. We can’t continue to have all
of the same type in leadership roles and
then diversity only in the lower rungs,
which is the way it is now even in 2017.
What are some of your pet hates when
co-workers talk to you in New Zealand?
I personally do not like being asked
about my background and ethnicity,
it makes me feel like an outsider, like
I’m different and like I’m some sort of
imported exotic animal sitting in the
Auckland Zoo. It’s irrelevant to me
being able to do my job, it’s irrelevant to
most things. But I understand people
are naturally curious and probably
think they are showing interest by
asking those types of questions so I try
to keep an open mind.
What advice would you give to
executives in New Zealand looking to
have more diversity in their staff?
Do it because it’s the right thing to do,
because it’s 2017 and because it’s going
to improve your business and the
industry as a whole. Some people
and places are better at embracing
diversity than others – and I mean truly
embracing diversity, which is different
to pretending to embrace diversity or
doing it for show. It’s not hard to see
who these people and places are and
they are going to succeed in the years to
come whereas others will be left behind.
9
infographic

The advertising industry contributes $6 billion to the New

ADVERTISING Zealand economy every year according to a 2017 Deloitte report
for The Commercial Communications Council. We delve into it to
PAYS see where that spend goes and what it achieves.

Spend ($ million)
Real advertising expenditure Contribution of advertising to GDP by industry, 2015
in New Zealand, 1980 - 2015

1980 Retail $ 815.64

1981
Leisure, Entertainment $ 587.57
1982
1983 Foodstuffs $ 566.39
1984
1985 Automotive $ 526.32
1986
Government Department,
1987 Services & Community $ 382.62
1988
1989 Travel $ 296.03
1990
Investment, Finance, Banking $ 285.86
1991
1992 Toiletries / Cosmetics $ 243.46
1993
1994 Pharmaceuticals, Health $ 235.14
1995
Home Improvements $ 234.25
1996
1997 Insurance $ 205.51
1998
1999 Household Electrical Products $ 202.73
2000 Beverages $ 167.03
2001
2002 Household Furnishings $ 166.75
2003
Telecommunication $ 159.32
2004
2005 Business Services $ 156.25
2006
2007 Real Estate $ 145.40
2008
Computers $ 123.79
2009
2010 Miscellaneous $ 100.47
2011
2012 Couthing $ 84.81
2013 Agricultural $ 71.04
2014
2015 Household Cleaning Products $ 60.27

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0
source: StatsNZ(2016); Deloitte Access
source: ZenithOptimedia (2015) Economics Calculations

It’s twenty and most Kiwis have never shopped online. manages to sell out Mini Cooper Sohos straight off the Mini website.
10
source: Cannes Lions (2016)
Business
Objectives
2nd
London
1st 6th
New York Tokyo

2othai
Mumb

In 2015 Auckland
ranked fourth in the
Cannes Lions Global 3rd 4th
Creativity Report San Paulo
13th Auckland
Sydney
as a highly creative
city – ahead of hubs
like Tokyo, Bangkok
and Sydney.

Employment Campaigns that were

creatively awarded were
11 times more efficient
Advertising is associated with the at delivering business
employment of over success (in terms of
excess share of voice)
44,000 The
people in the New Zealand economy Over the past decade average
agencies from return
New Zealand have on investment
won 150 ‘pencils’ (ROI) was $17
26,400 12,400 5,300 from the D&AD in sales for
in the advertising directly in the in the advertising organisation every
$1
supported industries advertising industry supply chain

2013 census
spent
on In addition to this,
5,436 6,976 advertising advertising also plays
working in employed as amongst a cost-saving role in
2016 the industry through
advertising advertising
Effie public health and
services professionals in winning government work.
other industries advertising As an example, the report
campaigns in highlights that the ‘Legend’ drink
New Zealand driving campaign, commissioned
(Nielsen by The NZ Transport Agency, is
15% 18% 18% 50% & CCC, estimated to have saved 64 young
core marketing design and supporting 2016). driver lives over three years, saving
occupations and PR development roles the country $290 million (the
specialists Ministry of Transport estimates
that the cost of a single life in a
source: StatsNZ drink driving crash is $4.54 million).

Ask Jeeves and Yahoo! are competing with Google for search investment. With Best in Show media thinking,
engages 1 in 4 Kiwis to search for their power savings number in 20 11
interview

HORSE’S MOUTH

NICK VILE ADSHEL

Fresh off the back of winning the Media Business of the Year at the Beacons, Adshel New Zealand general manger Nick Vile sits down
with Jonathan Cotton for a quick chat about growing revenue, digital creepiness and whether the future is programmatic.

Jonathan Cotton: Why do you think Adshel

stood out among the finalists at the Beacons?

Nick Vile: We were obviously pretty chuffed to

win Media Business of the Year and receive that
recognition from a group of our peers, and it is a
great reward for the hard work that the team have
been putting in over the last few years.
The entry itself was explicit in what was
required – a sound strategy and demonstrable
evidence that strategy leads to results. Our entry
focused on 2016 being the escalation year of a
strategic plan, which is underpinned by our
company purpose, ‘creating smarter connections
for communities’.

Smarter connections? Smarter in what way?

That’s smarter connections through technology,
smarter connections for advertisers with their
consumer communities, smarter connections with
our client communities and smarter connections
for communities themselves via our network of
street furniture infrastructure.

So how have you been working towards that?

Last year, was an escalation year for us because
we launched a national digital roadside network
of 150 screens, following the successful trial of
the Auckland premium network of 35 screens
in 2015. The extension of our national footprint
included coverage in Auckland, Wellington and
Christchurch, providing the opportunity for
advertisers to be contextually relevant at a scale
previously unavailable to them.
We also further invested into our data offering
through the launch of our Adshel Audience

20 sees an average of 1 billion Facebook posts a day. harnesses the power of social to broadcast dogs driving cars across
12 70 countries and every major news network.
Profiling programme, enabling advertisers to use
the scale of our poster network but be very precise
with their audience targeting.
Is it digitisation specifically that’s feeding the
market’s growth at the moment?
It’s part of it. There’s been significant investment
in digitisation, there’s no doubt about that – you
only need to drive around Auckland to see the
number of digital sites in play at the moment – but
there’s also been significant investment in data
and audience profiling and that helps support the
growth profile too.
The big one though, in terms of the benefits
out-of-home delivers to advertisers is around that
fragmentation of media, particularly traditional
broadcast media. Out-of-home is being seen as the
last true broadcast medium and at the moment it’s
bridging that audience gap that’s been created.
Given that a lot of this growth is contingent on
population density increases, do you forecast
that growth will eventually plateau?
The media market valuation that was released by
the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) last
month had the market valued at $2.5 billion, and
out of that, outdoor represented only five percent
of the total market. So even with the significant
growth we’ve seen over the last two to three years,
we are still only a five percent medium. That to
me talks to continued growth opportunity. Those
macro trends are not diminishing and technology
is only going to continue to enhance our offering,
so there’s an opportunity for that trend to continue.
The measurement issue will be resolved soon too,
so I see no reason to think it’s going to plateau.
That question around measurement
– historically, it’s been a big problem for the
outdoor industry. How are you solving this?
There’s not a standardised or unified approach
from the sector to an audience measurement
solution at the moment, and that is an issue.
Luckily, this is being addressed at an OMANZ
(Outdoor Media Association of New Zealand) level
right now. With the recent appointment of Derek
Lyndsay into the role of GM of OMANZ – a role
that had been vacant for 12 to 18 months – we’re
starting to see he’s really driving in that direction.
From an Adshel perspective, we’ve always
been very supportive of a unified approach to
audience measurement and I think it’s a key
priority for the sector.
We’ve been through that initial period of
investment into digitisation so now’s a really
good time for this sector to come together and
tackle those core issues as a cohesive group and
In 2013, $5m is spent on retail advertising each week in NZ.
in real-time for Noel Leeming. ROI? 32:1. Number of champagne bottles popped? Well over
audience measurement definitely has to be one of
those key priorities. No matter how skilled you
are at audience profiling, advertisers still want to
know at a base level, ‘What was the audience that
was delivered to me?’, ‘How much did it cost?’,
and ‘How effective is that spend into the outdoor
medium versus the spend into other mediums?’
What would that measurement solution
actually look like though? What specific
technology are we talking about here?
I challenge the sector to develop a measurement tool
that is based on technology that delivers geolocation
data. That’s going to be key to solving the
measurement problem moving forward. It will have
the ability to deliver accurate and real-time audience
information versus that historical theoretical
methodology that we’re moving beyond now.
Some outdoor measurement methods can be
quite...creepy. Do you think this could turn into a
problem for the industry? Do you foresee some
resistance to the use of geolocation data from
the consumer?
The impact of geolocation data on privacy is
definitely at the forefront of our discussions both
internally and externally. The reality is though,
that any solution will only ever use anonymised
and aggregated data anyway, and ideally that will
be coming from consumers who have opted-in via
location services in their phones.
At the end of the day, there are a lot of other
social media apps that are tracking people’s
movements anyway. It would never be any more
intrusive than what’s already become the status
quo for most of us.
There have been some criticisms of outdoor
because it leaves the consumer with no choice
– the moment you walk outside you see ads
whether you want to or not. Do you think there
will be a backlash against this type of so-called
attention theft?
You look at the cityscape in New Zealand or
around the world and outdoor is now a very well
established part of any urban landscape. And
fortunately there’s been advances to ensure that
cities are maintaining an [aesthetic] balance and
that things that are important to all of us – like a
city’s heritage – are being protected. Take Mexico
City as an example. There’s a very good balance
there around what’s acceptable from an outdoor
media perspective and what’s acceptable from the
rich history and culture – they’ve really found that
balance point.
In New Zealand, there have been advances
around that as well and the Auckland Unitary Plan
is a really good example of that.
cuts through by scaling customer advocacy
What are your thoughts on selling outdoor
advertising programmatically? Is any of your
business here currently sold that way?
It isn’t in New Zealand, but in Australia we’ve
run a couple of trials over the last 18 months with
some of our Sydney Rail inventory. We recently
announced relationships with both Rubicon
Project and Lotame, which have traditionally
operated in the digital online programmatic space,
but we prefer to refer to programmatic more as
‘automated trading’.
The issue to date is that people have been taking
programmatic methodology and trying to apply it
to the outdoor space. Outdoor isn’t one-to-one like
digital is though, it’s one to many. But that thinking
is now starting to change.
Automated trading is about enabling ease of
planning and ease of trade and it’s a potential
sales model that will support investment from
what have been traditionally non-outdoor
investors. If we’re going to utilise digital
inventory to its most effective and allow people to
buy campaigns on a daily or time-of-day basis,
we actually need an automated trading platform
to fulfil that requirement.
What would be the timeline for a process like
that rolling out?
It’s very much at the forefront of our thinking. The
key for us is solving the geolocation audience data
issue to be able to do that.
How do you see the industry changing over the
next five to ten years?
2017 will see further digitisation. There will be
a push to better understanding the audience.
There will be a convergence with mobile in terms
of a complete campaign solution – mobile and
outdoor working really well together. There will
be more advances in automated trading, further
consolidation across the sector and, I believe, less
outdoor assets, but assets of better quality that
can deliver the same audience. That will be an
insight that an audience measurement tool will be
able to facilitate.
For Adshel, we are in the midst of rolling out
an additional 70 screens to take our national
network to 220, with further coverage in the
existing markets of Auckland, Wellington and
Christchurch – focused on proximity to key retail
precincts, plus extension of our national footprint
with the inclusion of Hamilton (focusing on the
CBD, The Base and Chartwell).
We will also see further development of our data
offering this year with various initiatives to ensure
that we continue to offer solutions that deliver
results for our advertising clients and ease of trade
for our agency partners.
13
featu
fe uree

1. MAGAZINE / 2. EDITOR / 3. RADIO BRAND / 4. RADIO SHOW / 5. TV CHANNEL / 6. DRAMA / 7. COMEDY

/ 8. REALITY / 9. FACTUAL / 10. SVOD / 11. NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS / 12. NEWS ANCHOR / 13.
PRODUCTION COMPANY / 14. SOCIAL PRESENCE / 15. DIGITAL BRAND / 16. DIGITAL CREATOR / 17. MOST
INFLUENTIAL PERSON IN MEDIA / 18. MEDIA VISIONARY OF THE YEAR

It’s 20 and programmatic accounts for 9% of all digital ad spend. pioneers the use of data and programmatic media to help
14 Inland Revenue track down overseas based borrowers. There’s a 57% increase in repayments from defaulting borrowers.
Nominees: NZ Geographic, Mindfood, Miss FQ, Paperboy, The Spinoff, Idealog, Homestyle Magazine

PAPERBOY
Bauer added Paperboy to its
portfolio in the past year,
which was a brave move
considering it’s a free print
product in a digitally focused
world. Led by former Home
editor Jeremy Hansen, the
weekly publication touts itself
as a magazine for Auckland’s
urban adventurers and is
fittingly distributed around the
city’s transport hubs and cafes
every Thursday morning.

People’s choice:
Paperboy

It was a close call between

the print-focused
Paperboy and the digital-
only The Spinoff with the
former collecting a 30.5
percent share of the vote
while the latter recorded
29.5. McHugh Media’s
MindFood, which will be
celebrating ten years in
the business next year,
took out third place with
11.3 percent.
With its daring approach, high-quality
writing, urban photography and additional
lifestyle content from The New York Times,
Bauer’s Paperboy has thrived as a mass media
product targeting the lucrative demographic
of well-educated, high-income Aucklanders
in their 30s. It’s broadened what Bauer’s
flagship monthly, Metro, does best, while
avoiding eating into the audience of its other
weekly publication, The Listener. It also sets
itself apart from NZME’s weekly publications
Canvas and Viva which also cover Paperboy’s
four pillars of urbanism, food, culture and
style, but boasts an older readership.
While Paperboy’s not the only magazine
in the category to be introduced in the last
year (Miss FQ picked up the audience Cleo
left behind when it was closed down in
2016, while Idealog underwent a makeover
to become three topic-focused issues a
year), Paperboy stands out from the crowd
and serves as a reminder that print still
has a place in a modern city increasingly
dominated by glowing rectangles.

With NZ smartphone use at 70%, mobile geofences an entire coastline in a world first to get boaties wearing lifejackets in 20
Maritime NZ win Best in Show the following year. 15

Editor
DUNCAN GREIVE
Since founding The Spinoff in 2014, Duncan Greive has
watched it grow into a popular and entertaining source
of socioeconomic, political and pop culture commentary.
This, combined with the fact he’s not afraid to stick a
brand alongside that content, is why he’s the year’s
Hottest Editor.
When Greive tweeted about
The Spinoff ’s record 973,797
visitors in April, he celebrated
his amazing staff and brilliant
contributors just as much as he
did the numbers.
And this sentiment carries
over as we chat about his win,
with Greive commending
his team for embracing both
the editorial and sponsored
elements of the site –the latter of
which Greive believes has been
particularly important to the
venture’s success.
Visit the site and you’ll see a
fair share of its work is “brought
to you by” one of its sponsors,
including Spark, Lightbox, AUT
and Flick Electric. It’s a media
platform as well as a content
agency, Greive says, and it’s a
financial model he established
quickly when starting it in 2014.
“I do think that this is
the future for journalism at
least – unless you’re going to
rely on government funding or
philanthropy. Selling your ability
to create content people want to
read is really critical.”
Brands are catching onto
that role of media companies as
well and those that work with
The Spinoff understand that
while there’s a certain degree of
briefing involved, they need to
trust the team because they’re
not going to write: ‘Hey, this is a
great brand, here’s why…”
Instead, it takes a more
sophisticated approach and
Greive gives the example of a
recent series he launched with
It’s 20 and 93% of Kiwis regularly watch video online.
16
Nominees: Miriyana Alexander (Weekend Herald and Herald on Sunday), Jeremy Hansen (Paperboy),
Shelley Ferguson (Your Home and Garden, Nadia, Taste), Duncan Greive (Spinoff)
Garage Project, in which The
Spinoff team sit down and share
a beer and conversation with
fascinating New Zealanders.
“Increasingly that’s what
we’re seeing the smart brads
doing. You can talk about your
brand sometimes but being there
as a facilitator of something
worthwhile is a much better
place to sit,” Greive says.
But that doesn’t come without
its own challenges and with such
create NZ-first programmatic video campaign to deliver hundreds of
tailored videos to match individual buyers for Volkswagen’s Tiguan.
a plurality of clients, it’s almost
on a weekly basis that The Spinoff
publishes something a partner
might not agree with.
“That’s going to be life,”
Greive says, and admits the team
will call clients and give them
a heads up if there’s potentially
conflict. But looking beyond
The Spinoff he says if the story
warrants it, people take the
hit and if they want to leave,
it creates an opportunity for
another client to step in.
“If we were just seen as
toothless, no one would consume
what we create,” he says.
No dragons here
Feeding The Spinoff ’s never-
ending tubes with content
and keeping its sponsors happy
is not a task to be taken lightly,
but Greive assures us he’s “not
a fire-breathing” editor. He
says his writers have autonomy,
with the majority of the pieces
created coming from them
and he encourages the younger
and older staff to talk to each
other to shape the angles and
subjects.
“I do have a vision for the site,
and business more broadly, but
I’ve worked with editors who
operate in that [fire-breathing]
style before and I found it bred
in me a fearfulness when what
I want from our writers is more
fearlessness.”
The approach no doubt helps
to inject character into the tone
of the site’s writing, videos and
podcasts, and Greive says it aims
to be funny where appropriate,
serious when it’s not and “ideally
a bit of both”.
“It’s about us trying to create
something and take what we’ve
loved about magazines and
feature writing and criticism
and commentary from the old
environments of print and so
on but take advantage of the
infinite possibilities of an online
environment to create something
that feels new.”
People’s choice:
Duncan Greive
While Greive’s steady
hand at the helm of The
Spinoff, landed him in
the top spot, the battle
for second place was a
Bauer showdown. Your
Home and Garden and
Nadia’s Shelley Ferguson
pipped Paperboy’s Jeremy
Hansen in a photo finish,
with Ferguson getting
24.8 percent and Hansen
getting 24.5.
From
dial-up
internet
and Bebo,
to programmatic video and coastal geofencing, the media world has
come a long way in the last 10 years.

We couldn’t have consistently stayed ahead without the help of our media
partners, clients and incredible staff. So, a huge thank you to you all.

|
Media Agency of the Yea7r 2016
P O
& 20
17
 Radio Brand
MAI FM
When Leon Wratt,
MediaWorks programming
director, was asked to pick
his standout station when
the first radio results of this
year were released, it was Mai
FM that got his nod. And when
looking at the numbers and its
growth of 33,100 listeners, it’s hard
to deny the station our pick for hottest
radio brand.
While the ascendancy of hip
hop and RnB has been ongoing
since the 1990s, its dominance
of the mainstream music
discourse has burgeoned in
the last decade. The country’s
top 40 charts currently boast
the likes of Kendrick Lamar,
Future, Jason Derulo and Drake,
and the recent sell-out shows
for Bruno Mars’ New Zealand
tour have helped revitalise the
If you’d like to be part of ’s next chapter in 20
genre’s underwhelming live
scene. Broader sections of the
population are tuning into
stations like Mai FM and Flava
to get their musical fix, but with
Flava boasting a weekly audience
of just 191,500 compared to Mai’s
386,800, Mai FM has managed
to strike a chord between
entertainment and music that
Flava has not.
Although lower than The
get in touch at FCBMedia.co.nz
18
Nominees: The Edge, RNZ, Radio Hauraki, Mai FM
Edge’s weekly audience of
662,300, pop’s wide-ranging
remit (and steady co-opting of
genres like hip hop) means the
station still reigns supreme. But
Mai FM gets the nod from us
for being Auckland’s number
one music station and due to its
growth across all age groups.
Off air, the station boasts more
than 26,000 Facebook followers,
31,000 Instagram followers and
People’s choice:
RNZ
RNZ put in a strong
performance in this year’s
battle of the news stations,
beating its competitors at
Radio Live and Newstalk
ZB. That performance
has been bolstered by the
station’s expansion into
online and TV platforms,
with its loyal audience
following suit, helping
it to collect 35.1 percent
of the vote to take out
People’s Choice Award.
Mai FM came second with
26.1 percent followed by
The Edge (19.8 percent)
and Radio Hauraki (19.1
percent).
18,200 Twitter followers who are
keen to keep up with local hip
hop and RnB goings on.
Like Mai FM, Radio
Hauraki saw growth across all
demographics to reach an overall
weekly audience of 218,400. But
while Hauraki puts up a valiant
fight during rock’s transition
period its competitor, The Rock,
saw a loss in its audience numbers
to reach 428,500 listeners.
Nominees: Fletch, Vaughan & Megan (ZM), Jono, Ben & Sharyn (The Edge), Breakfast with
Matt & Jerry (Radio Hauraki), Morning Report (RNZ), 9th Floor (RNZ)
FLETCH, VAUGHAN & MEGAN (ZM)
With impressive audience growth and a massive online presence, ZM’s Fletch Vaughan & Megan take the title of
Hottest Radio Show.
In 2014, Polly Gillespie and
Grant Kereama departed their
ZM post after 20 years at the
helm, making way for the
younger trio of Fletch, Vaughan
& Megan who were poached
from The Edge’s drivetime
show. Since then, the trio’s
dynamic repartee and Vaughan’s
enthralling series of family
anecdotes have helped revitalise
the station’s breakfast slot, with
the first radio survey for the
Radio Show
Buchanan said he was
particularly pleased with the
performance of the show,
which won the most listeners
People’s choice:
among 18- to 34-year-olds
across the country. Jono, Ben &
Over on The Edge, the Sharyn (The Edge)
newly combined team of
Jono, Ben & Sharyn have Jono, Ben & Sharyn
unleashed their witty pipped RNZ’s Morning
approach to the station’s
Report for the People’s
afternoon slot. However,
Choice. The Edge trio
the trio saw a drop in the
recent survey to see 327,700
collected 25.8 percent of
listeners tune in from 4-7pm. the vote while Morning
That’s despite a change up Report got 23.3. Hauraki’s
in talent with Jono and Ben Jeremy Wells and Matt
joining earlier in the year to Heath show they’ve still
replace Guy Williams and got plenty left in the tank
Clint Roberts. for audiences, taking
RNZ’s consistent out third place with 20.5
Morning Report offering percent.
and its daring new 9th
Floor series (both of which
feature the excellent Guyon
Espiner) also deserve a
special mention, with
the latter currently
ranking as New
Zealand’s 27th most
popular podcast
on iTunes at
the time of
writing.
year showing that it grew by
12,700 to reach 273,000 listeners.
Off air, the hosts regularly
feature in NZME’s WatchMe
offerings, with several of their
videos – such as their attempt
to recruit Lorde as a babysitter
–racking up thousands of
views from their 100,000+
Facebook fans.
When speaking of the
results, NZME group director
of entertainment Dean
The Me
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 TV Channel
THREE
Earlier this year, when
the slightly eccentric
Three logo first emerged
from the creative
department of MediaWorks,
there was a public outcry,
with viewers across
New Zealand condemning
it for being too weird.
But none of this criticism
fazed the team at Three
and they stuck with it.
It was a bold move, but indicative
of a confident brand looking
to concretise its place in the
New Zealand livingroom. And
that confidence has now been
woven into the programming
lineup, which builds on the
channel’s comedic strengths
with the likes Jono & Ben, Funny
Girls and 7 Days (all featured
throughout The Hotlist) while
simultaneously breaking new
ground with shows like The
Project. There’s also a good dose
of reality TV, with local versions
of The Block and The Bachelor
putting Three at the heart of the
country’s conversations.
The strength of the channel
is also carried online, where
Threenow serves as host to both
Three and Bravo shows, giving
audiences their much-needed
on-demand fix.
While Three was the outright
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Nominees: Bravo, Duke, Viceland, Three
People’s choice:
THREE
Having launched
its colourful and
mathematics-inspired
rebrand last year, Three
took the risk of alienating
an audience accustomed
to the classic TV3 look.
However, the people have
spoken, and 42.3 percent
of voters picked the
channel as the hottest one
out there. Sky TV’s edgy
youth channel Viceland
might not be available
free-to-air, but it still took
out second place with 20.5
percent of the vote.
winner in this category, it’s far
from being the only risk taker
these days.
Also looking to change things
up was TVNZ Duke, which
launched last year in a bid to
chase the eyeballs of the hard-to-
reach 18- to 39-year-old males.
A year on, it hasn’t failed in that
mission as it boasts a 57 percent
male skew with its unique blend
of sports, comedy and drama.
Another recent edition to
the local lineup is Sky’s edgy
youth channel Viceland, which
deserves a special mention for
delivering younger subscribers
a plethora of documentary-style
programmes, such as Grace
Neutral’s Needles & Pins, Ellen
Page’s Gaycation and Action
Bronson’s F*ck That’s Delicious.
All in all, the recent history
of television is one of risk taking.
Long may it continue.
Nominees: Shortland Street, Westside, Hillary, The Brokenwood Mysteries
SHORTLAND STREET
Having recently celebrated 25 years on TV, Shortland Street is showing no sign of losing
its momentum. 627,000 New Zealanders tuned in to watch the celebratory special
feature-length episode, which managed to stay top secret until going to air. Its script
producer Nick Malmholt takes us behind the scenes to explain how it’s avoiding leaks
and why Ferndale holds a special piece of New Zealanders’ hearts.
Nick Malmholt and producer
Maxine Fleming
What role do you see
Shortland Street having in
New Zealand?
Shortland Street is a huge,
storytelling bonfire, around
which all New Zealanders,
young and old, rich and poor,
north and south, can gather
and be warm.
How important is it that
Shortland Street reflects
New Zealand society?
Shortland Street doesn’t just
reflect New Zealand society;
Shortland Street is a child of
that society. It’s in our DNA,
with stories about New Zealand,
told by New Zealanders, to
New Zealanders. Without
New Zealand, Shortland Street
would wither and die.
It’s tackled topics such
as medical marijuana,
euthanasia and HIV as well
as featured LGBT characters
and a range of ethnicities.
Do you see it challenging
New Zealanders thoughts
and beliefs?
Yes. But not just through
controversial subject matter.
All dramatic storylines should
be challenging. Powerful
storytelling and emotional
truth will provoke reaction—for
good and for bad. Comfortable
indifference is our enemy.
Are there any storylines
you’ve been nervous about
running? If so, which ones?
All stories are sent out with love
and the hope they will shed light
on the mysteries of the human
heart. What makes us nervous
is the ever-present fear that
we’ve run out of time to make
the stories as good as they
can possibly be. We don’t want
to let down our characters, or
our audience.
Which storyline has
generated the most response,
positive or negative?
“Please tell me that is not your
penis.” An unexpected, unlikely,
global, viral sensation.
What’s the craziest idea
you’ve had that never made
it to the screen?
Not telling—I still hope to get it
to screen…
Drama
People’s choice:
Westside
According to the people,
there’s a new reigning
soap in town with Westside
boasting 37.9 percent of
the vote. The Outrageous
Fortune prequel was
renewed for a third
season last year, while
Prime’s detective drama
The Brokenwood Mysteries,
which came second with
26.1 percent, has also
been renewed for another
season. Meanwhile,
Shortland Street still gets
a bit of love with 21.2
percent of the vote.
Is it challenging keeping the
storylines under wraps?
Yes, especially in the days of
omnipresent, omniscient, social
media. But it can be done. And
when secrets leak, they aren’t
always snapped up, and so
fail to gain critical, damage
mass. A recent example is the
build-up to Shortland Street’s
25th anniversary volcanic
eruption. Hundreds of people
were involved in the production,
all with mobile phones and
cameras, and the production
studios were covered in fake
ash—clues for all to see. Some
inside knowledge was indeed
leaked to social media, but
the leaks were largely ignored
because the vast majority of
people were convinced it was
going to be an earthquake.
What’s been Shortland
Street’s key to reaching
25 years and still be going
strong?
Love and laughs. Never giving up.
The Me
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 Nominees: Jono & Ben, 7 Days, Funny Girls, Tery Teo, Darryl: An Outward Bound Story, Family Feud
Comedy / Reality Nominees: The Bachelor NZ, The Block NZ, Real Housewives of Auckland, Survivor NZ

7 DAYS
New Zealand TV offers up plenty of opportunities for
comedy antics, and there’s little doubt that 7 Days is the best
at delivering just that.

THE BACHELOR NZ
Love it or hate it, everyone’s talking about it. It’s become an
annual ritual for office watercooler conversations across the
country to arrive at the scandalous dating show, and this
year has proved no different.

Created by The Down Low Concept (also nominated in the Hottest
Production Company category) and styled on the UK’s Mock the Week,
the show provides a pithy and quick-witted commentary on the week’s
news and current events.
As the purveyor of Friday night laughs since 2009, 7 Days is not
only the hottest comedy show on our screens, but the most popular
on Three’s crowded entertainment roster. Even without looking at the
numbers, 7 Day’s popularity can be seen in its expansion to live shows
that see its hosts and set traverse the country and perform every year.
The mischievous trio of Jeremy Corbett, Dai Henwood and Paul Ego
have served up an impressively consistent job over their eight years on
air, while recurring cast members Urzila Carlson, Ben Hurley, Jeremy
Elwood and Josh Thomson have managed to add their own bit of
comedic spark to proceedings.
Some of these comedians also grace the screen in Three’s other shows,
such as Jono & Ben and Funny Girls, the latter of which deserves special
credit for helping dispel the age-old myth that women just aren’t that funny.
People’s choice:
Bachelor Zac Franich, new host Dominic Bowden and a fresh flurry of
female suitors once again kept Kiwis glued to the screen as it regularly
topped Three’s list of most watched shows. Judging by the sheer amount of
scandal, coverage, hubbub and hype the show entails, The Bachelor tops our
pick for Hottest Reality TV.
However, Bravo’s flagship show Real Housewives of Auckland also
deserves a worthy mention for helping launch the sassy Gilda Kirkpatrick
and champagne-obsessed Anne Batley-Burton into the public limelight.
The show has potential to become a mainstay on the nation’s reality TV
roster (although fewer racial slurs would be much appreciated).
People’s choice:
The Block NZ
When it comes to reality TV, the results of the
People’s Choice show it’s all fair game. There was
just 0.1 percent separating first and second place,
with DIY renovation show The Block scraping past
The Bachelor with 28.8 percent. Third and fourth
place was also a close call, with TVNZ’s brand new
show Survivor getting 22 percent and Bravo’s Real
Housewives getting 20.5 percent.

7 Days

7 Days also earns itself the People’s Choice with

36.5 percent of the votes. Jono & Ben and Funny
Girls take out second (23.7 percent) and third (18.4
percent) place respectively, further solidifying
MediaWorks’ prime position in the genre.

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Nominees: Mind Over Money, Gutsful, Gloriavale, Country Calendar, Coast New Zealand
Nominees: Stranger Things, 13 Reasons Why, Black Mirror, Westworld,
Abstract: The Art of Design, The People vs. OJ Simpson, Bojack Horseman, The Crown, Mr Robot
Factual / SVOD

GLORIAVALE
In 2014, TVNZ opened the unsuspecting eyes of New
Zealanders to a South Island community many had no idea
existed, with the continuing series of documentaries must-
watch viewing ever since.
The annual visit inside the controversial Christian community has
become something of a bizarre New Zealand TV tradition. This year’s
instalment, Gloriavale: A Woman’s Place, enthralled audiences to the
point that it topped Nielsen’s of most-watched list for 25- to 54-year-olds.
The episode gave a special insight into what life is like for the women of
Gloriavale, and focused on a young woman named Dove Love and her
quest for marriage and motherhood in the secluded community. BLACK MIRROR
Off air, the series continues to be watched online, with bonus content
including a sing-a-long to Dove Love’s wedding song (#soblessed), which Dystopian sci-fi thrillers are clearly a thing with android-
alone generated 345,000 views on TVNZ 2’s Facebook page. There are populated theme parks (Westworld) and neurotic cyber
also online tools available for fans of the show to generate their own hackers (Mr Robot) all making an appearance. But Charlie
Gloriavale-inspired name. Brooker’s Black Mirror is a little bit different.
On a different note, Mind Over Money with Nigel Latta deserves a
special mention for making the topic of money appealing to audiences With stand-alone episodes instead of recurring plotlines or characters,
during primetime while taking the unusual route of being entirely each hour-long instalment provides a jarring and twisted take on
sponsored by Kiwibank. the human relationship with science and technology. From the toxic
and all-too familiar social media habits in ‘Nosedive’, to the vigilante
blackmailing and trolling in ‘Shut Up and Dance’, Black Mirror reflects
an exaggerated truth that resonates deeply in our tech-obsessed society.
On a similarly depressing note, 13 Reasons Why deserves a mention
for not only being New Zealand’s most popular digital show last month
according to Parrot Analytics, but stirring up a much-needed debate on
the topic of teen suicide. It seems local audiences got swept up in the hype
surrounding the controversial teen drama, tuning into all 13 episodes to
find out what drove protagonist Hannah Baker to kill herself.

People’s choice:

People’s choice: Stranger Things

Spielberg-esque sci-fi is back in style, with the

Country Calendar
Duffer Brothers’ supernatural series Stranger
Things whipping Netflix viewers into a bingeing
If there were ever any doubt New Zealand was a
frenzy. With elements of mystery and horror,
farming nation, Country Calendar’s 27.8 percent win
combined with commanding performances by
should put those thoughts firmly to rest. Having
Winona Ryder and Millie Bobby Brown, the
aired on TV since 1966, Country Calendar is the
show captured the attention of the internet as well
nation’s longest-running TV series, with its twangy
as viewers here in New Zealand, with the series
opening theme music and lush rural pastures
attracting 28.7 percent of the vote in an extremely
ingrained into the cultural mindset. TVNZ has even
crowded category. 13 Reasons Why took out second
more to celebrate, with Gloriavale coming a close
place with 15.8 percent, while The Crown got 14
second with 26.8 percent, and Mind Over Money
percent.
nipping third with 20.1.

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 News & Current Affairs Nominees: The Project, The Nation, Sunday, Attitude, The Crowd Goes Wild

THE PROJECT
Over the last decade, New Zealanders exposed to Close Up, Story, Seven Sharp and Campbell Live have come to expect the
same-old setup when it comes to 7pm shows. The format usually involves a middle-aged authority figure talking to a camera,
interviewing various important personalities and relaying stories from a team of reporters dissecting the day’s news and events.
In light of this, and despite still being relatively new to air, The Project tops the category for being brave enough to try something
a little bit different in the post-newshour slot.

Fusing comedy, banter and journalistic

flair to tackle the day’s most topical issues,
the show has yet to reach its Australian
counterpart’s level of relevance, but
it’s certainly making an impressive
attempt at breaking Seven Sharp’s nightly People’s choice:
hegemony. Hosts Jesse Mulligan, Josh
Thomson and Kanoa Lloyd (who takes The Project
the title of Hottest News Anchor over her
MediaWorks counterparts) have so far With 38.5 percent of people
proved a dynamic trio and lived up to its selecting The Project as
tagline of “News Delivered Differently”.
their pick, the show also
While not quite graced with The
takes out the People’s
Project’s colour, flair or primetime slot,
Lisa Owen and Patrick Gower’s The
Choice, with Sunday
Nation provides a rare in-depth look into grabbing second place
the week’s most newsworthy events, with 27.5 percent. Third
delivering a regular slate of insights from place honours goes to
politicians academics and commentators Prime’s The Crowd Goes
from New Zealand and abroad. In a Wild, proving that sports
similar vein, Sunday has been informing will always be at the
audiences about politics and topical heart of New Zealanders’
issues for years now, with the programme viewing habits.
ranked as TVNZ’s fifth most popular
show last year.

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Nominees: John Campbell (RNZ), Jesse Mulligan (The Project, RNZ), Kanoa Lloyd (The Project),
Samantha Hayes (Newshub), Jack Tame (Breakfast, Newstalk ZB)
KANOA LLOYD
From Squirt to The Project, Kanoa Lloyd has become a
familiar name to audiences across the country and she
hasn’t been afraid to have her voice heard in the process.
She’s been criticised and praised for standing up for what
she believes in, like her Maori heritage, and now she fills
us in on that journey.
When and where did your Did you ever picture that
TV career start? one day you’d be hosting a
In 2004, when I was at Queens current affairs programme?
High School in Dunedin and I Not in my wildest dreams!
got a role on a kids show called I’ve always watched current
Squirt. It was famous for its affairs and often found myself
cartoon penguin, Spike, and I in awe of the incredible people
remember Dom Bowden hosted in the industry and the creative
it once. Matt Gibb took over from ways that they spoke about
him and he would borrow the important issues.
boss’s flash car to pick me up The landscape has changed
from my all girls’ high school a bit and I feel really lucky that
each week. So exciting! my experience fits into this new,
energetic, entertaining model.
You’ve been a host of kids
show Sticky TV, a host
on Mai FM and a weather
presenter. How have those
diverse roles prepared you
for The Project?
You learn that everyone deserves
to be informed, listened to
and taken seriously. News and
current affairs isn’t just for the
middle class in Auckland. No
matter where you are in the
country, how old you are or what
you care about: it’s meaningful.
Oh yeah, and it’s okay to have a
laugh along the way!
Which has been
your favourite role
and why?
That’s like trying to
choose a favourite child
(I think? I don’t have kids).
I wouldn’t trade any of those
experiences for anything
because I wouldn’t be doing this
job without all of them.
What do you think makes a
good news anchor?
My favourite news anchors are
honest, kind and they’re team
players. No one does this job
without a huge group of smart
people helping them every step
of the way.
How do you balance being
both funny and informative
when presenting topics on
The Project?
I always try to remember that
we’re talking to real live people…
I’ve yet to come across a person
who is 100 percent serious or 100
percent silly. There’s no magic
formula and we’re always working
on getting the balance just right.
We’ve seen you involved in
a number of conversations
about the use of Te Reo,
most recently with David
Seymour. Do you see your
position as one that could
help you promote issues you
believe in or your culture?
Personally, I would love to see
the number of Māori women
working in media increase, but
I also think it’s important to
identify that my experience of
being a Māori woman is not the
same as anyone else’s. I feel really
lucky to be in a privileged place
where I am given a loudspeaker
to shout about things which
I think are important. It’s not
my intention to abuse that. I’m
just trying to talk about things I
think people care about.
You faced a lot of backlash
on social media for your use
of Te Reo when presenting
the news, has that given
you any concern about
standing up for what you
believe in?
There’s a difference between
criticism and backlash. I think
criticism is valid, even if it can
be tricky to stomach. But I will
News Anchor
People’s choice:
John Campbell
He may have moved
his talents to radio, but
John Campbell is still
commanding hearts and
minds with his brash style
of journalism on RNZ’s
Checkpoint. He takes
out the top spot with 28.9
percent, while Newshub’s
Samantha Hayes comes
second with 25.8, no doubt
eliciting extra kudos for
her work replacing Hilary
Barry so confidently in the
6pm newshour chair.
always call out backlash when
it isn’t backed by fact. That sort
of thing doesn’t hold me back
from telling a story or speaking
out about things I believe are
important.
How do you feel being the
only woman on The Project
alongside Jesse Mulligan
and Josh Thomson?
Jesse and Josh are two of the
most thoughtful, supportive,
hard-working guys I have ever
met – it’s fair to say we give each
other plenty of stick. They’re
encouraging and respectful
and never make me feel like
I’m playing an old fashioned
sidekick, I really appreciate
this about them both and I love
working with them.
So now that you beat
Jesse in the NZ Marketing’s
definitive Hottest News
Anchor category, will you
be asking him to give you
centre seat on the project?
Not a chance! But thank you guys,
I really appreciate the honour.
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 Production Company
AUGUSTO
We may be a small nation at
the bottom of the world, but
our production companies
aren’t letting that define them.
For Augusto, that’s visible in
its recent expansion with its
New York office, its Everest
Rescue series on the Discovery
Network and a win of work for
Adidas Rugby out of Germany.
We caught up with general
manager Oliver Sealy to get an
insight on how Augusto works.
How did you guys move into
the documentary space?
Augusto is full of documentary
makers. Many of our shooters,
producers and editors have
backgrounds in factual
television and docos, and I don’t
think we’ve ever not had some
kind of documentary-type idea
on the development slate. It’s
actually very complementary
to a lot of the work we do with
brands, which often involves
working with real people such
as athletes, CEOs or their
customers. We’re experts at
dragging stories out of people
and finding the hidden angle.
How challenging is it to
balance your advertising
work with the documentary
projects you’re working on?
It’s not that hard. Augusto was
started nine years ago with the
aim of using branded content
production to fund long-form
entertainment development. We
now run a full-time entertainment
division developing docos and
comedies. There’s even a musical
being worked on at the moment.
The variety helps us attract
great talent and keep them in
full-time work.
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Nominees: Augusto, Curious, Ruckus, Fish, The Sweet Shop, The Down Low Concept
How long does it take to
produce and shoot a project
like Chasing Great? What
are some of the challenges
you face that you wouldn’t
necessarily have with an ad?
Chasing Great was about a year
and a half of solid production,
but every job we do is different
in size and scale. We can turn
around a hype reel for NZ
Rugby in 48 hours, while a
web series for Mitre 10 can
take a year to complete. One
difference is that entertainment
work takes much longer than
branded content. It took us half
a year to finance Chasing Great,
and Everest Rescue was shopped
around for several years before
it found a home with Discovery.
That’s one of the things we love
about client funded work. No
messing about.
Where do ideas for these
projects come from?
Mostly from weird conversations
next to the coffee machine with
Leon (Augusto co-founder).
What does your team find
most rewarding? The bigger
projects or the ads?
I think the team find the
branded work for clients most
rewarding. It requires more
collaboration and is usually
more innovative. We make very
few ‘ads’ in the traditional sense
of the word, and more often find
ourselves producing for new
channels and technologies. That
work is just as exciting as a film
or TV concept.
How important is it
for modern production
companies to diversify
what they do?
For us, it has been vital. Being
a production company is just
one component of the wider
Augusto business. There aren’t
many production companies
with creatives, designers,
strategists and technologists
at their disposal. And having
our own client service team has
allowed us to develop direct-to-
client relationships, which in
turn allows us to retain talent
and a sense of team.
What will the production
company of the future
look like?
Everyone at Augusto works
really hard to foster a culture
of innovation which keeps us
People’s choice:
Augusto
Augusto’s impressive slate
of commercial work over
the past year puts it in top
spot with 28.4 percent of
the public’s vote. Known
for its production of
local comedy like 7 Days,
The Down Low Concept
comes second with
21.3 percent and The
Sweet Shop comes third
with 16.4.
at the top of the curve. We don’t
really like the idea of a ‘comfort
zone’. In the last quarter we
delivered over a thousand still
images for retail, six one-hour
comedy scripts for a US
broadcaster, a jingle sung by
Wayne Anderson, a branded web
series starring George Clark, and
we made the opening titles for the
America’s Cup global broadcast.
Whatever the production
company of the future ends up
looking like, our aim is to be three
steps ahead of them.
Nominees: Allbirds, BurgerFuel, Hell Pizza, Karma Cola, Air New Zealand, Garage Project
Social Presence

BURGERFUEL People’s choice:

Having recently branched out into the USA, BurgerFuel is Air New Zealand
continuing its mission to take over the world one burger at
a time. Aiding the company’s growth and expansion is its When it comes to making
strong social presence by its in-house marketing team. We viral content, there are
ask global communications manager Kate McGahan to give few out there that do
us the lowdown on what makes them tick. it better than Air New
Zealand. With its effective
use of everything from
Snapchat filters to safety
videos, the airline gets
the nod for first place
with an overwhelming
42.8 percent. At a distant
second and third are
wool shoe brand Allbirds
with 13.9 percent and
BurgerFuel with 11.5
percent.

What’s the secret behind
a strong social presence?
How do you use the channel
effectively to reach your
audience?
For us, having a strong social
presence is about being authentic,
creating great, genuine content
that people enjoy viewing and
making sure we’re total ninjas
when it comes to targeting and
re-marketing. Accessibility is key
too – social is a great place to talk
with our customers, so being there
to respond quickly and personally
when someone reaches out is
non-negotiable for us.
As a brand that offers a lot of
different food options for a lot
of different lifestyles, targeting
is not a luxury; it’s essential. We
work hard to ensure that our
audience only sees content that
is relevant to them – and that the
content is always delicious!
What are some of the
channels and methods
you use to create a strong
social presence?
Gourmet burgers are at the
centre of everything we do, so
#burgerporn leads our strategy,
but the BurgerFuel experience
extends far beyond this. We
run an arts programme called
‘Creative, Sweet’ with in-house
BurgerFuel artists who paint
custom murals in our stores
and communities, run our very
own global radio station (Radio
BurgerFuel) and are heavily
involved in the car scene.
Social media allows us to
connect the loop with how we’re
activating these cultural pillars
in our stores, on the streets and
at events. Through video content
on YouTube, live stories on
Instagram and Facebook, and
awesome images posted on both
channels in real time, we can
invite everyone into the unique
BurgerFuel experience.
How does BurgerFuel’s
in-house marketing work?
We run our marketing department
like an in-house agency. Almost
everything you see comes from
inside the walls of BurgerFuel HQ.
The burger pictures we post on
Facebook and Instagram are un-
retouched and taken by members
of our team or customers in our
stores. Our staff also star in our
videos and copywriting is a crowd-
sourced gig within the marketing
department.
You guys seem to spend quite
a lot on crafting your social
campaigns. Do you think
brands sometimes go too
cheap when developing stuff
for social?
You don’t need to spend huge
money on content creation, but
you do need to be creative, nimble
and authentic. Look at Instagram
Stories, for example. It doesn’t cost
a thing to create or post, but at the
tap of a button we’re instantly able
to invite people inside the world of
BurgerFuel from NZ to the USA,
to Dubai, Australia and beyond.
Having fun and not taking
ourselves too seriously is a
BurgerFuel essential for producing
great, high-quality work – how
can we expect a customer to enjoy
viewing our content if we didn’t
have fun making it?

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 Nominees: The Spinoff, The Wireless, Noted, NZ Herald Focus, Newsroom,
Digital Media Brand Stuff, Vice, Neighbourly, Metservice, Concrete Playground

THE
SPINOFF
As much as digital is often
blamed for decimating
the revenue stream
of traditional media
channels, it’s also spawned
interesting products that
offer users more choice
than they’ve ever had in
history. In the last few
years, we’ve had The Spinoff,
The Wireless, Noted, NZ
Herald Focus and Newsroom
all added to a digital news
menu that already includes
established players, such as
Stuff and Vice. And of those,
it’s The Spinoff that stands
out as best of the bunch.

The Spinoff ’s TV-themed missing stories that would popularity of established

content was originally
proposed to be housed
in Lightbox’s website,
however, with the potential
of contravening the SVOD’s
contracts, a dedicated
standalone website was
created. Lightbox is one of
a number of sponsors of
The Spinoff, and the types of
content it offers and the senior
writers it’s attracted have
grown just as rapidly, with
stories, videos and podcasts
now available through the site
and its app.
The Spinoff App launched
earlier this year as another
means by which to engage
audiences. Founder and
editor Duncan Greive told
StopPress the changes to
Facebook newsfeed algorithms
got the team thinking about
how those accessing it via
social media were possibly
have real resonance with them.
That strategy surrounding
social media is a characteristic
of all the nominees and the
NZ Herald Focus is careful not
to post all of its content on
Facebook. Instead, managing
editor Shayne Currie told
StopPress it uses Facebook as
a fishing pond for audiences
as it posts only a selection of
its videos and sometimes only
partial videos in order to pull
the audience back to its own
site where NZME knows the
engagement metrics and who
the audience is.
Continuing the news trend,
The Wireless, Noted, and Tim
Murphy and Mark Jennings’
Newsroom are also performing
well in the digital media brand
category despite being new
to the scene and their
momentum may one day
see them reach the same
players Stuff and Vice. People’s choice:
But it isn’t just about news
in this category. Digital media
brands also provide utility.
The Spinoff
Whether it’s Neighbourly
connecting communities, The Hottest Digital
Metservice keeping New brand also picks up the
Zealanders up to date on People’s Choice for its
approaching cyclonesor 32.1 percent of the vote. It
Concrete Playground was a substantial drop for
recommending the best things second place, with Vice
to do, digital media brands receiving only 13.6 percent
have burrowed their way into of the vote. Third place
all the nooks and crannies of
goes to Newsroom (12.8
our lives.
percent), followed closely
The winner, The Spinoff,
has just done that particularly
by Noted on 12.5 percent.
well – especially with its
humorous commentary on The
Bachelor New Zealand.
One thing that’s certain is
the news isn’t dead at all. It’s
just morphing into a new-
fangled beast with tentacles
stretching into every digital
direction.

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Nominees: Harkanwal Singh (NZ Herald Data Editor), Toby Morris (The Wireless – The Pencilsword),
Lucy Zee (The Wireless – What’s Going On?), Jordan Watson (How to Dad), Jose Barbosa (The Spinoff) Digital Creator

People’s choice:

Jordan Watson

‘How to Dad’ Jordan

Your journalism with data is
Watson’s humorous
and blokey take on
modern day childcare
has certainly struck
a chord with Kiwi
parents, attracting 36.6
percent of the public’s
vote. Second place was
a close battle between
The Spinoff ’s audio and
visual guru Jose Barbosa
(19.3 percent), and Lucy

HARKANWAL SINGH quite unique, do you think

journalists should have
more skills to deal with and
Zee’s wry and alternative
commentary for The
Wireless (18.3 percent).
As The New Zealand Herald’s data editor, Harkanwal Singh present data?
takes a fresh approach to journalism by tackling complex As data becomes more pervasive,
topics with interactive visualisations. He’s intrigued readers journalists will be required data and methodology are good
with information about the most religious suburbs, where to up-skill to understand and and repeatable, then it is closer to
and why Maoris still smoke and the population’s wealth, so communicate data. objectivity. I’d double-check with
agencies that produce data and
we ask him to fill us in on how it’s done.
Do you think universities interview experts on the topic.
prepare students for the
demands of real data What did you think of
Who, or what determines analysing data. One way I’ve journalism? Is it easier to Winston Peters questioning
what you are going to developed as a workaround teach statisticians how to your objectivity?
investigate? is to publish visualisations write or writers how to work Winston Peters’ questions were
Newsworthiness and which are updated when new with numbers? about my objectivity as an ‘Asian
availability of data. It’s hard to data is released. Journalism schools in New immigrant’ journalist rather
investigate unless there is data Zealand are nowhere near close than as a data journalist, which
available. Also, if anyone in the From all the investigations to preparing students for future says a lot. I cannot change my
newsroom suggests ideas worth you’ve done, what’s been challenges. The gap is staggering ethnicity but I am more than
investigating. your biggest learning? and doesn’t seem to be improving. happy to discuss data. You
You can always do better in I haven’t done much teaching to can read my full response on
How long does each communicating the complexity know which is easier; ideally, you nzherald.co.nz.
project take? of the data because headlines can actually want someone who can
It depends on complexity and rarely capture it. code and communicate. What will data journalism
what we are creating as end result, look like in the future?
but anywhere from one to three Your projects are very Numbers can be spun into As the quote goes, predictions
weeks. popular and raise a lot of virtually any narrative. So are hard, especially about
eyebrows. Which piece of what steps do you take to the future. Data journalism
Do you feel the same pressure work has generated the ensure your reporting is internationally has and will
as other journalists to churn most response? objective? continue to become more
things out quickly? Probably the burglaries I don’t think numbers can be spun mainstream. In New Zealand, it
There’s always pressure to crime map, in terms of analytics into ‘virtually any narrative’. There will depend on the shape of the
publish but it’s hard to turn and responses. are interpretations and there can market and whether journalism
over a visualisation without be competing ones, but if your schools rise to the challenge.

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 Nominees: Amy Adams (former broadcasting minister),
Most Influential Person in Media Mark Berry (Commerce Commission chair), Jane Wrightson (NZ
ON Air chief executive), Cate Slater (TVNZ director of content),
Andrew Szusterman (MediaWorks chief content officer),
Steve Tew (New Zealand head of rugby), Russel Stanners
(Vodafone chief executive), Nadia Lim, Mike Hosking, Taika
Waititi, Sinead Boucher (Fairfax executive editor), Paul Dykzeul
(Bauer chief executive), Shayne Currie (NZME managing director)

MARK BERRY
(COMMERCE COMMISSION CHAIR)
In a year when some of the country’s biggest media companies have sought mergers as a solution to consolidate their
businesses, there’s no denying Commerce Commission chair Mark Berry the title of Most Influential Person in Media.

People’s choice:

Taika Waititi

Berry and the Commission
members are responsible for
the proposed Vodafone/Sky and
NZME/Fairfax mergers being
declined, and now the industry
waits in suspense to see the
impact this is going to have
on those companies and the
industry as a whole.
Already, it’s been reported
in local media, that less than an
hour after the NZME/Fairfax
merger had been declined, an
email had been sent to Fairfax
staff warning that “further
publishing frequency changes
and consolidation of titles is an
inevitability.”
There has also been
widespread criticism from many
that the decision was out of
touch and failed to recognise the
financial burden of creating and
distributing journalism. (Read
more of what people have to
say about the merger on pages
70-73).
It goes to show that those
with power are never going to
please everyone.
One person perhaps less
than pleased was Vodafone chief
executive Russel Stanners (also
a finalist in this category) who
more recently penned a four-
year sponsorship deal with the
All Blacks. He continues to push
his attempts to take over Sky
TV and should he succeed, he’ll
have a broadcaster, rugby rights
and one of the nation’s biggest
telcos under his control. Suffice
to say, his influence stretches
across many touchpoints.
Speaking of rugby, New
Zealand head of rugby Steve
Tew deserves a mention for
his influence over which
broadcaster gets the right to air
All Blacks games. It’s the sport
of the nation and the fans that
come with it are a massive win.
Also wielding significant
power are NZ On Air chief
executive Jane Wrightson,
TVNZ director of content
Cate Slater and MediaWorks
chief content officer Andrew
Szusterman who determine
how an annually allocated
budget is used to make content
and which programmes make
it to air. Anything not deemed
worthwhile by this trio is likely
to never make it to an audience.
However, this still pales in
comparison to the Commerce
Commission’s influence over the
fate of media companies.
Also worth a mention are
Fairfax executive editor Sinead
Boucher, Bauer’s Paul Dykzeul
and NZME managing editor
Shayne Currie, who have the
power to guide public opinion
and shift society through the
words, images and videos their
teams publish on a daily basis.
Acclaimed director
and actor Taika Waititi
received the most votes
to win People’s Choice,
no doubt due to the
popularity of his films
that audiences clamour to
see. With the success of
Hunt for the Wilderpeople,
the anticipation of
his upcoming Thor:
Ragnarok and his recent
endorsement of the Green
Party, Waititi wields
unprecedented cultural
influence. He was followed
by Andrew Szusterman
(19 percent) and My Food
Bag co-founder Nadia Lim
(14.7 percent). NZME’s
Mike Hosking and Shayne
Currie tie for fifth place
with 5.3 percent of the
votes each.

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 Nominees: James Frankham (Kowhai Media publisher), Duncan
Greive (founder of The Spinoff), Regan Savage (Kiwibank
GM of marketing communications), Julia Baylis (Top TV head
Media Visionary
of programming and acquisitions), Sarah Bristow (executive
producer of The Paul Henry Show and The AM Show), Paul
Thompson (RNZ chief executive), Todd Scott (NBR publisher),
Shelley Ferguson (editor-in-chief at Your Home and Garden, Taste
and Nadia magazine)

RNZ CHIEF EXECUTIVE PAUL THOMPSON

When looking across New Zealand media, there’s plenty of talent leading the way of radio, magazines, newspapers,
websites and TV. However, standing out from the rest is RNZ’s Paul Thompson. The biggest ships are the most difficult
to turn around, but Thompson has managed to do just that – and at time when the water has been frozen.

“It’s been an absolute privilege
and pleasure,” Thompson
says about his last three and
a half years since taking over
the throne as chief executive of
RNZ.
Joining from his role as
Fairfax New Zealand’s group
executive editor, Thompson
says he’s really enjoyed learning
about broadcasting, feeling the
stability that wasn’t there so
much in the publishing world
and moving from a commercial
to non-commercial model.
“It reminded me in parts of
what the newspaper industry
used to be and I’ve also just
really loved working for an
organisation that’s got such a
strong sense of its role in New
Zealand life.”
That role comes from its
foundation documents that
specify its promise to deliver
unique and high-quality
news, current affairs and
entertainment, be innovative
and challenging, create a sense
of community and foster a sense
of nationhood.
“All of that stuff is really
motivating us,” he says, again
using the word “privileged” to
describe how RNZ feels about
the charter.
“That does create, I think, a
desire for us to grow the appeal
and relevance and accessibility
of our content.”
If the latest GfK Radio
Survey results are anything to
go by, it’s successfully living
up to that with RNZ National
sitting in number two position
for its weekly audience of
579,400 with an 11.3 percent
share of listening time. That
audience is up 44,200 from the
previous survey.
While RNZ has always
been a significant player in the
radio market with one of the
largest audiences and shares,
the last few years have seen the
broadcaster shift its mindset

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 with a digital transformation
that places greater emphasis
on its online platforms, social
media, mobile apps, Sky,
Freeview and satellite.
Now, its audience is as varied
as ever, with some happy to
continue to tune in as they
always have while others have
branched out and made the new
offerings their go-to.
“From what we can see, most
people are there online, they’re
listening on air, they’re listening
on demand and they also pick
up our content when they go on
Stuff or The Herald.”
Thompson says in the
changing media environment,
RNZ is going where its
audiences need it to be and
that’s been made easier by a
change to the charter last year.
It specifies RNZ should use
the most effective means of
distribution and with that came
control of what those means are.
And as well as its own
platforms, it now collaborates
with other media companies,
which Thompson says brings in
a new audience for RNZ as well
as helping out the media sector
as a whole.
An example of this is its
new 9th Floor series, which
profiles five living New Zealand
prime ministers. As well as
providing RNZ with new
angles, news packages, written
content, video, podcasts and
radio output, most major media
outlets in New Zealand have
also made good use of the series
and it will be broadcast on
free-to-air television by Three
later this year.
But no matter where the
audience consumes the content
created by RNZ, Thompson says
there’s a common theme across
it all.
“The glue that hangs it all
together is that the quality of the
content is high and it’s credible,
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unique and different to what
other people do.”
While the audiences’
successful pickup of the new
digital offerings is a reflection
of the consideration that went
into the new platforms, what’s
just as impressive is the fact
the digital transformation was
achieved without any extra
funding. (Increased funding
was finally announced in the
2017 Budget).
Thompson says throughout
the process it’s become more
efficient, moving resources
around the organisation to make
room for more digital staff –
pointing out that head of digital
media Glen Scanlon now has a
team of 30-40 staff.
It also made it a requirement
for all its programme managers,
executive producers and
newsroom leaders to think
digitally.
And while Thompson
admits there’s been stress and
strain due to questions around
resources, he credits his team
for the way it’s handled the
transitions.
“There’s a lot of hard work
in behind that and the RNZ
staff have been extraordinarily
willing to be open to the
challenge and they’ve embraced
it. That’s because they’re really
motivated around getting things
to audiences and online allows
them to do much more than they
could in the past.”
At the helm of the ship,
Thompson is held in high regard
by the staff and he has an equal
respect for them, which is why
he’s made it his mission to be
accessible to them all.
“I’ve tried to be present and
available and I just really try
to communicate very strongly
opportunities for RNZ as it gets
it plan right and evolves as a
media organisation. And I think
staff have responded to that.”
Part of the message he distinctive, high quality and
has for staff now is that they’re credible and really gets to the
30 percent down the path of heart of what it means to be a
its digital transformation, with New Zealander – not whether
70 percent to go over the next we’re continuing to do as much
few years. radio in the future.”
“We’ve done a great job, And being the only non-
we’ve adjusted to the new commercial broadcaster, this
environment, we’re growing and attitude puts it in good stead
we’ve raised our profile. But if we when considering the current
stop now we’ll again fall behind.” turmoil across the media.
RNZ believes the future “It’s really challenging and the
is about multi-platform and public media space is certainly
Thompson says there’s a world not going to shrink, it’s going to
of opportunity to provide more grow so RNZ needs to be ready to
services to New Zealand because do more work and provide more
of its funding. services as the commercial media
A major ingredient of that continues to adjust to the tough
will be its on air broadcast, but financial situations.
going forward, the focus will “I think we’ll need to do a
be on ensuring its content lives better job, we’ll need to be more
up to the high standards the transparent and we need to be
charter and RNZ sets. able to show the government,
“What our rock will be, is every dollar invested in RNZ is a
whether the work we create is service to New Zealanders.”
People’s choice:
Duncan Greive
The Spinoff founder’s ability to introduce something
new to the market and build it from the ground up
has earned Duncan Greive the People’s Choice win
with 26.9 percent of the vote. What started as a tiny
operation with two people to promote Lightbox
has, in a short few years, grown into a respectable
(and extremely popular) multi-media organisation.
In the voting, Greive was followed closely behind
by Sarah Bristow (26.7), who’s taken the risk of
broadcasting across TV and radio with The AM
Show and The Paul Henry Show.
In third place is Shelley Ferguson who earned 18.6
percent of the vote for going beyond the page with Your
Home and Garden’s homewares range. That’s all while
editing Taste and playing an integral role in the launch
of Nadia magazine.
And in fourth place with 12.4 percent of the votes is
Kiwibank’s Regan Savage for bravely financing Mind
Over Money with Nigel Latta. The move paid off and
early ratings placed the show among the broadcaster’s
most-watched programmes.
 Advertising is an
industry constantly
focused on finding new
ways to bedazzle and charm
consumers. But in reaching
too far into the digital hat,
David Thomason reckons
advertisers might be losing
grip with what made the show
effective in the first place.
feature

In theory, numbers and logic should

show us the bigger picture, and
suggest the best solutions. But
hearing the words ‘big data’ (is
anyone really doing it?) seems to
have focused us on little things.
Hundreds of little things that don’t
last, and few people see.

ALAN MORRIS was the ‘Mo’ of Mojo, the legendary
ad agency behind some of Australia’s most iconic
eighties ad campaigns. While presenting a global
advertising concept to Coke in Atlanta, Mo was
interrupted by another ad man. He challenged
Mo to define the target market in terms of both
demographics and psychographics. Mo stood up
and spoke clearly into the microphone.
“Any c*** with a mouth.”
Apparently the president of Coke considered
this refreshingly precise.
This article is about a renewed appreciation of
broadcast advertising. It’s not a critique of digital
channels. It’s about the way we’re using both
modern and traditional media. Carefully targeted
short-term marketing is a critical part of the
marketing mix. But it shouldn’t dominate.
Mass-media, brand-building and long-term
thinking are intertwined. Combined they remain
the most efficient and effective marketing force
for driving large, sustained business results. But
we’ve now moved too far to the other end of all
three scales; to focus on a quick sale to today’s
customer. Despite the modern rhetoric, this move
isn’t based on evidence or logic. It’s cultural.
Marketing is still run by human beings. Like
our audiences, we’re social animals making
decisions based largely on emotion. We’re
particularly influenced by what we think others
are doing and how they might perceive us.
Knowing this, I won’t just use research to make
my point. I’ll tell some good old-fashioned stories.
The first time I heard Mo’s quote was at
Lintas in 1993. I found it confusing because I was
simultaneously being given the first brief I’d seen
featuring a target audience and insight box.
I soon realised that the box often evoked
an apologetic tone from the person doing the
briefing. “I know this is rather broad, but they
insist on appealing to everyone”, or “Yes, the
household shopper buys it, but everyone in the
family eats it, so we can’t go too narrow, sorry”.
As a creative working on a large mass-market
product or service, it was very useful for me
to picture one person that I was writing for,
real or imagined. Someone with certain beliefs,
hopes, needs and behaviours. I’ve long believed
in having a focused, meaningful brand position
and that generally starts with a defined target
audience. And, conversely, not worrying too
much about other segments. As professor Michael
Porter said: “The essence of strategy is choosing
what not to do.”
But the truth is that I hoped most people,
whatever their circumstances, would like my
work. This wasn’t based on any understanding of
advertising effectiveness. It just seemed a natural,
human ambition to create something popular.
Early in my career I worked for seven years on
a decorating brand called Levene. (For the young
ones, it was a large and very popular privately
owned retail chain that was sold then died.) I
don’t remember anyone ever carefully describing
the Levene target audience. And I definitely never
saw a brief.
Our target audience was simply Gill – the
young home-owning, style-conscious art director
I worked with. She was a modern, discerning,
image-conscious woman. Having lived overseas,
she was disappointed with what was available
and affordable to her in New Zealand. So we
aimed our marketing at her. (Levene’s category
managers even chose product with Gill in mind.)
Our ads were sexy and young; full of stylish
people, fast cuts, colour and music. More like
European fashion than New Zealand retail. But,
as distinctly positioned as the brand was, it was
widely popular. Our parents shopped there.
Grandparents, students, men, people who’d
never been interested in home décor all loved the
brand. We didn’t try and reflect everyone’s tastes.

34 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017

Levene’s marketing actually moved the country’s
home décor aesthetic more towards Gill’s.
That’s a creative perspective on targeting.
But what about media? Back then, even with a
clear audience in mind, there was little chance
that our work would only be seen by the core
target. If it appeared in television, print, outdoor
or radio, then careful planning could skew
placement towards a certain demographic or
psychographic. But given enough time in market,
we were pretty much reaching all people. Want
to reach household shoppers? Use Shortland
Street. Want to reach anyone? Use Shortland Street.
How successful would Levene have been if our
advertising had only reached those young female
home-owners?
There’s a moment when people well outside
of your usual circles learn that you work in
advertising. So they ask which ads you or your
agency have done. Back in the nineties I’d
mention Levene. A decade later it might have been
Moccona. In the last ten years, perhaps Pak’nSave
or Mitre 10.
There’s much to learn from those barbecue
conversations. Firstly, no-one wants a
complicated answer. Hopefully, a brand name is
enough to get, “We love Stickman,” or for Mitre
10, “The funny one with the two kids in the
playground?”. It’s awkward when your potential
new friend looks blankly at you, unable to recall
anything. So you describe the ad. “Oh yes, I just
didn’t remember who that was for.”
Today it’s likely you’ll have to explain that
your recent work has been very targeted, so
they probably didn’t see it. If it was on TV, they
might respond with: “Sorry, I just don’t see TV
ads anymore.” Advertising people hang out with
people that are many times less likely to see
television ads. Millions still do. And it’s likely
the self-proclaimed non-TV viewer did see your
ad but it wasn’t memorable. Increasingly likely
is that your ad, TV or anywhere else, didn’t have
enough media weight or run for long enough to
make an impression.
This scenario is about more than just the
ego of the advertising or marketing individual
concerned. It’s a very useful proxy for the
effectiveness of the modern advertiser’s efforts
– possibly even an early-warning sign for many
large brands and the industry in general. It’s our
job to make brands famous. But we’re often too
busy crafting numerous small, engaging short-
term campaigns that briefly reach a
narrow audience.
In theory, numbers and logic should show us
the bigger picture, and suggest the best solutions.
But hearing the words ‘big data’ (is anyone really
doing it?) seems to have focused us on little
things. Hundreds of little things that don’t last,
and few people see.
For decades there’s been a growing belief that
soon we’ll be able to eliminate waste and talk
directly to potential buyers only at the moment
they’re ready to buy. That’d be clever. We’d look
good to clients and peers.
Technology has brought us closer to that
vision. Here’s an excerpt from a March 2017 piece
by Zander Nethercutt called, unhelpfully, ‘The
Death of Advertising’:
“The perfection of data will, eventually, give
rise to a world in which every consumer can be
paired up with goods that meet their biological
tendencies, rather than their consumptive ones.
This world will also be devoid of branding, because
in a world that relies on perfect information, there
will be no need for branded trust.”
I’m grateful to Nethercutt for succinctly
summing up the essence of the flawed thinking
that’s already led many marketers astray. It sounds
like brainy stuff. To my point about culture, this
is the age of the progressive high-tech marketer.
But it simply doesn’t stack up, and it never will,
because it’s not based on actual science.
I’d have to agree with commenter Justin Choi,
who added below ‘The Death of Advertising’
that “this article points to a fundamental
misunderstanding of both advertising and
human beings”.
Many technology-driven marketing evangelists
seem attracted to the idea of a rational approach
that would eliminate the flawed human element.
That messy link in the marketing sequence has
always been an inconvenience. It’s frustrating
when customers purchase a competing product
or service even when “the numbers show our one
performs 2.3 percent better”. Or costs 4.2 percent
less. The conclusion? “Get those messages out
there. It’s an education job.”
Yet, there’s a vast and easily accessible
understanding of human behaviour that quickly
explains (scientifically) why there’s so much
more to marketing. Recently, there’s been a lot of
marketing talk about behavioural economics, and
even neuroscience. Ironically, both are rational
ways of explaining emotional human behaviour to
educated people who’ve been taught not to trust
their instincts.
For advertising specifically, there are the
research-based observations and principles
from the likes of Byron Sharp, Mark Ritson,
Peter Field and Les Binet. So you’d think that the
fundamentals of effective marketing would now
be quite clear.
Late last year, I wrote an article capturing
some of this expert reasoning and providing
six reasons why mass-media should enjoy a
resurgence:
1. Fame drives success:
This means people talking about you even
though they might never buy you. One of Peter
Field’s strongest points.
2. Top of mind awareness is powerful:
– mental availability makes it easier to buy.
3. Humans are social animals:
We feel safe choosing what others are
choosing, and we signal our identity via
brands and products.
4. It takes time and repetition to form habits:
Targeted and timely communications are a
more effective nudge later in the customer
journey.
5. Reach tomorrow’s customers:
Reach a wide audience and you’re building
your brand with customers yet to move into
your target segment.
6. Efficiency:
Producing less elements, that last longer, saves
precious resource.
I neglected a very important seventh point which
I’d already focused on in a separate article:
7. The waste is the part that works:
The status conveyed when a person or
brand has enough resource to put on an
‘unnecessarily’ expensive display (production
and mass-media costs) increases both
credibility and desire.
But these aren’t the real reasons we’ll rediscover
the power of broadcast advertising and brand-
building. We’ll reset the balance for the same reason
we moved away in the first place. It wasn’t logical. It
was a shift in marketing culture. We’d been hearing
and reading endlessly about innovative, technology-
driven, targeted methods that deeply engage
audiences. Campaigns and people that applied
these methods have been celebrated loudly. Usually
without waiting for the results. In many cases we’ve
continued to speak in awe of campaigns even after
we know they’ve failed.
‘Pepsi to skip Super Bowl ads in favour of
a $20 million social media campaign’ read one
of many dramatic headlines at the end of 2009.
Marketers around the world looked sheepishly at
The Media Issue 2017 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 35
feature
Short-term
sleight of hand
The deception of short-termism
Sales uplift over base
Sales uplift over base
short term sales uplifts
Short term effects dominate ~ 6 months
source: Binet & Field 2013
the old-fashioned media plans they’d presented
to their exec teams. But ‘Pepsi Challenge’ was
one of the greatest catastrophes in marketing
history. Sales fell more than five percent and the
brand slipped to number three behind Diet Coke.
Yet, in August 2010, Forbes listed the campaign
at number five on their list of ‘Best-Ever Social
Media Campaigns’.
Marketing professor Mark Ritson is very
clear about this flawed culture. He uses the 2013
Oreo Super Bowl tweet to demonstrate the biased
influence of media.
“The whole stadium went dark and the game
had to stop. Oreo saw an opportunity and sent out
a tweet. ‘Power out? No problem.’ And there was
a link to a picture of an Oreo cookie. Underneath
it said: ‘You can still dunk in the dark.’
“That tweet became known as the tweet that
was heard around the world… In Wired magazine:
‘How Oreo won the Marketing Super Bowl With
a Timely Blackout Ad on Twitter’. In the Wall
Street Journal: ‘How Oreo culture-jacked the Super
Bowl’. In C-Net: ‘How Oreo’s Brilliant Black Out
Tweet Won the Super Bowl. BRW in Australia:
‘Taking the biscuit: how Oreo’s blackout tweet
trumped million-dollar Super Bowl ads’. Let’s talk
about that tweet. Let’s not be lazy journalists…
Let’s break down the numbers.”
Ritson compares the tweet with a Budweiser
TV ad. He calculates that about 64,000 people saw
the tweet, or 0.02 percent of Oreo customers. A
somewhat larger 50 million people saw Budweiser.
36 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017
Peter Field’s studies have shown that short-term strategy gives brands a quick lift in sales with one
hand, but then just as quickly pulls it away with the other. Stick to short-term digital advertising
based entirely on ROI and it becomes an endless cycle of lifts and troughs. Stick to this approach
over an extended period and you end up with a brand in much worse shape than it could’ve been.
Short-term data flatters Search
60% 1.8
Very large activation effects
Very large activation effects
source: IPA Databank, 2008 - 2016 cases
Brand building
Long term sales growth
55%
1.7
50%
1.6
45%
40% 1.5
Time Used No
Search Search
“My point isn’t to say that Oreo weren’t clever myths: mass marketing is inefficient and tight
or effective in their tweet,” Ritson continued. targeting rules; real time data-driven marketing
“My point is to say ‘on which bloody planet does is less wasteful than broadcast advertising;
that tweet beat that ad?’ For reach, for impact, for timely and relevant offers are the most effective
value, for brand-centricity? … Lazy, inaccurate advertising; last-minute activation is better than
journalism giving marketers completely the brand building; and ROI drives everything we do.
wrong impression.” Field’s research focused on the new media
Ritson also looks at the large number of context and acknowledged the important role of
entirely wrong headlines proclaiming ‘TV is digital channels. But his analysis showed that most
dead’. When it comes to anything other than of the ‘old success models’ still very much apply.
sustained brand-building using broadcast media, He ended with six important out-takes
the hype is consistently louder than the facts. for the room:
But it’s not just the marketing press. I feel lucky
to have been part of an agency with a holistic and 1. Beware the growth of short-termism
balanced view on all media, while the industry
in general has perpetuated a myth. The cult-like 2. Do not retreat from mass-marketing
social pressure to avoid anything that looks like
‘traditional brand advertising’ has been immense. 3. Remember the power of video
To reiterate, this isn’t about technology. We’ve
got the mix wrong for both traditional and digital 4. ROI can damage your brand
media. To maximise success, we need to shift the
balance back toward sustained, wide-reaching, 5. Emotions and creativity drive
brand-building activity across all channels. long-term success
Digital opportunities that quickly deliver the
largest audiences will demand a premium, as have 6. Balance between short- and long-term
TV’s Shortland Street and the news. activity matters (the balance should
Recently FCB hosted a dinner for its senior be 40:60)
clients with UK-based advertising effectiveness
guru Peter Field. We’d hosted a similar dinner three years ago,
After kicking off with a frightening graph but Field’s thinking was especially well received
showing that advertising has become less effective this time—probably as a result of sustained long-
over time, Field set out to bust some important term marketing about the importance of sustained
 Short-term Long-term RoI Very large profit growth

Focus on ROI promotes short-termism

Short-term data flatters Social but not profit growth
70% 2.2 600% 30%
Very large activation effects

Very large activation effects

Very large activation effects

source: IPA Databank, 2008 - 2016 cases
source: IPA Databank, 2008 - 2016 cases

60% 2.0 500% 25%

50%
1.8 400% 20%
40%
1.6 300% 15%
30%
Average ROI
1.4 200% 10%
20%

10% 1.2 100% 5%

0% 1.0 0% 0%
Used No
Social Social Short-term Long-term

long-term marketing. Most had been exposed to audiences and stakeholders beyond the customer, budgets, rather than digital versus other.
Field’s thinking a number of times over the years. and a famous brand campaign reaches all. Show KPIs and incentives are key. If people are
We were building on an existing brand. them the best work in the market, here or overseas. employed and rewarded for short-term results,
Our dinner, and this article, are part of a large And throw in some results. the problem continues. Hold the biggest
and important campaign. So if I’ve covered some Change the language. Don’t call mass-media celebrations for big picture results.
of this stuff before… well that’s the point. advertising ‘traditional’. It includes channels Tenure is a challenge. I met a New Zealand
Many marketers of large New Zealand brands such as Facebook. Talk about efficiently marketer who was remunerated by a large global
have now had time to experiment. They’ve seen reaching very large numbers of people. Call it company after he left their employ, based on the
the long-term results of moving too much budget ‘mass-reach-media’. on-going results of initiatives he put in place
from sustained brand-building and mass- Salience is important. But there are many more while he was there. Incentives can reward all
marketing. They’ve also seen the huge resource meetings about short-term results and objectives types of longevity.
required to produce numerous short-lived ideas than long-term ones. Find ways for brand health to Everyone is receptive to social influence. We
and campaigns. be part of everyday discussion, and highly visible need to establish a new norm. Marketing has
So after the presentation, the conversation beyond the core marketing team. changed. The smartest businesses are thinking
quickly turned to corporate culture. Converting Present Field’s findings to audiences beyond bigger. They’re thinking about big, lasting,
the people in the room is one thing. But shifting marketing. Or get your agency or Field himself to emotional campaigns that create fame. Anyone
beliefs and behaviour with the many other do it. It makes good business sense. still pushing a short-term, highly engaging and
stakeholders, and keeping it shifted, is another. Measurement is key. Focus on one or two targeted approach above all else, rather than a
So let’s imagine now that I’m talking to simple target brand numbers and market those smart 40 percent of the mix, is now out of date.
the converted. How do we convince others numbers to the wider internal audience. Then Mass media is the next big marketing craze.
to rebalance their marketing efforts toward keep marketing the progress. Make sure you tell everyone.
sustained brand-building using mass-reach- Show that this brand number delivers to the
media? Let’s apply some of the same principles business. It’s hard to connect long-term activity
we’d use, or should have been using, for our and brand effects to the bottom line. Field’s
customer audiences. research is based on case studies that require
When it comes to senior business people, all quite lengthy analysis. But the maths needs to be
the careful boardroom analysis in the world will done and endorsed at a senior level.
never completely replace the human experience Balance is very important. Many marketers
of repeatedly seeing something exciting in the are well out from the ideal 60 percent brand,
market, having an emotional reaction to it, hearing 40 percent activation marketing mix that Field
your friends and family talk about it, and envying proposes. Most wouldn’t know. Measure and
the brand behind it. Brands need to impress many scrutinise the long/short split in marketing David Thomason is chief strategist at FCB.

The Media Issue 2017 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 37

NZ MARKETING The Radio Bureau

ON
Radio might be one of the oldest media channels around, but with over three million New Zealanders
still tuning into the airwaves on a weekly basis, it continues to have a strong hold on the attention of
today’s listeners. We chat to TRB general manager Peter Richardson about why radio is still grooving
despite all the changes in media.

THE SPINOFF EDITOR DUNCAN GREIVE RECENTLY
REFERRED TO RADIO AS BEING “A KIND OF
GODLESS MEDIA IBIZA WHERE EVERY CITIZEN IS
OILY AND SUSPICIOUSLY TANNED AND PULLING
A FUNNY FACE DESPITE BEING 108 YEARS OLD.”
WHY DESPITE EVERYTHING IMPACTING THE MEDIA
DOES THE CHANNEL STILL COMMAND SUCH A
STRONG LISTENERSHIP?
The simple answer is content, content and
content. Listeners have strong connections to the
radio brands and personalities. The personalities
have evolved into the social media space and
so offer more opportunities for interaction
with their listeners. This has driven greater
connectivity and loyalty.
THERE’S A PERCEPTION THAT TRB USUALLY ONLY
WORKS WITH SMALLER, DIRECT CLIENTS? IS THIS
FAIR? OR DO YOUR COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES
EXTEND WELL BEYOND THAT?
That’s an interesting perception and one that
couldn’t be further from the reality. TRB’s key
clients are advertising agencies and their clients
including Foodstuffs, The Warehouse Group,
Farmers and Spark. Our role is to work with
agencies to develop impartial radio solutions for
their clients. In our most successful partnerships
we are the agencies’ radio planning arm.
DO YOU HAVE SOME EXAMPLES OF BRANDS/
AGENCIES THAT YOU’VE HELPED TO MAKE GOOD
RADIO ADVERTISING DECISIONS?
TRB collaborated with MBM to create an
overarching radio strategy for VTNZ in 2016.
The strategy has been successful, evidenced by
its continuation this year. TRB also worked with
Panasonic to combine sponsorship of Olympic
activity with integrated content, by giving away
a TV whenever NZ won gold – possibly a few
more TVs than they bargained for. These are just
a couple of examples of what the team does every
day – identifying opportunities and events to
leverage campaigns by using appropriate content
on the most suitable radio station.

WHAT ROLE DOES TRB PLAY IN 2017? HOW HAS

THIS EVOLVED FROM WHAT IT WAS PREVIOUSLY?
TRB plays the same role it always has done
– a one-stop shop of radio experts providing
impartial radio plans and solutions that
maximise the effectiveness of radio. The only
change is that agencies have the option to engage
with each of the networks’ sales teams. TRB’s
role as industry marketer has taken a hiatus over
the last couple of years, but watch this space.
CUME AUDIENCE BY 2016
DEMOGRAPHIC 2017
THE RADIO INDUSTRY STILL SEEMS VERY
COMPETITIVE. EVERY TIME THE SURVEY RESULTS 600

ARE RELEASED, THE COMMERCIAL NETWORKS 500

REALLY SEEM TO GO AT EACH OTHER. IS THIS
COMPETITION GOOD OR BAD FOR THE INDUSTRY? 400
ISN’T COLLABORATION A NECESSARY PART OF THE
GAME THESE DAYS? 300

Competition between the networks is healthy

200
and essential for a strong industry. However,
occasionally the rivalry can obscure the overall 100
picture which is a vibrant medium attracting
more and more listeners. The competitive nature 0
All All All All All All All HHS
10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70+ with
of the two networks drives each other to produce kids

even better engaging content.

38 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017


DIGITAL PROVIDES THE
OPPORTUNITY TO COST-
EFFECTIVELY ENHANCE A RADIO
CAMPAIGN WITH A VISUAL
COMPONENT. ADDITIONALLY,
EACH NETWORK HAS A DIGITAL
PLATFORM – IHEART AND ROVA
– AND THESE FORM PART OF
VIRTUALLY EVERY PLAN.
TRB HAS GONE THROUGH SOME SIGNIFICANT
RESTRUCTURING OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS.
HAVE YOU NOW SETTLED ON A FINAL TEAM?
Undoubtedly, 2015 was a turbulent year for TRB
but 2016 saw stability, the re-establishment of the
team and strong revenue growth. This year we
are building on that foundation and looking to
add resource, particularly in the marketing area.
WITH SO MANY DIGITAL LISTENING OPTIONS
AVAILABLE, WHY SHOULD BRANDS STILL
CONSIDER USING RADIO AS A CHANNEL TO GROW
THEIR BRANDS?
Because, despite what people’s perceptions are,
the evidence shows that over 79 percent of Kiwis
listen to commercial radio each week – no digital
listening format can match that. We constantly
get told how the younger demographics don’t
listen to radio, but the latest GfK survey reported
an 8 percent increase in the number of 20- to
29-year-olds tuning in.
THE NUMBERS ON SPOTIFY
AND PANDORA ARE NOT IN
THE SAME BALLPARK AS
RADIO LISTENERSHIP.
RADIO LISTENERSHIP - ALL 10+ CUME AUDIENCE
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
.5
.0
S2/16 S3/16 S1/17
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL HOW BIG OF A THREAT ARE THE LIKES OF PANDORA
BRANDS THAT YOU’VE SEEN BUILT ON RADIO AND SPOTIFY, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THAT THEY
ADVERTISING IN RECENT YEARS? OFFER TARGETED ADVERTISING SOLUTIONS?
The Warehouse has been a strong supporter The numbers on Spotify and Pandora are not
of radio for many years. We plan various in the same ballpark as radio listenership. Once
layers of radio activity, in consultation with subscribers are taken out, the numbers that are
their agency, to support the various categories, hearing ads are very low. Yes, they can target
primarily product and price. This activity is very specifically, but the plethora of radio brands
then enhanced by the use of promotions and allow targeting to a larger market. Radio can also
integrated offerings to boost major events, most offer, via iHeart, even tighter targeted solutions.
recently Mother’s Day. The Warehouse are also
enthusiastic supporters of Christmas charity
promotions across several radio stations and are
a key provider of prizes and giveaways to the less
fortunate across the festive season.
WHAT IS TRB DOING IN THE DIGITAL SPACE?
DIGITAL REVENUE FOR RADIO REMAINS
VERY SMALL? SO WHAT ROLE CAN TRB PLAY
IN INCREASING DIGITAL REVENUE FOR THE
INDUSTRY?
Digital provides the opportunity to cost-
effectively enhance a radio campaign with a
visual component. Additionally, each network
has a digital platform – iHeart and Rova – and
Contact: Peter Richardson
general manager, The Radio Bureau
these form part of virtually every plan. PeterR@trb.co.nz
The Media Issue 2017 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 39
NZ MARKETING Freeview
20/20
LINEAR IS LOCAL:
WHY FREE-TO-AIR TV IS STILL
‘A MIRROR INTO NEW ZEALAND’S SOUL’
With an endless library of overseas
programming on offer online, where can
New Zealanders go to get a fix of
content that’s relevant and familiar to
them? Erin McKenzie finds Freeview's
free-to-air TV offering might be the
answer advertisers are looking for.
40 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017
THERE ARE 196 countries in the world, making up a
population of 7.5 billion people. And while 4.6 million of
them live in New Zealand, the world is at their fingertips
through their smartphones, tablets, computers, laptops
and the TV remote. But while they’re busy exploring
there are two things New Zealanders all know – Dr
Ropata is not in Guatemala anymore, and you must
always blow on the pie.
TELE VISION TV is a cultural driver – and educator – in New
Zealand and an important part of that role is the
broadcasting of local programming.
So much so that according to NZ On Air’s 2016 Local
Content Report, local content makes up 31 percent of
the free-to-air schedule with a total of 13,126 hours of its
broadcast time in 2016.
TVNZ saw 1 News, Fair Go and Hyundai Country
Calendar take the top three spots in its highest rated
20 programmes of 2016. Sunday, Dog Squad, Coast
New Zealand, Mastermind New Zealand, Our Big Blue
Backyard, Seven Sharp and Border Patrol were also local
programmes that made the list.
Meanwhile, at MediaWorks, 7 Days, The Block NZ, All
Star Family Feud and Westside were its most successful
local programmes in the 25-54-year-old age range.
MediaWorks chief content officer Andrew
Szusterman says as far as New Zealand network TV
goes, it needs to be representative of New Zealanders
with less reliance on overseas stories and more reliance
on our own.
“We’ve got to have a mirror on our souls and
represent ourselves. New Zealanders expect that,
right?” he says.
“The most important part of what we do as a
broadcaster is make sure that we tell our local stories,
and we tell our local news and we entertain our
audiences.”
In fact, MediaWorks has put such an emphasis
on that mission that in 2016, Three increased its
broadcasting of first run local content by 239 hours to
reach 2,128 hours.
It was followed by TVNZ 1’s 2,061 hours and Maori
Television’s 1,162 hours of first run local content.
Szusterman says one of the ways MediaWorks
is increasing that number is through unscripted
programming, including comedy, reality and live genres.
Szusterman compares them to soap operas, saying
unscripted programmes make for “water cooler
television” as they drive New Zealanders’ conversation
topics and often lead to quite visceral responses.
And, given the way they’re constructed, advertisers
can also get involved in that conversation. As well as
getting ads in front of big audiences, there’s often room
for them to be integrated into the storyline and sit
alongside the talent, as has been seen regularly with its
shows like The Block NZ, The Bachelor NZ and The Real
Housewives of Auckland.
“That is one of the joys of local production, we have
the ability to work with our commercial partners to
 highlight their brands and make their brands
pop within our programmes in a way that they
can’t do in a 30-second spot,” Szusterman says
As the audience becomes more engaged with
the programme, the advertisers within it have a
greater impact on them and can earn credibility
and relevance off the back of the programme’s
credibility and relevance.
But it’s not just unscripted programmes that
work for advertisers, as TVNZ’s Shortland Street
has demonstrated.
One of the reasons Shortland Street continues
to be one of the biggest programmes on air after
25 years is the way its fictitious storyline is able to
mirror reality in New Zealand.
In 2015, it tackled medical marijuana just days
after associate health minister Peter Dunne
approved the medical use of cannabis for a Kiwi
teenager in a coma.
The episode showed a teenage cancer sufferer
being given brownies laced with cannabis, and
while series producer Simon Bennett told the
Herald on Sunday it was coincidental the episode
went to air as the debate was making headlines,
he hoped it would spark further debate around
the use of medical marijuana in New Zealand.
He said the programme wasn’t intended to say
whether use of the drug is right or wrong, but the
storyline would divide people and that is when
Shortland Street is at its best.
It’s also introduced a mix of ethnicities as
well as queer and transgender characters,
and tackled topical issues such as suicide, HIV
and euthanasia.
“Everyone has a different perspective on what
they actually want to watch, but certainly that
local view and being able to see ourselves on
screen is something we know our viewers really
love,” says TVNZ general manager of content
solutions Lyndsey Francis.

Shortland Street's Blue Nathan transgender character

Percentage of local Content Hours by Genre

source: NZ On Air Local Content Report

Children
s 9%
En
te
rt
ai
One of the joys of
nm
en

local production is that we

t6
%

have the ability to work

Dr

cumentaries 9%
am

Do with our partners, our

%

a/C
ts 14

commercial partners, on
om

Maor
Spor

edy 5%

highlighting their brands,

i 3%

and making their brands

News/C

pop within the editorial

%

within our programmes in a

l 23

urr
a
ctu

way that they can’t do in a

nt e
Fa

30-second spot.
A

l ffa
ra
ne irs
Ge 31%
- Andrew Szusterman

The Media Issue 2017 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 41

TV’s kryptonite or TV-plus?
The issues tackled by Shortland Street are also
discussed and debated around the world.
However, their portrayal in a way that’s relevant
to New Zealanders and reflects New Zealand
society is unique to local programming. It’s
unlikely any programme on an SVOD service
would be able to match it. That doubt only
increases when considering they offer little, if any,
local programming.
Netflix, which an estimated 1,066,000 New
Zealanders aged 14+ have access to, defiantly doesn’t,
and MBM managing partner Sean McCready says
it’s going to be a long time, if ever, before it does.
The second biggest SVOD used in New Zealand
is Lightbox, which has 630,000 users, and as
users grow bored of the content on offer, they go
looking for something new on another SVOD. The
trend means one in 10 New Zealanders now have
access to two or more SVODs.
But no matter how many times users flick
between them, they’ll also never find any form
of live programming. And while on-demand
certainly has its benefits, live events still have
power, especially as viewers regularly discuss
their feelings about shows or events on social
media (see sidebar). As advertising philosopher
Faris Yakob says: culture should be a shared
experience and media fragmentation is making
that more difficult.
“Live, of course, like live sports, still have a lot
of power in the markets at this stage and that’s
not something that Netflix and Lightbox are
necessarily promoting,” McCready says.
But content and audiences aside, he also points
out there’s a big difference between TV and
SVODs, because the latter doesn’t offer advertising
opportunities due to being paid for by subscribers.
“If you want to reach an audience using video
or video advertising, then Netflix, Amazon, and
Lightbox aren’t really an option for you,” he says.
However, YouTube remains an option, and
McCready says that as well as being a place the
under-30s are going to, as it develops more live
content it could pose a threat to the future of
linear TV.
42 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017
According to NZ On Air, last year, linear TV
reached 86 percent of New Zealand each week,
while online video, including YouTube and
Facebook, reached 64 percent.
New Zealanders also spend two and a half
hours watching linear TV each day, while online
video (such as YouTube and Facebook) is watched
40 minutes a day.
Despite the numbers, neither MediaWorks or
TVNZ see YouTube, or any other digital video, as
a threat. In fact, both use the website as a big part
in their content delivery.
“We’re not anti-digital, we play in the digital
space and we see huge value for advertisers in
online video because of the engagement they can
have,” Francis says.
She says TVNZ views digital video as “TV-plus”
because the broadcaster uses it on social media
and YouTube to tease audiences and drive them to
programmes, as well as share content that doesn’t
perspective on what
they actually want to watch,
but certainly that local
view and being able to
see ourselves on screen is
something we know our
viewers really love.
- Lyndsey Francis
go to air, like its New Blood web series.
Recently, Survivor New Zealand made its debut
on the screen and in the lead up to it, TVNZ used
its existing social channels as well as a dedicated
programme Facebook page to distribute previews
and bios of the contestants in an effort to engage
audiences and build their interest.
As the series progresses, the short-form video
online will also serve as a driving force to increase
the audience that tunes into the linear TV
broadcast—a trend that was proven in a Nielsen
case study commissioned by Google last year.
It found there was an 18 percent increase in tune-
in on TV for leading talk shows among an audience
that watched YouTube content of the shows.
So as the YouTube audience increases, so does
the TV audience and vice versa.
To target or not to target
In recent years, digital has taken over the top spot
for advertising revenue ($891 million) in New
Zealand, but TV still has a strong hold in second
place ($559 million for TV and $21 million for
digital TV) according to the ASA’s latest report.
Francis says it’s seeing advertisers use TV as an
always-on driver while also introducing digital
into the mix.
“I don’t think New Zealand’s largest brands
are shunning TV. If you speak to advertisers
themselves, they all see the value of TV and what
they’re doing is trialling other areas. Sometimes
successfully, sometimes they’re learning they’ve
gone too far.”
She recalls Procter & Gamble’s chief marketing
officer, Marc Pritchard, who last
year shared the company’s experience with
Facebook advertising.
“We targeted too much, and we went too
narrow,” he told the Wall Street Journal.
The company, whose portfolio features Tide
and Crest, had been using the platform’s targeting
tools to reach a narrowly defined audience.
However, when it found that strategy wasn’t as
successful as it had hoped, it didn’t pull all its
money from Facebook, it simply repositioned it to
reach a wider audience.
But that’s not to say targeting can’t be useful, there
just needs to be a balance in the advertising mix.
McCready says it comes down to what the
advertiser is trying to achieve, but it’s a good
strategy to access those who already know the
brand, are previous buyers of it, or are ready to be
a buyer of it.
On the other hand, higher-reach media should
be used to convince light and non-buyers to
become buyers.
He gives the example of Air New Zealand as a
brand that has used the two approaches well.
“They have a really strong digital data approach
to marketing. They use a lot of their own first pay
data to target audiences they know are customers
and have certain types of behaviour. But at the
same time, they still use reach out advertising
across mass media as well.”
Taking a step back
First run local
content hours
by channel
source: NZ On Air Local Content Report
Choice TVNZ 2 Prime
The questions surrounding mass versus targeted
Year
is one of the reasons Szusterman says some local
advertisers have started to pull in the reins and 2007
start to assess whether or not dealing with the
often mysterious, slightly opaque world of digital
advertising is worth it.
Everyone was quick to the bandwagon of the
2008
“big, shiny and new” thing, but now it’s not quite
as attractive as it seemed, he says.
“People are starting to get a little bit more real
and have started going: ‘Well, hold on. This isn’t
shiny and new anymore, and there’s obviously
2009
some issues here.’”
As well as ongoing concerns about walled
gardens, inaccurate data, transparency and
effectiveness, another issue was recently raised 2010
when advertisers pulled away from YouTube
over concerns that their ads were appearing
alongside racist, sexist or terrorist-related content.
Local arms of Holden, Vodafone and Tourism 2011
New Zealand were among those around the world
to suspend their ads on the website.
“What we’re starting to see is more engagement
back to free-to-air TV and that safety of free-to-air
2012
TV where they can guarantee audiences, and they
can guarantee the environment of where those
messages are going to take place,” Szusterman says.
Advertisers know the programmes they’re
running alongside or within adhere to those 2013
standards, and when 31 percent of the free-to-air
schedule is local programming, they’ll also know it’s
highly relevant and engaging to New Zealanders.
“[Local programmes] are obviously more 2014
expensive to make and so they do come at a
premium, but they also drive a premium audience
as well,” Szusterman says.
“…The key part of it is, which is the local part,
2015
is that it is showcasing ourselves on the screen
which, more and more, is becoming important for
free-to-air TV, and will be the success of free-to-air
TV in the future.”
Some argue it’s even bigger than just the future of 2016
TV, because seeing our own local stories on screen
and reflecting the cultural nuances of New Zealand
is an essential part of a healthy, functioning society.
2016
By the numbers
13,126 hours
Maori of local content was screened on seven
Four Three TVNZ 1
Television New Zealand free-to-air channels
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
17 percent
hours
of the broadcast schedule was first run
local programming
5,184 hours
of local content was broadcast on
Maori TV
31 percent
of prime time hours were local content
940 hours
of prime time hours were local content
The TV of the future?
While TVNZ, MediaWorks and other
broadcasters use the social feed to direct
audiences to the TV and generate plenty of
online discussion – typically as a result of their
local shows – Receptive.tv director Sam Aldred
suggested in an opinion piece on StopPress
that they should go event further.
He sees the social feed as a new form of TV
because there’s huge youth engagement and a
data-rich ad network. There are also features
like Facebook Live, which Aldred recommends
using to broadcast through with the added
bonus of comments, allowing the audience to
interact in real-time.
And there shouldn’t be any concerns
about the audience having to look down at a
smartphone or laptop as the new Facebook TV
app means the social feed can be accessed on
the big screen.
“The audience is in place and conveniently
located in the modern version of the water
total cooler, the social feed. The only piece currently
59 71 411 940 1162 2061 2128 6831 missing is something to watch. Perhaps, it’s
time to watch this space,” he says.
The Media Issue 2017 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 43
NZ MARKETING Insight Creative
BIG IDEAS
The greatest marvels of architecture didn’t simply appear one
day; they were built one brick at a time. As it turns out, ideas
in advertising and design are no different.
M
arketers are often fixated on
the big idea, on producing
that one thing that’s so
wildly popular it completely
shifts the sales trajectory
of a business. While a fair aspiration for an
ambitious creative to hang onto, things don’t
always pan out this way in business.
Instead, Insight Creative chief executive Steven
Giannoulis tells NZ Marketing, the best ideas
generally have an inauspicious start, often growing
from what might be as simple as a conversation.
“The traditional approach is to start with the big
idea and work out how to sell it into the marketer,
but really you should start at the other end and
question why the client approached you in the first
place,” Giannoulis says.
“It’s often a little thing, it’s just a problem they’re
looking to solve. And sometimes, that question
might lead to a path that arrives at a big thing.”
In research conducted for the previous edition
of this magazine, various marketers expressed
their frustration at the self-aggrandising nature of
an industry more interested in winning creative
awards than truly helping the client.
As a former client, Giannoulis has been on the
receiving end of a few such self-serving agency
pitches and understands where this frustration
comes from. This is part of the reason he does
everything he can to ensure that the work his
agency develops actually drives value for
his clients.
“I often tell my team to sell the thinking and the
value in the idea, and then the design sells itself,”
he says.
“If you don’t do that, people get hung up on
the wrong things, like the shade of yellow or the
typeface being used. Those things are irrelevant at
that stage, because they can all be changed.”
For Giannoulis, good design should always
deliver results for the client. It’s not enough that
it looks pretty enough to cause people to ooh and
ahh. Unless it drives real commercial value, it
remains inert in the world of art rather than that
of design.
44 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017
By way of example, Giannoulis points to
the work Insight Creative has done with the
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) in
recent years.
“The client came to us and said, ‘look, the
previous agency did really brilliant work and won
lots of Best Awards but they just didn’t drive sales’.
So the brief we got was to put more bums
on seats.”
While it would be easy to interpret a brief like
this as sapping all creativity out of what could’ve
been an interesting project, Insight saw potential.
“It was an opportunity for a different kind of
creativity, the kind of creativity that drives results,”
he says. “We looked at who was attending concerts
and why, and also who wasn’t. We sought to Above: 2015 marketing campaign
understand perceptions and purchase barriers
before we began looking at creative territories.”
The team at Insight responded by developing
a much more targeted campaign, focusing on
driving consumer action by addressing needs
and perception barriers rather than positioning
a creative mood. It was an approach that drove
immediate results.
“NZSO had a 30 percent lift in ticket sales, and
many of these came from people who had never
been before,” Giannoulis says.
This is not to say that the work itself was any
less aesthetically pleasing than work NZSO had
previously done (in fact, the work has been a Best
Awards finalist in both years Insight has been
involved). Insight still had to produce something
that matched the high artistic standards of NZSO,
but did it in a way that resonated with an audience
that had not previously gone to a show. The
work was artistic without being esoteric,
making it accessible to a broader audience of
potential buyers.
The point Giannoulis makes here is that design
should always serve a clear purpose; it should
always find an audience, solve a problem, answer a
question, change a perception or drive an action. It
shouldn’t wait tentatively in a museum to be seen
and admired, but rather actively offer something
useful to the consumer. In this case, that utility Above: 2016 marketing campaign

came in the shape of introducing a whole new
group of people to the symphonies of some of the
nation’s finest musicians.
Insight has continued to build on this thinking
in the following two years’ work, going even
further in the 2017 Season campaign, based on the
learnings from the previous years, to attract an
even broader audience set.
Giannoulis says the success of a campaign
doesn’t come down solely to the design itself, but
rather what lies beneath.
“There are a lot of designers out there who can
deliver design cheaply and quickly, but aesthetics
aren’t necessarily the thing that holds the key to the
value,” he says.
“The value lies in the thinking behind it. It’s
about finding a good idea that’s driven by an
understanding of what will drive audiences
to engage.”
This page: 2017 marketing campaign
THE VALUE LIES IN THE
THINKING BEHIND IT. IT’S
ABOUT FINDING A GOOD
IDEA THAT’S DRIVEN BY AN
UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT
WILL DRIVE THE AUDIENCE
TO ENGAGE.
Giannoulis says that marketers don’t want to
hear that something might work according to the
gut feeling of the designer, but rather expect a
rational argument outlaying why an idea is likely to
work based on a clear insight on the audience, their
decision drivers and how the chosen medium and
channel aligns with this.
“I often lean back on my client experience, when
I was the only marketing person on the executive
team. Everyone else was an accountant or a
technical specialist, and I used to tell them to spend
big money so that customers could feel this or feel
that. It was as though I was talking a different
language, so I had to change my approach. I had to
take my team on a rational journey to the idea.”
It’s an approach that Giannoulis still applies
today, and part of the reason every client meeting at
Insight Creative starts with a conversation rather
than a design solution.
The more things change
While we can sometimes get tied up in all the changes
happening in the industry, Giannoulis says there are
certain fundamentals that remain rock solid.
Match the media to the audience
“You need to work out where your audience is and
what media is right for that audience,” Giannoulis
says. The point being that babyboomers, for instance,
aren’t likely to be snapchatting their smashed avo
brunches to their mates at the golf club.
Match the media to the message
Some messages are easier to deliver in some mediums,
and harder in others. This is part of the reason you don’t
necessarily want to write a novel on a billboard.
Match the media to the creative idea
Giannoulis argues ideas that are finely crafted are
more suited for books or magazines, whereas ideas
that require mood or feeling are more suited to multi-
media channels, online or video.
Match the media to the desired outcome
Some mediums are better for delivering certain
results, whereas others aren’t, Giannoulis says. On a
website, for instance, you can click a button and make
a purchase, but this instant gratification simply isn’t
possible when it comes to an outdoor ad.
Want to see if Insight Creative can help you solve your
business problem or realise an opportunity? Get in touch
with the team today: talktous@insightcreative.co.nz
The Media Issue 2017 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 45
UNDER
PERMANENT
CONSTRUCTION

Between 2010 and 2017, FCB won six out of a

possible eight Best in Show trophies at New Zealand’s
premier media agency awards show. But as
Damien Venuto discovers, just because an agency’s in
good shape doesn’t mean you should
stop chiselling away at the structure.
Photographs by Bryce Carleton

Andrew 'Ribs' Coulthard shows
off his contemplation face
A STREAMER of hazard tape
cordoned off the door that
connected reception to the ground
floor of the agency. High-vis
vests circled the space in lieu of
statement frames and on-trend
kicks, while the dull thud of
tools replaced the tic-a-tack of
fingertips on the keyboard.
As he led the way to one of
the few rooms on the ground
floor not impacted by the
commotion, FCB Media
general manager Rufus Chuter
apologised in advance for the
sound of hammering that was
likely to serve as the background
percussion to the chat about
the agency.
The whole idea of the agency
being under construction seemed
somewhat at odds with the fact the
team had just celebrated winning
yet another Best in Show for NZ
Fire Service’s ‘Made from remains’
campaign and Agency of the Year
at the annual Beacon Awards. As
the Americanism goes, if it ain’t
broke, don’t fix it.
But in this instance,
the motivation behind the
construction isn’t so much to
repair holes in gib boards, but
rather to ensure FCB remains in
tune with an evolving industry.
A significant part of the refit
will involve increasing the number
of workable meeting rooms
from six to 12, giving staff more
space to hash out ideas together.
The Media Issue 2017
This move looks to accentuate
the advantages that come with
having an integrated model that
brings together creative, media,
PR and digital. The greater the
opportunity for collaboration,
the more likely they believe it is
for different skillsets within the
business to come together to solve
client problems.
“We’re always thinking about
the impact a physical space
can have on how we collaborate
and the work we produce,”
says Chuter.
That said, he believes there’s a
false perception in the industry
that integrated agencies just
happen to collaborate across
departments by default, that
integration automatically equates
to collaboration.
“Having people in the same
building doesn’t mean you’re
integrated; there’s a difference
between integration and co-
habitation,” he says.
“People sometimes think that
because we’ve got all these things
in our building, it’s some sort of
gimme, but we actually work hard
to create the advantage the model
should offer.”
Integrated edge
FCB chief strategist David
Thomason sometimes tells an
anecdote about attending the
Beacons a few years back on a
night when FCB didn’t win the
| STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 47
feature
Agency of the Year award. As is customary at
these events, the presenter read out the judges’
comments, which credited the winning agency
for doing well because it didn’t have the unique
advantage of FCB, which had creative and media
in-house.
“They were almost referring to it as some sort
of award cheat that we had,” recalls Thomason.
Looking at the results between 2010 and
2017, it certainly does seem as though FCB has
downloaded some secret cheat code, with the
agency landing six of eight Best in Shows at the
nation’s biggest media awards.
However, what’s interesting about Thomason’s
anecdote is not that FCB has a decent conversion
48 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017
rate at awards events, but rather that a model
dismissed as antiquated not too long ago has now
emerged as an apparent competitive advantage.
Historically, most agencies were fully
integrated with media and creative operating
alongside each other under the same roof. But
following the 1980s example of larger-than-life
Australian media magnate Harold Mitchell,
many of those creative and media departments
consciously uncoupled to form independent
shops focused on their primary strengths.
This all made sense in an era when there was
a clearly defined set of media channels, which
the media agency, as objective purveyor, could
use in accordance with the needs and budgets
Jay Drew tries out the standing desk approach
of its clients. But digital has ripped through the
industry, tearing some channels into fragments
and melding others together.
This has introduced a level of complexity that
not only makes it difficult for media agencies
to decide which channels to use but also for
creative agencies to determine what to make for
the client. And it’s also led to plenty of in-
fighting over who’s really in control.
Chuter argues this complexity is only further
exaggerated when creative and media agencies
are operating in their disparate siloes, not to
mention when you throw data management
and below-the-line marketing into the mix as
well. With so many players, each with their
Having people in the
same building doesn’t
mean you’re integrated;
there’s a difference
between integration
and co-habitation ... We
actually work hard to
create the advantage the
model should offer.
- Rufus Chuter
own interests, circling the brief and offering
their services as the panacea for all business
problems, the marketer will, at best, become
frustrated or, at worst, invest in an idea that
doesn’t service their needs. Something’s got to
give—and to the Chuter, it’s the siloes that stand
in the way of collaboration.
“I believe that integration [of previously siloed
disciplines] is an inevitability,” he says.
“It simplifies complexity, it allows connection

Silvia Kusic in the construction zone
of more seamless customer journeys, which
historically have been separated in different
siloes, and it sets itself up to have data at the heart
of the organisation.”
This is not to say that every agency of the
future will look like FCB, but rather that
operations across advertising will evolve to better
service the needs of modern marketers.
“The types of integrated solution will vary,
but the principle of bringing siloed disciplines
together to create more seamless, connected
experiences in a simplified way for clients is
inevitable,” Chuter says.
Across all the major holding companies, we’re
starting to see various forms of integration
appear. It’s the motivation behind WPP chief
executive Martin Sorrell’s emphasis on what
he calls horizontality, which basically requires
agency units with different competencies
within the broader group to work together; it’s
the foundation upon which Havas Group’s 47
‘villages’ around the world are built; and it’s
infused in the thinking swirling through the
Dentsu Aegis offices in New Zealand.
A constant tinkering
There’s no colour-by-numbers guide on becoming
integrated, leaving agencies with little choice
but to tinker with the existing system while still
ensuring their businesses remain profitable.
Even FCB operates as something of a hybrid
model, with some clients using the completely
integrated full-service option and others using
the agency only on the media side.
So, with this in mind, does the client,
rather than the agency, determine the level of
integration? And despite all this talk about the
competitive edge of integrated agencies, does
the model really serve as an advantage if clients
haven’t signed on for the full package?
Unsurprisingly, Chuter still believes there’s an
advantage in the model, even to clients that only
work with the agency on the media side.
“The way we work as a team and the culture
we create and the processes we adopt reflect
an integrated mindset that believes in the
importance of content and context coming
together. Our focus on that is taken to the
independent pieces of business as well as our
integrated clients.”
This claim is certainly backed by Flight Centre
general manager of marketing Jodie Burnard,
who says FCB’s integrated approach lends
strategic and creative weight to campaigns.
As an example, she points to the work the agency
did last December on the ‘Gifts that go places’
campaign, which used Google data to get holiday
packages in front of customers that were looking to
Climate control
Angela Spain
‘Good culture’ is something of cliché in advertising,
often mocked for amounting to little more than
colourful beanbags, impressive office décor and
Friday drinks. But Angela Spain, the head of
brand experience at FCB Media, argues that her
understanding of culture demands more than a
few freebies and aesthetic design.
“Culture means different things to different
people,” she says. “For us, we spend a lot of time
focusing on the climate and how that relates to
culture. And we make it as important as the other
key parts of business such as client relationships,
the work we produce, commercial partnerships,
and future-proofing the business.”
Spain says there are numerous factors that
impact the climate of an agency, but prioritises six
specific areas when it comes to ensuring the culture
remains positive:
1. Physical working environment and spaces
2. The mood of the floor: are people feeling
good, bad or indifferent about their jobs? Do we
know? Do we ask? Do we take action? Do they
feel the impact of that action?
3. The opportunity to create and have fun
– people spend a lot of time together at work, so
we make sure there is fun to be had both inside
and outside of work
4. Inclusion: do we allow people to be
themselves (and make an effort to do so),
do we create an environment where they feel
comfortable to speak up and have a voice on big
or small issues, which allows a feeling of trust?
5. Clarity of purpose: does our team know what
is expected, what they’re being asked to do, do
they own that and are they empowered with
support to achieve that?
6. Recovery: every team has drops in positive
culture or climate and how you recognise that
and recover from it is also crucial.
To Spain, ‘good culture’ isn’t something the
executives can simply hand down to staff. It’s earned
with enormous effort from everyone at the agency.
And it can only be achieved when everyone across
the business buys into it.
The Media Issue 2017 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 49
feature

purchase other Christmas gifts for loved ones.

“Because they had digital, strategic and
media buying teams they were able to pull
together a creative and innovative campaign
idea … with an extremely short lead time for a
low budget,” she says.
FCB also ensured the execution was up to
scratch, assisting Flight Centre’s in-house studio
with creative ideas.
For Chuter, campaigns such as these bring to
Media agencies agencies because of the relative separation of the
planning of the context and the creation of the
used to be order takers. content,” Chuter says. “If one of the inevitable
areas of progression for the industry is in
They were like monkeys more personalised and more moment-based
communications that demands a bringing
with calculators. They together of message and moment, that can be
hard to achieve if you have different agencies
were at the bottom working on the business.”

This could get complicated

life that imperative relationship between ‘content
and context,’ a phrase he peppers all the way
through the interview.
For him, every creative decision must be made
with an eye on where it will play out. Getting
either side wrong is akin to booking Adele to
play in a heavy metal club or an amateur rock
band to play in Spark Arena. In some ways,
advertising is even more complex than this
analogy suggests, because you have to start by
building Adele from scratch before you can book
her to perform anywhere.
No matter what channel you’re dealing
with, adept media thinking starts with a clear
strategy that identifies the creative and the
media objective, and ends with both being
delivered with desired impact and audience.
Separating the creative and contextual
discussions at any stage of the process risks
tearing the strategy into two separate directions
of the food chain, and
made money from
booking media.
- Rufus Chuter
and potentially delivering something very
different from what was originally intended.
And to Chuter, this issue is most pronounced in
digital, which demands greater immediacy than
any other channel.
“Social and mobile are increasingly
demanding a marriage of both content and
context, which I think is a struggle for many
But collaboration between the various forces at
play is always easier said than done. And even
in the integrated model, it doesn’t come without
challenges.
A common criticism levelled at FCB,
for instance, is that the agency works with
competing clients across the disciplines on offer
in the agency.
An example often raised is FCB’s assortment
of partnerships in the banking and finance
industry, which sees the agency working with
Westpac on media, ANZ below the line and
Latitude Financial Services (which includes
Gem) above the line.
More recently, FCB has also been stepping
outside of the traditional remit of these
categories, creating a TVC for ANZ and a range
of web content for Westpac.
Placed under the UV lights of wiley, highly

50 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2016

competitve industry investigators, these
partnerships light up as conflicts of interest, which
is why it’s not uncommon to hear these same
investigators question how clients could possibly
be happy with FCB’s Chinese Walls—particularly
given the agency’s tendency to tout its single profit
and loss statement as an advantage.
“It starts with honest conversations about the
nature of the services that individual clients are
buying from us,” says Chuter, explaining that
the agency takes steps to inform all new clients
of the checks and balances in place to ensure
that confidential client information doesn’t reach
competitors.
“It goes without saying that there are a whole
range of information and data security measures
that we put in place to ensure that client
information is protected,” he says.
There is also perhaps an argument to be made
for the evolution of our understanding of conflicts
of interest. As far back as 2013, Laurie Coots, then
the global CMO at TBWA/Worldwide, wrote in
Ad Age that “having a client suggest that you not
serve another client in a non-conflicting category
because it does not want you to ‘contribute to its
competitors' success’ is no longer acceptable”. She
called for conflicts of interests to be resolved on a
rational level in tune with how the industry was
evolving (particularly in the context of increased
project work) rather than on an emotional level,
largely informed by boundaries inherited from a
previous generation.
Of course, it’s also no secret that advertising
happens to be a fickle industry, and Chuter
makes the point that unhappy clients tend to
jump ship when a partnership isn’t delivering
what they expect.
“There’s no benefit to us in this not working,”
he says. “We are the ones who have most to
lose from those situations not going well. It’s
something we take incredibly seriously.”
He adds that while FCB does have a single P&L
at chief executive level, the disparate arms are all
accountable for separate financial statements.
“Within FCB Media, I have oversight of a
media P&L and I have accountability for how
media is running as a business, but that feeds
into a master FCB P&L that we use to make wider
decisions about how and where we choose to
invest across the total business,” Chuter explains.
“It means we can make investment decisions to
support the evolution of certain capabilities from
revenue that may be generated in other parts of the
business. In that respect, while I run an operation
that’s profitable, I still have the benefit of CEO level
decisions where we can make wider investment
decisions that will benefit the total agency.”
Monkeys with calculators?
The biggest investment at any agency is in
the people. And if the growing staff numbers
are anything to go by, media is an area that
the executives at FCB are happy to spend a few
dimes on. Between 2010 and this year, FCB
Media has grown from 35 to over 70 staff.
Chuter says the agency has also diversified
significantly, with the addition of a fast-content
unit called Hive, increased data capabilities
and the introduction of consultancy services
within the agency. Each of these add-ons serve
to shift the agency’s focus from simply buying
media to playing a role in solving clients’
business problems, says Chuter.
“Media agencies used to be order takers.
They were like monkeys with calculators.
They were at the bottom of the food chain,
and made money from booking media. But
what you’re now seeing in the more successful
agencies is a cultural revolution toward being
much more entrepreneurial and service- and
solution-orientated for clients. How we make
money today is very different to how we made
it ten years ago.”
While many of the changes have been
introduced to improve the agency’s handle on
digital and data, Chuter warns against taking a
sledgehammer to the foundations good media
agencies have always been built on.
“It’s tempting to get carried away with the
science and lose sight of the art,” warns Chuter,
pointing out that a new piece of technology won’t
automatically resolve all client problems.
Chuter says the art of media planning
remains as relevant as ever, particularly given
that advances in neuroscience have shown that
humans aren’t quite as rational as we imagine
ourselves to be.
And despite the consistent stream of demolition
experts blogging about how technology will lead
to the demise of media agencies, planners and
strategists, the team at FCB still seems content to
keep chiselling away, tinkering at the structure
and shaping it into something that stands out and
helps its clients navigate a complicated, ever-
changing environment.
“We don’t want to be like other media agencies
or follow legacy industry models,” says Chuter.
“I think a big part of the success of agencies
such as ours and MBM is that we’re offering
something different.”
So even when the tools are laid down
with the completion of FCB’s renovations,
you’ll probably still be able to hear the faint
sound of hammering, if you listen carefully
enough.
Trust issues
It’s no secret that media agencies are starting to
lose the trust of media owners and marketers. But
as Trade Me head of advertising Josh Borthwick
tells us, that trust can easily be won back with
sound business practices.
Why do you think marketers and media
owners are losing trust? What does FCB do to
win your trust?
FCB are transparent with us about their fee
structures to clients and share more information
to increase insight to client needs. Obviously
they take necessary precautions like NDAs, but
I think that level of frankness encourages us to
be more forthcoming too. Ultimately, I think this
fosters better outcomes for marketers. They
also understand that the value they deliver to
clients is not just in negotiating media costs, but
working with a client brief and publisher to deliver
innovation. For us that has been both creatively
driven, as seen recently with their work with us
for NZ Fire Service, and purely data driven, as
demonstrated by their award winning Flight Centre
campaign. Both those examples are a win for all
three partners: client, agency and publisher.
What role do you see media agencies playing
in the future? How will this differ from what
we have today?
I think there'll be a continued push towards
transparency, driven by clients, particularly around
programmatic media buying and data. Agencies
can add a huge amount of value to data driven
insights and how they form creative and media
decisions, particularly in New Zealand where
marketing teams are smaller and less resourced
than their overseas counterparts. Programmatic
provides huge efficiency to digital media buying
and it's becoming increasingly important for
media agencies to understand "path to purchase".
Continued fragmentation of media and technology
means agencies will continue to play a key part in
helping clients navigate the best opportunities for
their objectives.
feature

After just seven years in existence, MBM

has won two Agency of the Year Awards
and a number of high-profile clients.
The agency’s core trio talks to Jihee
Junn about the highs and lows of the
independent media world they inhabit. Matt Bale Sean McCready Alysha Delany
co-founder & co-founder & managing partner
managing partner managing partner

Everything has to start somewhere, and for MBM, you only have to
go back to 2010. Before all the awards glory, recognition and high-
profile clients, Matt Bale was working in a Wellington office just 11
metres squared in total, while his founding partner Sean McCready
was sloughing it out in Auckland, sharing his work quarters with an
architect.
Nowadays, there’s a bit more room for the pair to stretch out in,
as evidenced by its slick and modern Kingsland headquarters. With

52 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017


more than 50 staff across two locations, McCready
and managing partner Alysha Delany run MBM’s
operations in Auckland, while Bale still bases
himself down in the country’s capital.
Recalling MBM’s early years, McCready
and Bale describe the agency’s fast and furious
ascension with a tinge of both fondness and
exhaustion.
“It was pretty full on. But personally, I really
enjoyed that period,” says McCready, who first
met Bale when the two worked at Saatchi &
Saatchi in the 1990s.
“It was lot of hard work and a lot of long hours,
but it was quite adrenalising. Luckily it all went
really well and the momentum came pretty early.”
But building that momentum was no easy feat,
with the duo working their way up by doing what
they did best: ruthlessly prioritising the projects
that played to their strengths.
“Our background meant we were really strong
at strategy, channel planning and the creative
media aspect of digital, and I've also always had a
passion for social,” recalls Bale.
“So for the first while, we really just focused
on that because that's where our strengths were.
It was only once we got established that we
identified that to take the next step, we needed
expertise in other areas because otherwise we'd
be confined.”
To achieve that objective, the pair brought in
Delany from SparkPHD in 2013. Having helped
establish PHDiQ during her time there, Delany
was operating at the forefront of digital marketing
in New Zealand at the time.
“When we brought Alysha on, we made a
conscious change to become better and smarter at
digital and data, and that's certainly accelerated
growth in that part of the business,” says McCready.
Gongs, they've had a few
Having expanded from three to 13 staff members
by 2013, the agency had grown in stature and
work. But it was 2014 that really put MBM on
the map as it took out Agency of the Year at the
inaugural Beacon Awards. And if that wasn’t
enough for the four-year old independent, 2015
saw it take home the coveted prize for the second
year running.
“I think our awards success comes from two
areas,” explains McCready. “The first is creative
and media collaboration, like with Whittaker’s
and Griffins. The second is from experimenting
and pushing into digital and data, like we have
with our work for Fly Buys and Slingshot.
“As an independent company, one of the things
you have to be good at is collaborating. Many of
our awards have come from working closely with
the creatives at creative agencies,” he says.
On this point, Bale concurs, and adds that
although MBM functions as a separate media
agency, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to
separate content and context, something which
he and FCB Media’s Rufus Chuter appear to have
in common (see feature page 46).
“I’m a believer that you create magic when
creative and media are aligned and have a single
vision. Integrated is one way of achieving that, as
long as both partners are equal in terms of their
contribution at the table, because I've also lived in
an integrated environment where the creatives were
the masters and the media people were the servants,
and you didn't create magic because you were being
overruled. But the point of creative and media
working together, I'm a believer in,” says Bale.
Speed to market
When it comes to being a local independent,
MBM’s core trio agree that one of the key upsides
is the nimbleness that comes along with it. With
the absence of overseas parent companies and
cumbersome decision-making procedures, things
at MBM have the ability to move relatively fast.
“The three of us can make decisions really
quickly on things like new staff, services
and offerings. We can decide that pretty
quickly between ourselves and not have to get
permission from overseas,” says McCready.
“It’s speed to market. We can spot
opportunities and jump on them, or if there are
issues with a client servicing issue, we can fix
that pretty quickly too. We also have the freedom
to experiment with new products, services and
even software, so we're not tied into what the
group might be offering through its network. We
can develop our own solutions.”
A prime example of this efficiency to market
lies in MBM’s analytics and data science division,
which the trio insist was done “our own way with
our own staff developing our own products.”
Established to help clients understand the
performance of their digital properties, the
analytics practice was formally set up in April
last year. But it took more than 18 months of
work building up a number of case studies and
doing consistent work for clients for MBM to
become certified Google Analytics service and
sales partners, which Delany says makes the
agency one of just three CCC agencies to hold
that capability.
“I think it's fair to say that as an agency, we've
been pretty interested in making sure we're
data and insight driven. So having a data and
analytics business was just a natural extension
The Media Issue 2017 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 53
feature
of that,” she says.
“Once we got that [Google Analytics]
certification, we then formalised it so that we’ve
now got a team of people performing functional
analytics as well as quite advanced data science
and attribution projects.”
MBM’s nimbleness also comes through in
its openness and speed in using new media
methods, such as its adoption of Adshel’s latest
digital roll-out, Adshel Live, as well as the
company’s latest suite of targeting tools.
“They’ve always been quick to adopt more
innovative ideas and support the new products
that we’re bringing to market,” says Ben Gibb,
sales and marketing director at Adshel.
“They’ve really embraced the flexibility [of
Adshel Live] and seen the opportunity for a digital
and data-led approach for out-of-home. Last year,
they used Adshel Immerse where we customise
bus shelters to a particular brief. We did a great
one [with MBM] recently for Eta's Uppercut chips
to try and give customers an experience of what
the new flavours are like."
A battle of perception
While MBM comes across as a well-oiled
machine, being independent hasn’t always been
such a smooth ride. Back in 2010 when Bale and
McCready took the leap of starting their own
company, the pair found themselves battling
with being newcomers to the game.
“It takes time to get credibility in the market,
so it took about three or four years to start
building that up,” McCready recalls. “That's a
downside of independence since you don't have
an automatic feed of work coming your way. You
don't have a global network providing global
clients. So you've basically got to find all your
own business."
“We also don't have permission from a parent
company to, for example, run at different
profitability levels,” adds Bale. “At the end of the
day, independent is literally that. It's just us, and
that comes with a real sense of we're looking
after all the people who have chosen to work
with us, because there isn't a mystery company
parachute aspect to it.”
While MBM’s Wellington and Auckland
offices now boast a range of experienced staff in
both senior and junior positions, getting talent
on board hasn’t always been the easiest as an
independent either.
“There's a bit of a [perception] battle in terms
whether you can offer career advancement
opportunities, versus a network that is a lot
bigger as a company and can offer international
opportunities as well,” says McCready.
“We've had to build up our employment
54 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2016
brand over the years and it’s taken time, whereas and companies such as IBM handing some of
it's not such an issue anymore because people its media planning and buying capabilities over
understand what our culture's like and what we to its AI engine, Watson, questions have been
offer is a point of difference." raised as to whether AI will one day make media
“We're not really showy or aggressive people,” agencies obsolete.
he says. “We're reasonably moderate, which “AI is only as intelligent as the data that’s put
doesn't sound very exciting, but we're down to into it,” says Delany. “You can automate media
earth. We give our staff the opportunity to have a planning or buying, but at the same time, unless
reasonable work-life balance.” someone is providing the insight to direct it, it’s
only as good as the data it gets to work with.”
Playing to the audience “Even though you’ve got machines doing
With the media world operating in a constant a lot of the grunt work, there still needs to be
state of flux, agencies are being forced to adapt the interpretation and strategic input,” adds
to new circumstances much more regularly McCready. “But there’s always going to be a role
and at much greater speed. Keeping the agency for client service, trying to understand what the
model relevant to the changing needs of clients client’s issues are and finding a solution for those.”
is one of the biggest issues in the industry today, Despite the infringing threat of in-house
particularly with a growing number of brands and automation, the survival of media agencies
taking things in-house.
“There's no doubt it's happening overseas
and to a certain degree, with larger clients over
here. But our view is that because New Zealand
At the end of the day,
is relatively small, finding the skilled staff to
take digital in-house is probably going to be a
independent is literally
challenge,” says McCready.
“I think there'll always be a role for expert
that. It's just us, and
external advice to play in that space. Whether
the role of an agency will see it do less of the
that comes with a real
actual physical doing and more of the consulting
on the strategic approach, that might be a change
sense of we're looking
that will have to happen for some clients.”
“We’re constantly being used to provide
after all the people who
training, knowledge and cross pollination of
thinking,” adds Bale. “If you spend all day just
have chosen to work
in one sector, you quickly lose touch with what's
happening in other places, and that’s where
with us, because there
agencies are great in terms of taking something
you're seeing in one area and applying it to
isn't a mystery company
another.”
This steadfast belief in the value of external
parachute aspect to it.
advice also comes through in MBM’s attitude
towards artificial intelligence. With automation
– Matt Bale
overhauling the nature of the wider work force

promises a more assured future than some
observers predict. Yet that survival hinges on
an assumption that agencies will be able to
change and adapt, doing more types of work
more often. And this comprehensive work
method, which is set to future-proof agencies,
already translates into MBM’s approach with its
clients today, going above and beyond the typical
remit of a media agency with the work it’s been
doing for Loyalty NZ.
“They've really adopted the mantra of being
a business partner. They haven't just stuck to
their media buying. They're constantly exploring
opportunities and bringing us new areas to
explore,” says Hamish Mitchell, head of strategy
at Loyalty NZ.
“A lot of the key things that we've been
exploring have been born out of our relationship
with the team at MBM. They're very proactive
in terms of connecting us with other potential
partners and providers in the market to explore
new opportunities. They work really well with
our other partners and quite often act as the
centrepin or link,” he says.
When it comes to MBM’s own future, things
are certainly looking up with a handful of client
wins over the past year, like the Green Party and
Columbus Coffee, and a recent spate of work for
existing ones, like Fly Buys and TAB (on the flip
side, it's recently lost Fisher & Paykel).
In addition, MBM's revenue has also been
following an upward trend, with the agency
reporting 79 percent growth over the last two
years. It's also been overinvesting in new and
developing areas with the view that revenue
will follow.
Given its independent heritage, its alignment
with challenger brands continues to remain
strong. But if there’s one thing that might be
different in the future, it’s that we might not be
calling it a media agency at all.
“We see media agencies evolving into almost
like an audience agency where, because of the data
analytics, it's not just about where the eyeballs
are, but where do different types of audiences
exist and where can you engage them,” says Bale.
“The media agency's role will be much more
pinned to audience, so one-to-one in scale, than
it is today where it's still largely defined by space
and time.”
An industry
tainted?
On MBM’s position on transparency…
“What we charge clients at the bottom of an
invoice is what we're paid. Our policy is not to
take any rebates from publishers that are not
declared to clients, so for us, it's not an issue to
be transparent in that regard.
You're not an agent if you're not doing the
best for your clients. As soon as you have an
arrangement with a media publisher that says
you'll be provided special benefits...then you're
arguably not doing the best job for that client
because your recommendations are already
biased.” – McCready
“Transparency's always been a personal ethics
thing for all three of us. We probably haven't
been as vocal about it as we should have been,
because it is a big deal, and it's an issue for me
personally. I think I feel almost tarred by that
brush of people saying that we don’t have the
client’s interests at heart or that we’re misusing
or misrepresenting how money is being spent.“
- Delany
On its effects on the industry…
“The area is an issue for us because it's
happening in the market. When the UK's trade
body tells the public that it doesn't believe
media agencies have the best interests of their
clients at heart anymore, that's a real worry for
anyone in that space. If you haven't got that,
then there isn't an industry anymore. It worries
me that our industry gets tainted.” - Bale
On what needs to be done…
“I think we all have a responsibility, and clients
need to stop being complicit in this too.
Clients who don't believe their agency is being
transparent should be asking questions from
them and getting the right answers. There are a
lot of different ways agencies make money...and
that's okay as long as the client understands
the cost of doing business.” - Delany
The Media Issue 2016 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 55
opinion
IN THE DOCK
The industry has been put on trial for
the crime of theft, and Alex Lawson
believes time is running out to prove its
innocence (and value to society).
TIM WU, in his Wired article ‘The Crisis
of Attention Theft, Ads That Steal
Your Time for Nothing in Return’,
argues the advertising industry should
be locked up. Our crime? Attention
theft, larceny on a daily basis.
Wu asserts that advertisements
in places that garner attention but
offer no perceivable value exchange
are not only unethical and criminal,
but detrimental to our mental health
and even impinge on our free will.
Gas station TVs, airline seatback
TVs, shopping malls and other forced
viewing zones are targeted by Wu with
us, the evil marketing industry, being
the chief villain of this Orwellian tale
of mind control.
I would actually extend Wu’s
definition to advertisements within
places that you have initially paid for.
For instance, magazines, cinema and
paid TV that on the surface appear to
56 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017
offer no additional content in return.
If you’ve paid for it already do you
deserve to be taxed again?
Wu may have watched Minority
Report one too many times, but we
should indeed be asking ourselves:
Are we guilty of attentional theft and
what is the potential impact on our
client’s brand?
There is no denying that our
job is to garner the attention of those
that otherwise wouldn’t give it to us.
Let’s face it, not many folk actively
look forward to the ad break, go
on billboard tours or tune into a
radio station thinking, “I wish this
song would end so they can play me
some ads!”
In a society that is increasingly
able to avoid, switch off or just plain
block our ads, can we afford not
to offer something in return? With
a core audience that consistently
demands some type of value exchange
and is increasingly choosy about
the type of advertising that they will
allow through their devices, we are
committing marketing suicide by
ignoring the Attention Economy.
The Attention Economy in
marketing represents an exchange
between advertiser and audience
providing a tangible benefit. This is
most easily appreciated on channels
such as FTA TV, news websites,
YouTube and so on. These are places
where you’re receiving content
in return for accepting exposure
to the advertising message, thus
commoditising your attention.
However, unlike Wu, I believe
that there are four types, not one,
of attentional value exchanges in
the economy with each providing a
distinct, if not always obvious, value
to the consumer.
 1 The Content Exchange
Ok, let’s start with the one that Wu isn’t arguing against as
3 The Social Exchange
it’s the cornerstone of the Attention Economy. The basic
principle of this is watch, look at or hear this ad and you’ll
get something you value in return such as the TV show,
news article or song. Easy.
In recent years, various cities around the world have
opted for a clean space movement and removed billboards.
In Sao Paulo, it helped expose levels of abuse and poverty
that were previously, literally, covered by billboards.
Taking down the ads from London’s Trocadero center
allowed an impressive example of period architecture to
be seen and appreciated again.
But is that the case everywhere? Go look at a

2
The Entertainment Exchange
Over the years there have been many wonderful ad
campaigns that have made us smile, laugh, cry and
many other emotions. From the Anchor butter family to
Toyota’s Bugger, ASB’s Goldstein, Mitre 10’s Sandpit Kids
or Steinlager’s Harvey Keitel talking up us Kiwis, these
little pieces of genius pop up repeatedly. Today, Samsung’s
VR inspired Ostrich and tales of kids’ sporting glory from
Lotto are warming the cockles of my heart.
My point here is that if we have to experience the ads
in the first place, regardless of placement or format, then
they can still create a value exchange by entertaining us,
creating a little moment of magic in what is otherwise a
number of buildings that currently hold billboards
in Auckland. Sleek digital screens, well-shaped
static executions such as the North Western motorway
water tower, or fun Phantom picture frame sites that add
to the urban environment rather than detract
– a visual value exchange, raising our social
environment for the better.
And what about campaigns for social good? Do
we think that there is no value in a campaign for
homelessness, domestic violence or animal abuse because
it’s placed in a forced viewing environment with no
tangible content exchange associated?

4
forced transaction.
The Desire Exchange
The main purpose of advertising is to inform, sell or create
a desire for something, be that a product, service, brand

In a society that is or outcome. Regardless of your opinion as to the ethics of

this practice, many have bought something they now love
or value because they saw it on an ad. I’ve done it myself

increasingly able to avoid, without regret.

The key here is finding the ways to put the right
products or services in front of the right people at the

switch off or just plain block right time to make this value exchange worthwhile to the
end viewer. With our current technology and targeting

our ads, can we afford not to tools, we should be able to get this right most of the time.
With incoming advancements in mass channels from
programmatic TV to audience tracking out-of-home, or

offer something in return? Genius based online offerings rich in data, this should
only continue to improve.

We ignore these four value elements of the Attention Economy at our peril. If our ads provide no content in return,
don’t entertain, make a difference in our physical or mental environment or just don’t offer us anything that we may
desire at that time, then we are failing our clients, ourselves and the audiences we profess to know so well. There
will be more ad-blockers, streets littered with billboards torn down by the baying mob and potential consumers
steadfastly refusing to direct their gaze away from their phones to where we desire. Wu’s dystopian future will come
to pass and we will have only ourselves to blame.

Alex Lawson is the general manger of Carat

NZ, part of the Dentsu Aegis Network.

The Media Issue 2017 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 57

interview
HORSE’S MOUTH
LOUISE BOND PHD
As the chief executive of one of the biggest media agencies in the country and as chair of
the Commercial Communications Council, PHD’s Louise Bond is at the forefront of all
the major issues facing media agencies in 2017. And at time when marketers are taking
increasing chunks of their media in-house and transparency issues are blighting the
reputation of the industry, she certainly has her hands full.
On strategic objectivity
The strategy capability that sits over everything
in terms of understanding a business problem
is becoming really important. If you ask a social
specialist what the answer is, they’re going to say
social; if you ask an SEM specialist, they’re going to
say SEM. So you need that broader smart strategy
along with having strong digital and tech capabilities.
On kickbacks and rebates
We need to keep an eye on it. Without a doubt,
there have been scandals globally, but we’ve never
had one locally. However, agencies and marketers
need to have good business practice, due diligence,
be asking the right questions and having the right
level of transparency in regard to how agencies are
being paid. It’s important to find out what costs
there are within the media supply chain. There’s a
responsibility from the media agency perspective
to be transparent about how they make money,
but increasingly, marketers also need to be well
educated in terms of where the hidden costs lie.
On the complicated media supply chain
I think agencies can play a role in the education
process. If you think about something like the
media supply chain in digital or programmatic,
marketers need to understand that there are tech
On the biggest issue facing media costs along the way. They’re perfectly legitimate
There are multiple ways you could approach this costs, but the clients should know what happens
question, but I’ll focus on one thing in particular. to every dollar they put in before the ad is even
We all know that what we do is becoming more served. Agencies have an obligation to talk to
and more complex every day. As a consequence of clients about these things, and clients need to
that, the resource and talent we’ll need is going to engage in these discussions.
be quite different in the future. Everyone’s talking
about tech, data and marketing sciences … and On ensuring greater transparency
these disciplines will become core competencies. All marketers should have good visibility about how
They’re no longer nice things to have around the their money is being spent. I think the transparency
outside. They’re now core to agencies. What’s question is perfectly reasonable, but it is happening
really hard about that is that we are a service across all sorts of areas. Digital metrics, research
industry and that whole kind of client ethos that methodology, social listening tools, attribution
many of us who have been in the industry get and modelling, the list goes on. When you talk about
understand isn’t as familiar to the sophisticated transparency at a media agency level, it can touch on
specialist group of people who haven’t come out of a lot of stuff. That’s where it gets quite complex and
that environment. it again really comes down to that education piece.
58 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017
Getting into the methodology behind research can
sometimes be quite a specialist area. I firmly believe
education of clients is really important.
On clients taking greater ownership
One thing that’s increasingly happening in the
agency space is that the technology is actually set
up in the client name, as opposed to the agency
name. The benefit of that from a client perspective
is that it ensures the client owns the infrastructure
and has greater visibility. In theory, there should
be the same visibility if it’s set up on the agency
side, but it changes the mindset a bit. More often
than not, the technology still sits with the agency
because they’re the custodians of actually running
it. But I think the principle lends itself to better
transparency and better due diligence of the
relationship. When we first got into the digital
space, we didn’t even think about things like that.
Nobody thought about what it meant if, down the
track, a client wanted to take something in-house
if it was all tangled up in a single account with an
agency. Now, clients are thinking about technology
infrastructure and what sits where. We’re all just
becoming more sophisticated and clearer about
what good practice looks like.
On questionable digital metrics
There has been a lot of press dedicated to
this. There have been areas, particularly
related to Facebook, where we’ve seen a lot of
misunderstanding around the metrics presented. I
think agencies and clients need to become better at
understanding what the metrics actually say. What
are you looking at? How does it relate to that other
piece of data that I have over here? More often than
not, there are multiple bits of metrics that you are
actually looking at. And if you do happen to spot
an inconsistency between two sources of data, then
you need to ask why. I don’t think it’s a question
of whether we can trust the metrics or not, but I
think there is potentially misinformation and there
has been some misrepresentation. We have to put
processes in place, so that we can trust the metrics.
From our perspective, all our digital metrics
are third-party verified via Moat or Integral Ad
Science or another third-party auditor. That’s the
same due diligence we use for all other media, and
it will just become best practice for digital.
On measuring the right thing
There’s a difference between proxy metrics [such
as likes, views or shares] and business metrics.
At the end of the day, everything needs to line up
with the business metrics. I’m not saying that some
proxy metrics aren’t valuable – of course they are
– but we have to ladder any metrics we use up to a
business outcome.
On Facebook and Google giving auditors a peek
As a consequence of the broader conversation [on
digital transparency], the likes of Facebook and
Google have realised the importance of ensuring
that their metrics can stand up to scrutiny. They’re
becoming more collaborative with the third-
party auditors, and they’re opening themselves
up slightly more for better depth of verification
to be done. Facebook is now starting to work
with Nielsen. Those things have happened as
a consequence of the conversations we’ve been
having [in the industry]. Once again, it’s going to
lead to better business practices.
On walled gardens
I think it’s unlikely they’ll come down. If you
look at Facebook, it’s a tech company more so
than a social media company. And Google’s depth
of capability and offering to the market is so
huge and diverse now that media is only a small
part of what they do. Regardless of whether it’s
right or wrong, they have a huge amount of user
data that has to be managed properly. They are
the custodians of this [information], and as a
consequence, I don’t think those walled gardens
are going to come down anytime soon.
On Facebook and Google losing their sheen
Without a doubt, Google and Facebook are going
to continue to be very important. It comes back to
the diversity of their businesses. They’ve got very
clear differentiating propositions in market and
they’re tech companies. That said, the industry
at large and marketers recognise what the role
of channels are, and that Facebook and Google
don’t answer every question. I think we will see
a much better balance of the role other channels
have to play in the broader communications mix.
Television is a prime example of having
suffered quite a lot for not being new and shiny.
The reality is mass-reach TV remains a very
powerful medium. Don’t you think it’s interesting
that globally, all the major tech companies
advertise on TV? We’re heading towards an
environment where we won’t leap to the newest
shiniest thing just because it’s new and shiny. I’m
not saying we shouldn’t use these things, because
if they’re right for the problem we’re solving, then
we definitely should. But there should be a bit
more of a balance.
On younger staff being overworked
Lots of categories work hard, but I think the
distinguishing thing about media is that it’s quite
fast paced. Sometimes we might get annual briefs
where we have six weeks to plan, but more often
than not that’s not the reality of the business
world and client challenges. It’s a constant
speed, and it suits a certain type of personality.
That said, the way we work in advertising is
evolving a bit. Here at PHD, for instance, we have
a wellness programme which we didn’t do ten
years ago. Another example of this would be the
introduction of a mindfulness programme. It’s not
for everyone. Whether people adhere to it is up to
them. But it’s important to create that framework.
We’re also re-introducing our email policy that
encourages staff not to email after 6.30pm unless
it’s absolutely urgent. When we launched it 18
months ago, it was so well received. But then we
all slipped into business pitches and forgot.
Now, we’ve decided to reintroduce it. It’s
just about trying to create those boundaries
for people. Businesses and agencies have a
responsibility for setting up a framework that
allows people to switch off. In any industry,
people have to be able to have some downtime.
If a client comes to us at 5.30pm on a Friday
afternoon and tells us that they need something in
market by Monday morning, then we have to do
it because we’re in the service industry. But that
should be the exception.
On the younger generation driving change
When I joined the industry, I was meek, quiet and
polite. But now you have a generation coming in
that has a much stronger voice. They help facilitate
the changes taking place. We want to hear what
they have to say because they’re the future of our
business. You can’t always fix everything, but it’s
about having the conversation and considering
what we could change. It’s about being open-
minded, really.
On clients taking media in-house
I think media agencies will always have an
important role in terms of strategy and creative
thinking. Clients will take stuff in-house, and we
have to be flexible and think about how we can
construct our services to continue to meet client
needs. For some businesses it makes sense, like
big retailers having production facilities or big
corporates that want a handle on their own data.
The one thing I would say [about clients taking
media in-house] is that media is not their core
capability and they really need focus on what their
core business is. Media is our core business – it’s
what we do, and I think that’s always going to
be the fundamental business. We already work
with clients that have bits and pieces of media in-
house, but that doesn’t mean they don’t value our
contribution. And I think that when clients have
media in-house, we have to look at what role we
can play given that we touch multiple categories
and have a depth of specialist capabilities. I think
there’s still a lot we can do.
On the rebrand of CAANZ to the Commercial
Communications Council (CCC)
The organisation has been CAANZ for 17 years.
The brand needed a refresh to reflect the industry.
Regardless of what discipline within the spectrum
of agencies you’re in, it’s about communications
that deliver commercial results for clients and
that’s all captured in the new name.
On criticism of the CCC
The thing about the Comms Council is that it’s
actually a small organisation. It’s five people. I
think it’s very easy to be judgmental and critical
of all the things an organisation may not do, but
I think you’ve also got to look at all the things
they are doing and see some of the things that
are valuable to the industry. I personally think
the Comms Council has done a great job of
its professional development and education
programmes. They run a great foundation of
advertising courses, they were instrumental in
bringing Peter Field to New Zealand and they run
great strategy and media labs. If you think of the
number of things they do across the year from a
professional development perspective, it’s actually
substantial. We also have key events in the Beacon
and Axis Awards, which are pillars of our industry
in terms of celebrating the work we do. The one
thing we’ve done over the last three years is become
really clear about what the Comms Council should
do in terms of promoting our industry and its
contributions to the economy, business and society.
So with this in mind, I actually think the Comms
Council contributes a lot. Are there areas for
improvement? Of course. Are there projects they
should take on? Probably. But it’s a not-for-profit
organisation with five people, so let’s be realistic
about what can and can’t be delivered.
On what a media agency of the future looks like
Strategy and creativity will be hugely important
regardless of what the framework of an agency
might be in the future. Whether we have media
agencies that are still media agencies or creative
agencies that are still creative agencies, those
fundamental human capabilities will still be
enormously important. Without a shadow of doubt,
artificial intelligence will touch the landscape.
For instance, will we all have our own artificially
intelligent PA that makes decisions for us and
determines what brands we choose? That will
probably be some part of our future, and it’s all very
exciting when you think of the constantly changing
framework. There will be so much that’s automated
in the future, but it won’t take away from the need
for smart thinkers, creativity and the fact that we
still want to engage with people.
The Media Issue 2017 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 59
NZ MARKETING Y&R Media

PROGRAMMATIC KOOL-AID
As an industry, focusing on commoditised technology as a competitive advantage is the fastest way to
the bottom. What we’ve collectively established is that automated trading desks create low costs for
low-value impressions, and that without human intervention these platforms can become a marketing
minefield. Well done. Programmatic buying is only as strong as the people manning the controls and
at the moment we’re on collective cruise control as marketers drive agency costs down for a specialism
that takes hours to deliver. This in turn has led to issues with agency transparency.

The industry has lost sight of the main challenge
we face in this new infinite media environment;
how to get consumers’ attention and influence
human behaviour.
The airline industry recently faced similar
challenges. The brands now winning the war
are those such as Air New Zealand and Emirates
that chose to focus on value over price.
IT IS TIME TO REDEFINE THE VALUE OF A
MEDIA AGENCY
Whilst there is a role for programmatic buying
as a function of digital implementation, it is still
just a tactic to reach people. We need to drive
the conversation upstream. When you work in
a commoditised category the real question we
should be asking ourselves is, what value are we
offering our clients?
The micro-focus on digital cost efficiency and
issues such as viewability and safety that have
arisen with this new approach have shifted the
focus from media agencies’ greatest asset - their
people. Smart media people with the aid of tech/
data are what drive business results and we need
to bring the attention back to what’s driving the
success - people.
NEW WORLD CAMPAIGN SUCCESS IS HINGED ON
UNLOCKING PEOPLE AS BROADCASTERS
In today’s media environment where everyone
and everything is fighting for your attention,
people have become the most valuable media
channel. No matter how many impressions you
buy, brands and campaigns that are winning the
fight for attention are those that demand people’s
attention; ideas and media strategies that are
social by design, relevant, impactful and unable
to be ignored. Designed to drive engagement
first, then be dispersed through this new media
channel of hyper-connected people.
This new approach to media is evident in
Y&R’s recent campaigns for Vodafone VNZMAs,
Burger King’s McWhopper and Actual
Reality for Jaguar which offered a real driving
experience to those expecting a simulation.
With agencies at a cross roads, we believe
there is no better time to be in the media
industry. We’re moving forwards and focussing
on the real value that we can deliver for clients;
smarter thinking to capture human attention
and drive better business results.
Contact: Paul Hamilton
Client Service Director - Media
paul.hamilton@yr.com

60 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017

feature
With viewability rates
as low as 40 percent on
supposedly trustworthy
local sites, rampant ad
fraud costing marketers
billions and ads being
served alongside
objectionable content,
Damien Venuto looks
at digital advertising’s
growing PR problem –
and why it isn’t always
living up to the promise
it arrived with.
W The agency pitch
hen the victims of famed
imposter Christian
Gerhartsreiter were asked
how they could fall for the
man’s claim that he was
a member of the illustrious Rockefeller family,
the response was generally some variation of
‘because that’s what he told me’. The contact lenses
given to us by hindsight make this rationale seem
ridiculous now, but it’s a reminder that the default
setting for humans is one of trust.
Something very similar has happened in digital
advertising. Some years back, search and display
introduced themselves as a pair of sophisticated
gentlemen, who had arrived to change things
around town. They came bearing briefcases filled
with the finest assortment of tools, designed to cut
away the fluff and give marketers greater efficiency.
Buoyed by well-crafted press releases, news
of their arrival travelled quickly and before long
every advertising journalist was writing about the
benefits of targeting customers through digital.
At first, few mistrusted the claims that were
being made. And why would they? Digital was, after
all, presented as the first truly measurable media
channel. Every action could, in theory at least, be
traced as online users wandered from one page to
the next, providing valuable data perfectly suited for
application to online marketing campaigns. Believing
the hype was almost the rational thing to do.
What no one anticipated, however, was the
impact Campbell’s Law would have on the industry.
In his 1979 paper titled ‘Assessing the Impact of
Planned Social Change’, social scientist Donald
Campbell argued “the more any quantitative social
62 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2016
indicator is used for social decision-making, the
more subject it will be to corruption pressures and
the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the
social processes it is intended to monitor.”
Campbell used the example of a city’s crime rate to
show that a reduction in the overall number of crimes
recorded doesn’t necessarily indicate an improved
social environment but instead serves to a reflect the
impact of procedural changes introduced to make
the number look better. Police may, for instance,
downgrade the seriousness of certain crimes or
change the rules as to what should be reported.
The point Campbell makes is that when
performance is measured solely from a quantitative
perspective, it leads to gaming of the system.
Participants find ways to accentuate the metric
being measured, delivering what appears to be a
good result on the surface.
Businesses disrupted by quants—or big
data—are particularly prone to such gaming of
the system. When metrics become an indicator
of success, players in the game start finding
ways to deliver the desired results without much
consideration of the overall performance.
One game leads to another
As big data has disrupted advertising, we’ve seen
various forms of gaming the system play out across
cycle has dropped
the industry. The first and perhaps most rudimentary
example would be the example of selling likes online.
from around five
The moment entrepreneurial types realised that
social media likes were a commodity some brands
and online influencers were willing to pay for,
years to three
packages offering likes popped up online. It didn’t
take long for brands to cotton onto the fact that
years and a big
millions of likes were little more than a vanity metric,
particularly useless when fake. Attempts to game the reason for this is
digital system certainly don’t end there.
Part of the reason why Google constantly
updates its algorithms is to stay a step ahead of
to maximise cost
SEO consultants trying to take shortcuts to reach
the top of Google rankings. Glen Maguire, the
effectiveness or
founder of SEO firm Clickthrough, says that one
of the major challenges he faces when picking up cost efficiency.
a new client is unravelling all the dodgy backlinks
bought by “lazy optimisers” looking for a quick - John Montgomery
buck from a digitally naïve business owner. While
this approach works in the short-term, Google across the world mimic human behaviour and
eventually cottons on and penalises the client’s illicitly funnel billions of dollars of ad spend
website. And by that stage, the SEO company into their coffers every year. The ‘Bot Base Line’
has likely moved on to its next mark, leaving the report published by the Association of National
business owner with the mess. Advertisers (ANA) in the United States recently
However, buying links and likes remains found that online ad fraud is likely to cost
only a minuscule part of the broader picture. advertisers an estimated US$6.5 billion in 2017. This
Undoubtedly, the most successful and intricate is down from US$7.2 billion lost in 2016 but make
form of gaming the system is found in the black no mistake, the fraudsters are only becoming more
market ad fraud industry. ingenious and today’s bots have become much better
Bots created by sophisticated criminal networks at mimicking human traffic. Much of the same
technology that powers AI interfaces and digital
algorithms is now also being used by criminals to
make their bots look and smell a lot like human
clickers. With this in mind, it’ll be interesting to see
if that US$6.5 billion estimate isn’t perhaps adjusted
at the end of the year, by which time investigators
would’ve unravelled some of the more elaborate
schemes syphoning away ad dollars right now.
The domino effect
Part of the reason the ad fraud syndicates have been
so successful is due to the CPM (cost per
1,000 impressions) model upon which online
Vanishing spend
Starting budget Agency commission
20%
if an
agency is
involved
and
$100
outsources
the buy
planned budget
by brand
Acquire Online programmatic director Zane Furtado
says that once a proposed media spend of $100
enters the supply chain, it’s clipped numerous times
before any ads are served. Various providers take a
cut of commission along each step. And as is always
the case with commission, the rates are negotiable.
advertising is often sold. Fraudsters have essentially
taken advantage of the industry’s almost singular
obsession with this metric and extracted illicit value
out of it. But the CPM model hasn’t only inspired
action from fraudsters; in fact, it has directly
influenced the way business is done, websites are
made and how marketers choose their partners.
GroupM global executive vice president of brand
safety John Montgomery goes even further, saying
in an interview with NZ Marketing that at least
some of the transparency issues blighting digital
advertising are attributable to “slavishly following
a low-cost principle and measuring on CPMs”.
Platform tax Brand safety/viewability fees
20%
10%
$80
remaining
$64 remaining
to spend
to spend on
on media
media
So negotiable, in fact, that Furtado compares
the trading desk fees to stock brokerage, saying
that an experienced trader could easily negotiate
a commission of over 30 percent at this step (the
standard rate is around 15 percent).
Given the complexity of the media supply chain
One place where this is always apparent is when
marketers pitch their media business, he says.
“The agency pitch cycle has dropped from
around five years to three years and a big reason
for this is to maximise cost effectiveness or cost
efficiency,” he says.
“Whenever we have a new pitch, there’s a
requirement to lower the CPMs and we then have
to go to our media partners and negotiate very
hard to bring the costs down. When those pitches
happen in a category, like a big consumer group,
and one advertiser does that, the other advertisers
often follow in order to make sure their pricing is
Trading desk fees Final budget
20%
$58
$46
remaining
to spend on
media
$46 to spend on
actual media
and the potential for shadiness at every stage,
some businesses are starting to take their
programmatic buying in-house. But this is easier
said than done and usually only recommended for
bigger organisations with the capacity to dedicate
specialised staff to the task.
The Media Issue 2016 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 63
feature
competitive as possible.”
Montgomery says this then has a knock-on effect
in that publishers are forced to introduce new ad
zones to make up the loss in advertising revenue. At
best, this creates an annoying ad-heavy experience
for the users or, at worst, it leads to ads being served
on sections of a website never seen by human eyes.
To show how far the CPM game can be
pushed, Montgomery and his team recently ran
an experiment in which they constructed a faux
campaign entirely out of invalid or unviewable ads.
“You can take your CPMs down to zero if you
want to but don’t expect your ad to be seen,” he says.
When you extend this issue across commercial
categories over a number of years, you end up
with what has today manifested as a viewability
crisis serious enough for the IAB New Zealand to
dedicate an entire event to it in February.
The general consensus among the panellists was
that it was important for all the players in digital
marketing to accept the IAB’s oft-ridiculed standard
that an ad can only be considered viewed if 50
percent of the pixels are viewable for a duration of
one second in display or two seconds for video.
At the time, Moat partner manager Dave
Goodfellow conceded the standard might be lax
but added that marketers can always ask more of
their providers.
“The important thing is to find a baseline that
makes it possible for us all to work together,”
Goodfellow said. “If there are people who want to
go beyond that baseline and have a better quality
audience, then they should be able to do that.”
The point here is that IAB’s standard is not an
objective, but rather a minimum requirement to
ensure all providers are playing by the same rules
in the local market.
What makes the viewability issue so imperative
is that the problem is rampant across both local and
international sites. So pervasive is the problem that
ANZ head of digital marketing David Gascoigne
says he’s seen viewability rates as low as 40 percent
on some of New Zealand’s biggest websites.
“Imagine paying TVNZ to air your TVCs and
they come back to you, saying that they only
managed to air 40 percent of them but they’re still
charging you 100 percent – it makes no sense at
all,” Gascoigne says.
Paying for peace of mind
Whenever there’s a mess, you’ll have someone
willing to clean it—at a price, of course. And when
it comes to the viewability debacle, advertisers have
a number of cleaning agents at their disposal.
Moat, Integral Ad Science (IAS) and Comscore
all offer tools that gauge viewability, giving
advertisers a semblance of security that their ads
are at least making it into the peripheral vision of
64 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2016
a web user.
But this peace of mind comes with a price tag the
marketer is required to pay. The services offered by
these providers are added to the already-complex
digital media supply chain and marketers can
then choose whether or not they’re willing to
pay the commission fees attached to having their
impressions guaranteed as viewable.
What is somewhat unusual about this is that
marketers are essentially footing the bill for a
problem on the media owner side. And what
further complicates the matter is that there’s
still little in the way of third-party measurement
when it comes to the online duopoly of Google and
Facebook (and, increasingly, Snapchat).
In all other media channels (except perhaps
outdoor), media owners pay for at least some
independent reporting of their viewership or
readership numbers, whereas the viewership
and usage numbers for the big international
sites generally come directly from those big
international sites.
To put this into context, imagine the industry
uproar if, for instance, the magazine or television
industry suddenly told marketers that they would Imagine paying
now be reporting their own numbers and that
marketers would have to pay Comscore to ensure
the ads were actually airing in the right place.
TVNZ to air your
So why the double standard? Why are digital
providers allowed to mark their own homework
TVCs and they
while other media owners chip in to pay the bill
for independent analysis? Part of it is down to
momentum. Marketers and agencies seem willing
come back to
to forgo certainty to be on these digital channels
simply because they are so popular. And you only
you, saying
have to look at recent growth in revenue to see this
‘crisis’ isn’t harming Google or Facebook (at least that they only
not yet). Also, it happens to be a little more difficult
to measure digital audiences than anticipated.
“It’s tricky because there will always be
managed to air
variations, even from third-party suppliers,” says
Gascoigne. “We see variances in Google Analytics
40 percent of
and Adobe Analytics numbers even with the same
code being applied to the same pages and actions them but they’re
across the site. [It’s] all down to the way in which
these two vendors collect the data.”
The difficulty of the task aside, arguably the
still charging
most obvious reason we don’t have independently
provided numbers is that the likes of Facebook,
you 100 percent
Google and Snapchat have been resistant to
allowing third-party verification of their audiences, – it makes no
preferring to keep their cards very close to their
chests. And a few prominent voices across the
industry, Montgomery’s among them, have raised
sense at all.
the opinion that this breeds mistrust.
“When there isn’t third-party measurement
- David Gascoigne
allowed on a platform like Facebook, Snapchat
and most of Google’s properties, there’s always a
concern about what’s going on that we don’t know
about,” says Montgomery.
That said, the digital juggernauts are starting to
give the other players a few momentary peeks, with
one example being Facebook’s commitment to an
audit with the Media Ratings Council.
While a good first step, Montgomery
doesn’t believe this is enough to ensure actual
transparency in the industry.
“It’s after the case and it’s also not real auditing,”
he says, explaining that a report released once a
campaign has run does little to give marketers any
security in the fast-moving digital space.
For this reason, Montgomery is a proponent of
appending what he calls “a brand-safety tag” to ads
running across social media networks.
“If we had a tag on those ads, then at least
we would’ve known about it or we would have
been complicit in it. Without any control, it’s an
incredibly uncomfortable situation.”
A common argument against allowing a third-
party to tag ads in Google, Facebook or Snapchat
is that this could place the data of the subscribers
in each of those channels at risk. While a leak or
privacy breach would be extremely damaging to
these social media giants, Montgomery believes
it’s well within the capabilities of the companies to
keep the information secure.
“Even if we were allowed to append a tag to an ad,
there would be extremely strict agreements in terms
of what would be allowed to be collected. Remember,
this is not personal information… They’re not sharing
names, addresses or any personal details. What
they’re sharing is where the ad appears.”
Playing it safe
Knowing where ads appear is important not only
to ensure viewability but also brand safety, the
latter of which is particularly pertinent at a time
when countless brands are being called up for
advertising alongside objectionable material.
Interestingly, the introduction of a brand safety
tag might not only be in the best interests of clients
but also the media owners. As seen in April when
myriad advertisers suspended advertising on
YouTube and Google’s display network as it came
to light that their ads were appearing alongside
extremist and misogynistic content, brand safety is
an area advertisers aren’t willing to negotiate on.
Since this scandal, YouTube has taken drastic
steps, flagging large swathes of its online creators
as ‘non-advertiser friendly’ in a bid to coax
advertisers back to the platform.
Gascoigne says he understands why so many
advertisers are unwilling to risk their reputations
on the channel.
“If they don’t have the skillset and the
understanding of how to manage transparency
and brand safety, you’ll find a lot of businesses are
turning and running, and that’s really the feeling
I’ve had from the industry of late.”
He says ANZ is still using the channel but has
taken a slightly more cautious approach.
“At the moment we stick with premium
placement. We’ve got a 200-strong whitelist of
top-performing and safe YouTube channels that
we run a lot of our activity on.”
This still gives ANZ scale, but it doesn’t
necessarily bode well for the channel as a whole.
Part of what makes YouTube so popular with
younger consumers is that it offers edgier, racier
content that might not be considered safe from a
traditional branding perspective. And if these content
creators are precluded from making money on
account of strict enforcement of brand safety rules,
then they’ll either have to find a new site that offers
monetisation or stop producing their videos. Neither
of these scenarios is ideal for YouTube—or for brands
looking to engage with younger consumers.
Changing the conversation
Despite transparency and brand safety issues
running rampant across the industry, marketers
aren’t giving up on digital. Instead, they’re finding
ways to measure the effectiveness of campaigns
without paying attention to the dodgy metrics
floating around.
The reason why we haven’t seen a mass exodus of
advertisers from Facebook, despite its admission of
a string of measurement errors, is that advertisers
aren’t all that worried about basic view metrics
as long as the campaign still delivers the results
initially intended.
“With any digital media channel, you need
to make sure the budget you are spending
is delivering to the business objective,” says
Gascoigne. “You need to take insight from metrics
like views and engagement but judge the success of
the activity in an action. For us, the importance of
our cost-per-acquisition indicators are the number
one priority, and yes we look at certain metrics
with a ‘lens’, because at the end of the day you need
to see the returns.”
In much the same way that online discussions
have shifted from impressions to viewable
impressions and then to safe viewable impressions,
we’re starting to see measurement language evolve.
Rather than talking about reaching millions of
people, marketers and programmatic providers are
increasingly talking about return on investment
and attribution models that claim to show the link
between an ad and a consumer action.
The only question is how will these metrics be
gamed and how many millions (if not billions) of
dollars will marketers lose because of it?
Beware the new walled
gardens
The lack of third-party verification offered by the big
digital players is a concern. But an industry source, who
agreed to speak to NZ Marketing under the condition
of anonymity, believes marketers also need to be wary
of the walled gardens being put in place at agencies.
The source says it’s become common for some of
the bigger holding companies to set up independent
programmatic offerings that they own and operate
within the group.
In some instances this can become problematic,
the source says, because you have what amounts to
media arbitrage.
“You’ve got a media agency body buying space,
sitting on it and selling it on to clients for a margin.
Back in the day, this was called space farming and
it was outlawed. This included things like agencies
buying up stacks of billboards and onselling them.
Space farming is not how we do business, and yet, the
norm, at least in certain agency programmatic units, is
that model.”
The counter-argument to this, of course, is that the
agency is taking on all the risk by buying the inventory
and should, by virtue of this, be allowed to make a
return out of that. But the source rejects this reasoning
because it essentially removes the objectivity of
the media agency, which is meant to act in the best
interests of the client.
“You’re not making an independent investment
decision. You’re making a decision based on the
inventory you’re trying to get rid of rather than what’s
best for the client.”
The source says many clients are being caught up in
these scenarios because they don’t fully understand
how programmatic providers make money and
therefore don’t know what questions to ask.
This is part of the reason he encourages marketers
not to put pen to paper before asking the following
four questions of an agency:
1. What demand-side platforms (DSPs) are
we actually using?
2. Is there any financial benefit, direct or
indirect, to the agency in using these DSPs?
3. What’s the ownership of the DSP?
Is there any shared ownership at a holding
company level?
4. If there are charges being added for
technology and data, what specifically
are you paying for?
The Media Issue 2016 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 65
NZ MARKETING KPEX
DO YOU KNOW WHERE
As the transparency and brand safety battles wage on, KPEX chief executive Richard Thompson
believes it’s more imperative than ever for brands to be selective when choosing where to advertise.
HOW SERIOUS DO YOU THINK THE TRANSPARENCY
ISSUES ARE IN THE INDUSTRY AT THE MOMENT?
WHAT CAN THE INDUSTRY DO TO ENSURE GREATER
TRANSPARENCY?
Both transparency and brand safety are
rightly very hot topics at the moment, and it’s
fundamentally important to the industry that we
address them head-on. If we want to continue
to maximise the opportunity digital advertising
is presenting us, it’s essential we come together
as an industry and work with advertisers to
navigate safely through this issue.
HOW DOES KPEX ENSURE TRANSPARENCY
FOR CLIENTS?
KPEX only represents New Zealand’s premium
broadcasters and publishers such as Fairfax,
NZME, TVNZ and Mediaworks. Therefore,
advertisers can be 100 percent confident their
activity will only be running within brand-safe
environments. In addition, KPEX provides
66 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017
advertisers the opportunity to target through a
fully transparent system that allows brands to see
the content page or URL before advertising on
it. This all means that an advertiser can both be
confident with the environment and the content on
the page before appearing on the KPEX exchange,
providing full transparency to the brand.
IS THERE ENOUGH CLARITY REGARDING THE MEDIA
SUPPLY CHAIN IN DIGITAL MEDIA? DO MARKETERS
ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT THEY’RE PAYING FOR?
HOW CAN WE RECTIFY THIS ISSUE?
We definitely need a more open conversation
between advertisers, technology providers,
agencies and media owners to ensure everyone
understands the technology being used (and fees
being charged) throughout the supply chain.
Much of the technology for programmatic
is valuable in ensuring both efficiency and
effectiveness, but it’s a complex space so we all need
to continually educate ourselves to take advantage
of the opportunity. Advertisers need to fully
understand how their budgets are being spent and
to also proactively up-skill in this area so they can
ask the right questions of their partners.
At the same time, media owners, technology
providers and agencies have a responsibility
to be transparent around the supply chain in
regard to what technology is being used, how it
will benefit the advertiser and the commercial
model behind it.
HOW IMPORTANT IS THIRD-PARTY VERIFICATION
OF DIGITAL MEASUREMENT DATA? SHOULD WE
HAVE A STANDARDISED APPROACH APPLICABLE
ACROSS ALL DIGITAL MEDIA?
As we have seen over recent months, it’s not
acceptable for global media owners to be
‘marking their own homework’ as Martin
Sorrell puts it. It’s wholly unacceptable to be
misreporting performance and there is a need
for a rebalance of power (driven by agencies and
BUYER BEWARE
Thompson says that transparency and brand safety debate comes down to four important
areas that brands need to consider any time they spend money on digital media.

1) Environment: 2) Content: 3) Technology transparency: 4) Agency transparency:

This is the area that’s getting the most
profile at the moment. As a brand ‘you
are the company you keep’ and no one
wants to see advertising alongside or
funding sites that don’t align with your
brand values (we have seen some high
profile and fairly shocking examples of
this recently). The good news is that
this is also the simplest to fix; most
agency trading desks have a ‘whitelist’ of
preapproved sites for brands to advertise
on, alongside a ‘blacklist’ of sites to
specifically avoid. At KPEX, we have seen
a number of advertisers shift the focus of
their investment towards our exchange
so they can be confident in appearing
on 100 percent premium New Zealand
inventory (a built-in ‘whitelist’ if you like).
Within all sites there will be content
advertisers would prefer not to
appear next to, for example, an
airline may not want to advertise
around an article that mentions the
words ‘plane crash’. This is also
relatively simple to avoid, most of
the leading brands within the
programmatic space have fairly
comprehensive lists of ‘negative
keywords’. Trading desks can use
their ‘brand safety technology’ to
scan a page and ensure that activity
doesn’t run on keywords that have
a perceived negative connotation
to the brand.
Within programmatic advertising
we are increasingly using technology
to improve buys, reduce wastage by
targeting the right people to create
more efficient campaigns. Some of
the technology enables advertisers
to buy programmatically, other
tech overlays audience-targeting
information while a further piece
of technology ensures brand safety.
All of these solutions are important
to advertisers and add significant
value to the process. The key is for
advertisers to really understand the
‘why’ of each piece of technology
that is being used and the commercial
relationship that sits below this.
It’s hard to have a conversation
around transparency without the
subject of agency transparency
arising. It’s natural that as an industry
dramatically transforms there will
also be a need for a reset of what
represents value and the commercial
model attached to it. Advertisers
need confidence that their agency
partners are making buying decisions
for the right reasons and this
comes from complete transparency
throughout the value chain. At the
same time, we need a reset on what
represents value and for advertisers
to remunerate agencies fairly for the
skills required to be effective from
strategy through to buying.

advertisers) to hold media owners to account.
Third-party verification will be key in driving
confidence for advertisers individually and the
digital market as a whole.
However, before we even get into third-
party verification, we need to be clearer on
measurement as a whole. We need to put in place
some market-wide standards and benchmarks
for performance expectations. Advertisers need
a clear shortcut to understand the environments
their advertising is being placed within and the
performance they can expect.
At KPEX, we see market-leading video
completion rates and excellent viewability scores
within premium environments. Consequently,
it’s no surprise our sites often achieve superior
performance for advertisers than from other
corners of the internet. Market standards and
third-party verification will help advertisers
identify the digital sites that are really creating
value for them.
HOW DO YOU THINK THE ISSUES OF more accurately, more efficiently, with more
TRANSPARENCY AND BRAND SAFETY WILL EVOLVE impact and more measurably than ever
IN THE COMING YEARS? before. The programmatic opportunity for the
It’s important to remember that the speed advertisers is huge and we need to provide
of change and growth in digital has been the confidence for them to continue to grow
exponential over recent years. We believe investment in the channel.
the current transparency and brand safety
conversations are speed bumps in the maturing
of the market.
The technology required to provide
advertisers full transparency and brand
safety exists today, however, we are seeing a
lag in industry standards and education. As
the transparency conversation grows and
the industry puts in place measurement,
performance and commercial standards we
will see this issue dissipate over time.
There is no question that programmatic
advertising (and the technology it uses)
provides advertisers with an unprecedented Contact: Richard Thompson
ability to target existing or potential customers chief executive, Richard.thompson@kpex.co.nz

The Media Issue 2017 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 67

opinion
Just how creepy can digital tracking technology be? Well, as Alex Radford
explains, that depends entirely on how creepy the public wants it to be.
FINDING AN accessible way of talking
about the weird relationship the world
has with “tracking” is challenging.
However, the other day I read an article
on a completely unrelated topic that
analysed the argument that we are
living in a dichotomous society. On one
side you have the hypersexualising of,
in particular, young women. Then, on
the other an increased prudishness and
conservativeness, principally from the
right wing press.
This got me thinking.
Could this position also be levelled
at the argument currently raging
around privacy, tracking, net neutrality,
big data, yada yada?
Stick with me.
On one hand we have never shared
more information with anonymous
brands, apps and companies about
ourselves, our friends and our
family (location, weight, emotions,
demographics, health, sleep, etc.) but
also we act outraged and shocked
68 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017
when this data is used, lost, hacked,
shared, or sold.
I’m always surprised that people
are taken aback that companies use
the data they share for purposes that
might, by the unexposed, be seen as
nefarious. I was always under the
impression that it was just a given
that there is a value exchange; in other
words, you get Facebook, Snapchat,
Google, and so on for free, because you
know that everything you share, or do,
on that platform will be used to target
you. Correct?
Apparently not, especially when
we take into consideration the reaction
of the press to stories about Facebook
tracking emotions, or billboards with
embedded cameras, eye tracking,
super cookies or indeed Bose tracking
listening behaviour through their
connected headphones.
Thankfully there are very clear
laws that exist in most countries
designed to protect consumers but
right now there are too many instances
where the policy makers are too far
behind the innovators to challenge
their current strategies.
Don’t get me wrong – tracking
consumer behaviour is a massive part
of our role as digital marketers but, at
Dentsu Aegis Network in New Zealand,
we are very strict on what level of data
we use to market clients’ products.
Perhaps, unlike many, we self-police
our staff with a clear policy that we
don’t manage any kind of Personally
Identifiable Information (PII). What
we do is track behaviour, collect trends,
and use that data to help predict
consumer behaviour, and provide
communications that are relevant
and timely. We always act well
within the boundaries of the law, and
furthermore in good conscience, but I
still think as a wider industry we have
a long way to go in educating the public
on how brands track, monitor and
analyse user behaviour.
 Yes, the European Cookie Law is a
start but we have nothing like this in
view regulated in a way that protects
the public. I was schooled under the I still think as a
wider industry we
New Zealand, which is an issue, and old adage of ‘hope for the best, plan
let’s be honest, cookies are the tip of for the worst’, and right now we need
the iceberg. Furthermore, how do we to plan for what companies can do
protect consumers who are tracked
without their knowledge? Did you
with data, in a worst case scenario.
have a long way
know that Amazon tracks the speed
you read books, or that Netflix to go in educating
monitors viewing behaviour, or that
Google—through Chrome—logs your
entire web browser history (within
the public on
two minutes I can see that at 20:24 on
1 Jan 2012 I searched for
how brands
“Japan Earthquake” and visited bbc.
com three times).
And, ultimately, should we be able
track, monitor
to opt out? These questions need to
be publicly debated, but also in my
Alex Radford is the general manager of
digital at Dentsu Aegis Network.
and analyse user
behaviour.

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The Media Issue 2017 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 69

feature

SWEET LOVE SNUFFED OUT

Like a real-life modern Dr Merja Myllylahti, project manager of Journalism, Media
and Democracy research center (JMAD) based at AUT
iteration of a Capulet
parent, the Commerce Do you think the regulators understand the
Commission has done all it challenges of modern media?
can to stand in the way of
the proposed matrimony The final determination of the NZME/Fairfax where we are heading? I doubt it. It seems that
merger clearly shows that the Commerce no-one really knows how the news media looks
of Fairfax and NZME, Commission understands the digital challenges in the future, and how they make money and
and Sky and Vodafone. of the two companies. It correctly notes that the sustain journalistic operations.
applicants “like all news media, are in a transition I recently attended an international media
So what does the future phase. The growth in digital revenues is currently conference in San Diego and one of the key
hold for the star-crossed not replacing falling print revenues and they messages there was that news publishers need
are seeking to transition to a more sustainable to stop blaming Facebook and Google for all
lovers? We ask a chorus of business model”. their problems, and start to find solutions. For
some smart folks across However, I think we need to ask if anyone example, in Norway, news publisher VG has
the industry for their understands the real challenges of the modern invested in a separate video company which
digital media and how to respond to those now produces more advertising revenue than its
thoughts on these tragic challenges. Do publishers themselves know print products.
romances.

Tim Murphy, co-founder of Newsroom

Did the Commerce Commission over-reach in
the NZME/Fairfax decision? Did it extend into
territory that doesn’t really fall into its remit?

This is the crux, really, of the NZME/Fairfax
appeal. Basically, they say the Commerce
Act restricts the Commission to considering
economic efficiencies alone, not social goods or
‘political’ considerations. (I think by ‘political’
the StuffMe parties mean talk about democracy
and the public good.)
The Commission’s view, clearly, in its final
decision after hearing all the Fairfax and NZME
arguments on sticking to its Commerce Act
knitting, was that all considerations of how a
market could be detrimentally affected not only
can, but must be considered. It provided clear
examples where just that approach was validated
by the courts.
My view is that you cannot and should not
evaluate a media merger solely on the efficiencies,
the ‘synergies’ that applicants put forward. Nor
can you try and divorce the dollar savings from
the journalism costs. No one seriously thinks
journalism will benefit from this proposed
merger. They simply think by being given a
break by the Commerce Commission to act
anti-competitively they might stay around a little
longer and something, anything, might happen
that changes the dominance of Facebook and
Google in the ad markets.
Leaving out the effects on journalism and
the public good would be like assessing an anti-
competitive telecoms merger and focusing only
on the dollars saved and not the fact the 111 service
would no longer function as it needs to.
Nicky Greville, national general manager of media at Y&R NZ Paul Catmur, managing partner
and executive creative director at
Have Google and Facebook won the online ad
Barnes, Catmur & Friends Dentsu
game because they simply offer more efficient/
effective forms of advertising (their offerings Would the NZME/Fairfax
are more targeted, require fewer people to run merger have made a difference
and work instantly) and how can local media given how much better Google
companies compete with this, regardless of how and Facebook are at the
big they might be? online ad game?

There is no denying that both
Google and Facebook are the
most prolific digital advertising
platforms that we have at present
in terms of reach and management
of advertising options. Both are
fuelled by intuitive technology
and almost endless targeting
opportunities that focus on the
consumer first, with advertising
technology then designed around
them; no doubt entirely daunting
for local companies not used to
economies of scale at a global level
and innovation at the rate of a
heartbeat.
However, as the recent safety
and reporting accuracy issues have
highlighted, advertising that works
is not solely about efficiencies,
metrics that oversimplify (or
overstate) time spent with content,
or reach.
We have a saying at Y&R Media
– attention eats reach for breakfast.
Yes, local companies have a way
to go in terms of competing (or
more likely working to integrate
with) the technology that both
Google and Facebook platforms
offer, but where they do have an
advantage is knowing inherently
what it is that makes Kiwis tick and
making great content that people
invest time and attention on.
Here’s what I know: across a
number of our recent successes, all of
the triggers we used for capturing the
attention of massive audiences have
been using content via traditional
media. Google and Facebook were
certainly an important part of
the channel mix for the spread of
ideas – but they were not the be all
and end all of the ideas themselves.
Google and Facebook don’t build
brands or sustain brand values; it’s
conspicuously creative content that
drives this. As such, they cannot
achieve the power of tangible
traditional media.
So what’s the opportunity for
local companies to compete? The
answer lies in brands, agencies and
media partners coming together to
make conspicuously creative ideas
that generate an earned PR effect
(using Google and Facebook at
their best). It’s about making stuff
together that people truly want to
spend time with.
In a grossly oversimplified
summary, the merger would have
certainly helped in terms of scaling
up the resources to help deliver
efficiencies to the businesses. But
our jobs are about so much more
than cost efficiencies and numbers.
The need to produce outstanding
content that captures hearts and
minds of New Zealanders (and in
doing so compelling them to act)
isn’t a new requirement from our
media sources, nor is working
collaboratively with brands and
agencies to do this.
It all depends who you ask...
NZME & Fairfax Shareholder: ‘You’re not
fooling anyone. This would just be papering over the
cracks, a chance for a short-term financial blip as
the redundancies and closures roll through. It will
take a much more innovative solution to our long-
term problems than hiding in a cave with our rival.’
Consumer: ‘I find the standard of journalism
(with a few exceptions) across New Zealand papers
cannot compete with foreign publications. True,
The Guardian, The Daily Mail and The New York
Times might not cover the possible drench shortage
in Whykickamoocow but I’m not half as concerned
about that as you seem to think.’
Client: ‘So with my already fragmenting media
options they want to create a monopoly to further
limit my choices and allow them to crank
up the price? If Google and Facebook offer more
effective solutions I suggest you try and better
them, rather than crying foul to the Commerce
Commission.’
Democrat: ‘There’s a name for people who
think that it’s a good idea to consolidate the press
into one outlet. It’s a name often used in the same
sentence as Donald Trump.’
Taxpayer: ‘If Facebook and Google are scraping
off our media dollars and hiding them offshore it’s
down to the government to find a way to collect.
I look forward to seeing proposals about how to
claw this back during the coming election.’
Facebook and Google:
‘NZME and Stuff who?’

The MediaIssue 2016 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 71

feature

Sam Aldred, director of Receptive.tv

In light of Vodafone’s recent partnership with the All Blacks, do you think it’s likely that the
telco might one day vie for digital streaming rights, particularly when viewed in the context of
all the problems Sky has had with its online services?

Vodafone aren’t going to make a standalone exclusive investment in
broadcasting rights for the All Blacks. I don’t see Vodafone Group releasing
$100 million in capex to pay for it or the millions in annual production costs
and the significant internal team that would be required to administer it. So,
no. Much more likely is a joint bid between the pair, with Vodafone having
some exclusive carveouts – likely mobile, with the big screen experience still
owned by the satellite broadcaster. There is a chance the NZRU might go it
alone and sell direct packages to the New Zealand public but their core remit
is to maximise their revenue and a cheque in hand is probably worth two in
the bitcoin bush.
The best bet for smoke signals to the future broadcast state of rugby in
New Zealand, is to look at how the battle over cricket rights in Australia pans
out later this year. There are multiple players involved and a progressive
rights body. I’m sure the NZRU will be looking at it with interest.

Nigel Douglas, managing director of MediaCom

Who do you think is in a better position now that Sky and Vodafone haven’t merged?

What you’re seeing is audiences and thus revenue fragmenting and shifting
with the digital revolution. The media companies need to evolve their
businesses with the market. It’s a travesty that the recent mergers were
declined by the Commerce Commission and hypocritical that they approved
Bauer’s (APN’s magazine titles were purchased by Bauer in 2014).
All of the media companies could benefit from mergers, but the ones
that are losing audience are print and TV. NZME and Fairfax could create
efficiencies for their declining newspapers and regional synergy across print
and radio. Bauer could still do more.
The TV companies could all benefit from almost any media partnership,
but as Vodafone has shown, the watch out is for emerging players. In a
digital world, the telcos are basically the ‘broadcasters’.
Whilst the Com Com doesn’t seem close to getting its head around this, I
would predict that the telcos are and will. Traditional media companies may
need to remodel their business, the telcos want to remodel theirs.
This is just the beginning.

Richard Thompson, chief executive of KPEX

Given the amount advertisers are spending on Google and Facebook, do local
marketers actually care whether businesses are local or international? Is this something
they should care about?

Yes, absolutely. There are a couple of factors to take into account when considering
why they care that go beyond the obvious and more emotive reasons.
Firstly, a recent Communications Council NZ report has demonstrated
that advertising contributes $6 billion to the New Zealand economy each year
and helps employ over 44,000 people. New Zealand’s advertising industry
ranks fourth in the world for creativity and if marketers expect to see such an
outstanding output and business results into the future then we are all very
incentivised to support the New Zealand advertising ecosystem.
Secondly, marketers care about the performance of their activity and
there’s plenty of evidence to demonstrate that local content works harder from
a brand perspective.
Why do we see so many New Zealand brands associate themselves with
New Zealand’s culture, sporting teams or events? The answer is simply a more
engaged and invested audience. New Zealanders care about, engage with and
can relate best to our Kiwi culture. The same applies to content, it’s no surprise
that the majority of the top rating TV shows every year are New Zealand made.
Of course there is value in New Zealand content for brands and we should
protect this fervently.

72 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017

 Anonymous NZME reporter
What was the mood like in the
newsroom on the day the merger
failure was announced?

It was fine at NZME. Some people were saying we wouldn’t have jobs in five years’ time,
but they were also celebrating increases in readership and more people listening to
Newstalk ZB, so it’s not like it really mattered.
A lot of people seemed to support the merger, but I didn’t particularly. I don’t think we
would be less likely to become redundant if we merged with Fairfax. It was business as usual.
Come to think of it, I think Shayne Currie actually said “it’s business as usual”. It would be
interesting to hear what it was like at Fairfax though, because they haven’t been doing so well.
All I’ve heard from another Fairfax journalist was that they hadn’t been told anything.
John Baker, managing director at Lassoo Media
Why do you think Sky and Vodafone are
so eager to merge? They’re both successful
businesses already, so what’s the possible
motivation behind this deal?
I think this is a reflection of Sky’s need to future proof its business and specifically about
moving its obsolete distribution technology/network to the internet and migrating away
from scheduled programming to a better user experience along with the evolution of its
revenue/product model to enable greater flexibility and consumer choice. While there is
no reason they can’t do this alone, a partnership with Vodafone would appear to be able
to accelerate it and perhaps mitigate the investment requirement. On the other hand,
wholesale access to Sky content would give Vodafone a competitive advantage but once
again, the same argument applies with respect to this being possible now. I am not sure I
agree with the Commerce Commission’s call on this one either.
Bernard Hickey, founder of Hive News
Can local publishers compete with
Google and Facebook in the online
advertising space?
The simple answer is that Facebook and Google have won
the battle for online advertising. They own the data and
have the engineering resources to out-compete, underprice
and swamp news publishers hoping to survive on earnings
from display advertising. News publishers should give up on
display advertising and either try sponsorship arrangements
or go behind paywalls. The long-term future for news
publishers is producing excellent, nourishing and compelling
news that provides something worthwhile to news readers
and viewers day in and day out, and which those readers and
viewers are prepared to make regular payments for. Other
news publishers overseas have worked this out and are
focused completely on serving their readers as subscribers
both online and offline, rather than focusing on growing large
online audiences that can’t be monetised through advertisers.
That game is over, but unfortunately NZME and Fairfax
NZ haven’t worked that out yet. They both need to focus on
building long and strong relationships with paying readers
directly, both online and offline. New owners may force the
current leaderships of NZME and Fairfax NZ to see financial
sense and stop them from giving away their news in the vague
hope of monetising it with display advertising. We’ll see. I
suspect that new private equity or family owners will be less
enamoured with the digital first group think.

Kath Watson, OMD CEO

Would there have been any advantages from a media buying/advertising perspective,
had NZME and Fairfax merged?

OMD was an enthusiastic supporter of the proposed merger of NZME and
Fairfax. Our media market has radically changed and will continue to do so.
From a media buying perspective, international content providers offer scale
and efficiencies our local partners cannot compete with. But we also need
local providers to offer New Zealand consumers locally relevant content in
an engaging and innovative environment which in turn, creates effective
opportunities for our clients. This merger would have allowed the resource
to deliver this.
Granted, amalgamation would reduce duplication within the businesses.
But, this would have created efficiencies to be funnelled into quality, local and
topical content; as demanded by consumers and our clients. Global players do
not pour enough resources into small markets like New Zealand to provide
quality local content. This creates a clear role for NZME/Fairfax in the market
and exciting opportunities for advertisers.
Without this merger, we worry about the future of our local publishers and
their ability to produce content that New Zealanders love, and advertisers’
demand for engagement with audiences. Declining print circulations and
difficulties in monetising digital content are constant challenges, but a merged
NZME/Fairfax would create a commercially viable local voice to represent all
of New Zealand.

The Media Issue 2017 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 73

feature
LOVE DOESN’T ALWAYS LAST
Just one in four mergers result in success, and according to TRA’s Colleen Ryan, that comes
down to companies focusing too much on the tangible aspects of the balance sheet and too little
on the intangible aspects of company culture.
NEW ZEALAND has been running against the
tide of late with potential mergers falling by the
wayside, either blocked on the grounds of unfair
competition or not getting across the line for other
reasons. NZME/Fairfax is one of the most recent,
and the dust is still settling on the Sky/Vodafone
on/off merger. Around the rest of the world,
mergers are still in fashion, especially in the media
and entertainment space and the most recent
merger of Microsoft and LinkedIn. Historically,
mergers were fashioned to optimise and leverage
physical production resources (manufacturing
and factories) whereas now it’s much more about
audiences and owning share or attention.
Yet, if we were rational decision makers
and calculated gamblers, we’d run a mile at the
suggestion of a merger. I challenge you to find a
single report that doesn’t quote a number between
60 and 80 as the percentage of mergers that fail
– 75 percent seems to be the consensus mean.
Failing is defined in regard to delivering value to
shareholders, and in fact, a whopping 30 percent
of mergers actually erode the shareholder value
of both companies. Innovation stalls or reverses,
the operational cost savings are invariably less
than expected, and perhaps the most worrying is
that customers of both companies suffer. Looks
like NZME and Fairfax dodged a bullet, unless
they believe they were in the elite group of one in
four that does deliver a success story. As Jeffrey
Pfeffer, a professor of organisational behaviour
at Stanford Graduate School of Business says:
“Mergers go on anyway, even though there’s not
much evidence they work out. Everybody believes
they are going to be different.”
Not only is there consensus on the low
probability of success with mergers, but there is
also a high degree of agreement on why they fail.
Culture is the culprit. Or more specifically, two
cultures, and the failure to leverage the value of
two businesses because of cultural differences.
It is this failure rate that should make us sit up
and acknowledge just how important and unique
a company’s culture is. If it were not so, then it
would be much easier to merge two companies.
Yet with all this evidence available, companies
still focus their due diligence on the tangible aspects
of the business they are buying or merging with and
74 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017
neglect applying the same rigour to the intangible
element of culture. And just because culture isn’t an
asset on the balance sheet doesn’t mean you can’t do
It is this failure
due diligence. Company culture is an amalgam of
its accepted tacit rules, habits, values, customs and
rate that should
norms, and these create a rhythm and cadence that
govern behaviour – there is a sense of “it’s the way make us sit up and
we are and the way we do things here”. And this is
an emotional territory so the rules and behaviour
patterns don’t always seem rational. But it is because
acknowledge just
it is an emotional territory that getting it wrong can
be so costly. We are naturally herding creatures,
how important
we stand by our tribe, and attempts to disrupt the
habits we have learned in the way we work together and unique a
can feel very threatening.
Cultural Due Diligence
company’s culture
Having described culture as an intangible does
not mean surrendering the notion that it can
is. If it were not
be examined and diagnosed. An analysis of the
language that is used within a business (called so, then it would
discourse anlaysis) including emails, notices,
instructions, contracts, internal communications,
and verbal communications both formal and
be much easier
informal, is a powerful tool that can be used to
diagnose a company culture. to merge two
An illustration of the power of discourse analysis
to drive transformation of company culture can be
found in The British Prostrate Cancer Charity who
companies.
undertook just such a project. Discourse analysis
revealed that the things that had helped it succeed in
the past had outlived their usefulness. But they were
now baked into the culture, perpetuated through
habits of language and, because invisible, very hard
for them to change.
Commenting on the insights from the
analysis, Seamus O’Farrell the new CEO who
had ambitious targets for growth and a much
higher public profile for the charity said: “It was
incredibly energising for the organisation. It was
lovely to see people go ‘oh, yeah!’ in a totally non-
defensive way: ‘Oh, we are like that, aren’t we?’”
The result was frank internal conversations
which were not always comfortable, but
important things are now being said, challenged
and openly debated. As a result of changing the
language patterns and thus changing the culture,
the charity has had recent successes in winning
significant corporate partnerships.
So if language is so important in a single
company, it’s not hard to imagine how critical it can
be when two cultures come together and where it
is likely to cause of conflict, mistaken blame and a
break on the speed at which things happen.
As an example, a series of experiments
conducted by Weber and Camerer at Carnegie
Mellon University had people work in small
teams to sort and identify photographs which AMBITION
they had to describe to others in their team.
They then had to carry out various tasks which
involved use of the images. They quickly assigned
shorthand names for images – the one ‘with the
girl and mother sitting’, ‘the powerpoint image’,
‘the portrait picture’. They then merged the teams
and applied various tasks using the images. The Beliefs and
Strategy and
execution of tasks was significantly slowed in the
goals passions
newly merged teams and confusion, irritation
and misunderstandings were common. Scale that
up to two merged companies and you can almost
hear the talent running out of the door. RATIONAL EMOTIONAL

The acquirer and the acquired

Though the CEO of each company may have
a bigger vision and see the benefits to both
organisations in the merger, there is nevertheless
always a sense of a winner or dominant company.
That would no doubt have been true of the two
New Zealand mergers had they gone ahead.
The recent acquisition of LinkedIn by Microsoft
is another one to watch, especially in light of
Microsoft’s poor record. Neither Microsoft’s
acquisition of digital advertising firm aQuantive
nor the mobile unit of Nokia were a great success.
But Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, seems
determined to get this one right and has asked
LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner to take the lead on an
integration team responsible for merging their two
companies: a responsibility that normally falls to
an executive at the acquiring company.
But how will Weiner go about it? Culture can’t
be a mash up. It’s not like throwing two cultures
into a blender and seeing what comes out. A
structured framework is needed, and employees
have to have a voice. Otherwise it hinders morale
and talent leaves. You need a new culture, not a
mash up, and it can’t just be plucked out of the air.
An internal culture has to be built on core
truths about the business. The building blocks for
the culture are both business based and people/
belief based – the rational and the emotional mix
gives the internal culture meaning and depth, and
allows for a sense of ownership and belonging.
History
How we do
- behaviour
things here
and habits
CURRENT
But culture can’t be imposed from above. This can’t be Weiner and Nadella’s vision alone.
The power of ‘How we do things here’ is an intangible that is owned by the entire business.
As Mike Spose, CMO of Epic Media Group who managed a successful merger with a smaller
advertising network, says: “Empower people to have a voice in defining the new culture.”
Culture doesn’t just determine how well the company will function internally (talent
retention, efficient working practices, innovation and creativity), it also creates an employee
experience which has a direct impact on customer experience. Clients and customers suffer
during mergers unless the issue of culture is managed early, managed well, and given as
much time and energy as operational issues.
Due diligence of cultural issues prior to a merger prepares the company for
the intangibles of the merger. It sets a comms strategy in place, it starts
joint projects where common language and ways of working can be
developed, and it sets up a new culture with common agreement. The
operational stuff will follow, if the merger survives that long.
Colleen Ryan is head of strategy at TRA

The Media Issue 2017 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 75

Outdoor may be the oldest – and one of
the most traditionally static – advertising
mediums. However, with the addition of
digital formats, its slice of the industry
pie is growing. But are the innovations in
measurement systems enough to keep up and
is society ready for sensor-based tracking?
Lynda Brendish finds out.

T
he out-of-home (OOH)
industry has been going
from strength-to-
strength, growing at a pace that
nearly equals that of digital
advertising over the last year.
In the latest Standard Media
Index insights, outdoor grew
22.2 percent over the previous
year, compared to digital’s
22.6 percent growth. Of course,
digital is at the heart of the
industry’s renewed vigour, but
that’s the result of more than
just the obvious appearance of
a plethora of large and small
format digital billboards in
recent years.
It’s also down to steadfast
investment and innovation in
the digital back-end, including
bringing digital tools to bear
on one of the biggest challenges
for the New Zealand industry:
audience measurement. In
totality,
these improvements have
been recognised and rewarded
by the market, with spend
growing healthily.
New Zealand advertisers
spent $118 million on OOH
advertising in 2016, according
to the most recent ASA statistics,
up from $95 million the year
before. More importantly, the
industry has gained market
share. While television and
newspapers lost ground,
OOH grew its slice of the media
pie to 4.6 percent, which is close
to industry body OMANZ’s five
percent target. Chairman Wayne
Chapman says it’s looking
at shifting the goal posts
further out.
The first factor in OOH’s
renaissance is digital outdoor;
the engine primarily driving
growth in the industry thanks
to advertiser interest piqued by
the new formats on offer. As an
example of that, Brendon Cook,
CEO of Australia-based oOh!
Media, says he expects digital
to contribute to half of all the
company’s revenues within
the next few years and in New
Zealand, “we see this number
being significantly higher”.
Part of the promise is the
flexibility of digital – creative
can be responsive to the time of
day, weather conditions, physical
location or even current news
events, and if neccessary, it can
be changed out in seconds after
an operator receives creative. It’s
also a medium that dovetails
nicely with mobile advertising
and opportunities for the two
to interact (although this is true
whether the outdoor asset is
digital or static), as we’ve seen
with campaigns that make use

The Media Issue 2017 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 77

feature
of technology such as near field
communications (NFC) and
brands like Snapchat and Shazam.
Phil Clemas, the former
general manager of APN Outdoor
(APNO) who co-founded the
digital-only boutique outdoor
operation Lumo Digital last year,
explains advertiser attraction:
“[Advertisers] also see there is
no need to print skins anymore,
and also to go through the
trouble and the time to install
them on static billboards. So
that saves not only money,
but also time.” He also notes
that the immediacy of content
changes is also a plus. “In other
words, I could take a piece of
content emailed to me by my
client today, right now, and
within 10 seconds we can upload
it onto the billboard.”
That flexibility, for the most
part, outweighs any advertiser
78 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017
hesitancy around having to share
ad space with others. “I think
everybody understood the value
exchange between giving up
sole display rights with the extra
benefit that digital could bring,”
says Chapman, who in addition to
chairing OMANZ is chief executive
of the transit-focused outdoor
operator, QMS. “There are a
couple of advertisers who still
prefer to have sole display rights,
and that’s fine, because not every
solution is a digital one. My own
view is that digital and other
formats are part of a broader,
out-of-home proposition.”
And that’s a good point. While
digital may be the jewel in the
crown of OOH at the moment,
it’s still a small part of the overall
picture. Clemas estimates that
there are around 30-40 large
format digital billboards in
New Zealand out of a couple of
thousand overall. “I can’t see
that getting into the hundreds,
to be honest,” he says. Of course,
smaller formats such as those
found on bus shelters and inside
malls and workplaces bump up
that number, but with both cost
and council permitting acting
as limiting factors, we’re not
heading for a digital-only outdoor
landscape anytime soon.
The non-obsolescence of
print is good news for operators
like Phantom Billstickers, whose
business has been seeing steady
growth – despite the lack of
digital formats on the books –
thanks to a resurgence of the
touring industry, says managing
partner Robin McDonnell.
But where digital formats
might not be the right fit for a
company like Phantom right
now, it doesn’t mean it never
will be – they’re keeping an eye
on the tech for sure – but its
real promise has been on the
back-end. The company has
digitised its entire inventory to
create an automated booking
and inventory management
system that will soon see real-
time reporting on installation
progress rolled out, to the point
that advertisers will be able
to pinpoint, “with absolute
certainty”, the street corner, day
and time that a poster will go up.
All this effort helps the
business remain competitive
now, but it also lays the
foundation for the future and
projects that might move
towards more automated ways
of buying, selling and reporting
on inventory.
Measuring up
Perhaps the biggest challenge
for the New Zealand outdoor
industry, though, is audience
measurement. Although there’s
been talk for a few years
about introducing an industry-
wide standard to measuring
viewership on OOH, as Australia
did in 2010, there’s been little
progress since the last time
NZ Marketing broached the
issue with operators in 2014.
There was talk of following the
Aussies’ lead, but Chapman says
the rapid changes in technology
made it difficult to assess
potential solutions when OMANZ
tackled it a couple of years ago.
“We didn’t know what we didn’t
know, if that makes sense. Our
concern was, are we committing
ourselves to a program that
ultimately is going to be anything
but future-proof?” he says. “Even
in the last couple of years, there
have been more enhancements
and more developments of various
technologies and methodologies
that will assist us to get a better
read and therefore get a better
product at the end of this process.”
There are other reasons too—
not the least being the difficulty
of unifying a group of operators
that, as McDonnell diplomatically
says, “doesn’t necessarily
play that well together.” But
by appointing Derek Lindsay
to the general manager role,
OMANZ hopes to change that,
and Lindsay has been given a
mandate to get the ball rolling.
He hopes that his years of
familiarity with operators on the
client side will aid him in gaining
buy-in to an industry-wide
metric, one that both he and
OMANZ consider a priority.
One difficulty, he explains,
is in finding an approach that
caters to the large variety of
outdoor formats – adshells,
billboards, mall, transit, etc – the
differing locations and markets
that OOH serves. Lindsay hopes
to move fairly quickly on this
effort, aiming to have made
reasonable progress by the end
of this year.
Boiling it down, Lindsay’s
approach will be to take what’s
working best in Australia and
further abroad, what individual
operators in New Zealand have
already developed, factor in cost,
suitability and local adaptability
to work towards a solution
OMANZ members can get behind.
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The Media Issue 2016 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 79

feature
And despite the sometimes
tenuous relationships between
operators, Lindsay says he has
seen a broad agreement that a
unified approach is a necessary
way forward to earn credibility
for the industry as a whole.
“Taking everyone along with me
at the same time, and getting
that agreement, is quite critical,”
he says.
Adshel general manager Nick
Vile agrees Lindsay is driving
real impetus and says Adhel
has “always been supportive of
a unified approach to audience
measurement, and although this
is often listed as a key priority for
the sector, there have been plenty
of other initiatives to focus on”.
“It seems that with digital
well established after a core
period of investment that there
is a window now to focus on an
audience measurement solution
that meets both current and
future requirements,” says Vile.
He adds a unified approach
will provide an AMS that delivers
base level measurement to deliver
reach and frequency and CPM
comparison against other media.
“No matter how sophisticated
80 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017
audience profiling tools are,
clients still want to understand
what is the cost, and how
effective that spend is versus
what other media can deliver.”
In the meantime, many
operators have taken to
developing their own solutions –
all of which, reflecting the wide
variety that OOH encompasses,
come at the audience
measurement challenge from
a different angle. For example,
transit-focused operator iSite
(now QMS), one of the early
leaders in the space, created
a system around mapping bus
routes, travel times, traffic flows,
points of interest and mesh
block census data.
oOh! Media, whose
Australian parent just had a
merger proposal with APNO
batted down by regulators, has
developed a retail audience
metric based on geo-mapping
and multiple data sources which,
says CEO Brendon Cook, “was
designed specifically for the New
Zealand retail market.”
Some operators supplement
the existing day traffic visual
(DTV) metric, others do away
with it all together. APNO’s
newly launched Calibre is one of
the former, adding to the DTV by
establishing geo-fenced areas in
front of billboards that allow it
to capture mobile data and cross
reference with third-party data
to not only measure reach and
frequency for any given asset,
but to infer socio-economics,
demographics and purchasing
behaviour.
It’s a solution that APNO is
so confident in, that it’s hoping
other operators will utilise it
as well, as smaller operators
GoMedia and Media5 have
already signed on to do. “What
we’re trying to do with this
system is bring a high level
of data into a system, which
will give transparency across
the board and can be utilised
across the board,” says Mike
Watkins, APNO’s New Zealand
general manager. “It’ll become,
hopefully, the default solution
for the out-of-home industry.”
Others, like Lumo Digital, fall
into the latter category having
dispensed with DTV, a metric
that uses council and NZTA data,
overlaid with census information,
to provide an estimate of
audience. “There’s no way of
actually measuring the change in
those numbers over a period of
time, nor is there any measure of
volume changes or trends during
the day,” explains Clemas.
Lumo has solved this by
placing cameras capable of
counting traffic and speed as
it moves towards a billboard,
and analysing license plates to
understand both the frequency
of exposure and the flow of
traffic – in terms of volume and
average speed – past different
outdoor sites. Clemas says this
gives Lumo the ability to report
on real-time traffic flows and
frequency, while a Wi-Fi sniffer
will identify mobile devices
within the vicinity and allow
the company to perform more
advanced analytics. Like APNO,
it’s a model they hope other
operators will adopt.
OOH operators like Val
Morgan Outdoor, whose New
Zealand inventory is largely
comprised of digital screens in
office buildings in main centres,
has taken another tack with its
audience metric platform, DART.
“Each of our screens have
what’s called an AMD, an
audience metric device, built into
it, and that device takes a scan
of the face and tracks the eyeball
movement,” explains Anthony
Deeble, VMO’s managing director.
“[That] allows us to determine
not just the age and gender, but
also what content they’re looking
at, and when they’re not looking
at content.”
“What we’re able to do in the
office environment, is optimise
campaigns to the audience
that’s being targeted or desired
by any of our clients. We’re able
to highly target the particular
demographic group in a very
precise way.”
The creep factor
All of this digitisation on screens
and in how advertisers plan,
buy and measure their OOH
 Changing the way you can
target audiences in Outdoor.

PROGRAMMATIC valmorganoutdoor.com/work
The Media Issue 2016 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 81
feature
campaigns means the adoption
of programmatic trading of
outdoor inventory is inevitable.
For most operators, it’s still a way
out, although the work being
done now in audience metrics
helps lay the groundwork for it.
In VMO’s case, programmatic
trading is already here, made
possible by its real-time face
scanning technology. The basic
idea being that advertisers can
select the day part, location
and audience profile for their
campaign, and when VMO’s
screens detect that audience
present, they’ll serve the ad. “All
of this is happening in real-time,”
says Deeble. “The screen network
is analysing the audience profile,
and making decisions to serve
content to optimise the target
demographic group.”
Programmatic trading may be
a reality for VMO, but for Adshel,
Vile prefers to use the term
“automated trading” as he sees
it best describes the opportunity
for OOH.
“In recent history, many
programmatic specialists have
been assessing the opportunity
for OOH. Unfortunately, the basis
of that assessment has largely
been taking programmatic
principles that work in the
82 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017
on-line realm and attempting
to apply them in the real world
context of OOH.”
He says there are two flaws
to that approach, the first being
that programmatic’s inception
was in remnant inventory and a
seemingly unlimited supply of
inventory. But OOH has a cap
in inventory so the play is more
yield-based versus flogging
unsold inventory. The second flaw
is that programmatic is based
on a one-to-one communication
whereas OOH is a one-to-many
broadcast medium.
“I believe we are
finally making progress in
understanding where the
opportunities really exist for
both media suppliers, agency
partners and advertising clients
in an automated world – quite
clearly, an opportunity exists
in developing an ease of trade
through automation and for real-
time campaign delivery based on
real-time audience attribution.
The challenge is pulling it all
together in a manner that
enables all stakeholders to
benefit,” says Vile.
If the idea of real time
audience attribution, tracking
and scanning sounds a little,
well, creepy, maybe it’ll be
Ooh ! No .
A proposed merger between Aussie outdoor giants, oOh! Media and
APNO fell apart in May after a statement of issues was released by the
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). That
statement indicated the Aussie regulator viewed the merger narrowly in
the context of the OOH industry, not as part of the broader advertising
industry as a whole, as oOh! and APNO contended. “The loss of
competition could result in increased prices for advertisers, or lower levels
of service, quality, or innovation,” the ACCC said in its statement.
In an emailed response to NZ Marketing, oOh! Media CEO Brendon
Cook said that he thought the ACCC’s position was “surprisingly adverse.”
He wrote: “The ACCC took a narrow definition of the market and one
that we do not believe reflects the current and rapidly changing media
landscape. The ACCC has said that the likes of us don’t compete with
anyone other than other out-of-home companies and that our products
allow us to bundle in ways others can’t.” As a result, the boards of both
companies decided to step away from the merger.
The merger would have likely had little impact on the New Zealand
market, where oOh! is a much smaller player than it is in Australia
(although it is expanding its footprint), but the question of how to define
the industry is a compelling one, nonetheless, in an era where media
is both increasingly fragmented and the lines between channels is
increasingly blurred.
Cook had harsh words for the regulators, blasting them for an inability
to see that media owners aren’t just in competition with owners of the
same type, but with digital channels and, in particular, the Googles and
Facebooks of the world. “So, we don’t agree with the ACCC position,” he
continued. “But we don’t want to spend six to 12 months educating the
ACCC or in court, especially as the media market is changing so quickly,
hence our mutual decision to walk away from the merger, and oOh! taking
a decision to continue to deliver on and build out our clear strategy that we
had been working to for the past few years.”
comforting to know that all OOH choice in whether or not they’re
operators assure that data is aggregated, tracked and parsed
anonymised and aggregated – for demographic info. It’s one
even the face scans are stored thing to have targeted ads
as data, not images. Still, served online, it’s wholly another
there’s an inescapable creep to have them served in real life.
factor attached to the idea that The good news is that we’re
people’s faces and physical not close to that particular
movements are being monitored. Minority Report scenario yet.
We’ve adapted to the idea As Chapman points out: “There
that online behaviour is tracked, would have to be an enormous
but browsers like Chrome and amount of normalisation for
Safari offer opt-out mechanisms people to get comfortable with
to avoid that if users are both that level of precise targeting.”
inclined and savvy enough to do Although the technology to
so. However, there’s no opt-out achieve it is certainly within the
in the real world, and neither realm of possibility these days,
pedestrians nor drivers have a culturally we’re still far from it.”
NZ MARKETING APN Outdoor

ON
Marketers have called loudly for a trustworthy form of measurement in outward advertising, and APN
Outdoor has answered this request with a new system, called Calibre. We talk to APN Outdoor General
Manager Mike Watkins about why this is what marketers have been waiting for.

WHAT IS THE CALIBRE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM?
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS NAME FOR
THE INITIATIVE?
Calibre is an Audience Measurement System
for out-of-home media. The Calibre platform
encompassed three key components that inform
its outputs: 1) reach and frequency measures;
2) rich behavioural and demographic audience
insights; and 3) a customised planning dashboard
that will allow planners to identify optimal sites
for their campaigns.
The name Calibre was chosen as it reflects
the level of accuracy our data delivers and is
also reflective of our AMS being one of the most
innovative and accurate globally.
WHAT DOES YOUR NEW INITIATIVE DO THAT
PREVIOUS MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS DIDN’T DO?
WHAT IS THE MAIN POINT OF DIFFERENCE OF
THE NEW SYSTEM?
Firstly, in New Zealand there has been no
singular audience measurement system
available to the out-of-home market. We have
launched Calibre with the aim of uniting the
out-of-home industry.
Additionally, Calibre has both a media partner
and agency interface so agencies can access the
platform, plan campaigns and export proposals
directly. Calibre has been designed with the
consumer journey in mind.
HOW DOES THE SYSTEM WORK? WHAT DATA
DOES IT RELY ON?
Calibre works by supplementing traffic
data with a vast universe of aggregated,
anonymised people movement data to calculate
Audience Reach and Frequency at site and
campaign level. This Audience is enriched
by established segmentation tools, modeled
purchasing behaviour and demographic
characteristics. All told there are more than
one billion data points in the Calibre audience
measurement system.
Calibre was built by the data scientists at
Reachmedia in conjunction with ourselves and
our team in Australia who were instrumental
in the development of Move, the industry
measure in Australia. We included a number
of our competitors in the development phase
as well as agency partners to ensure what we
were building and the methodology adopted
was validated.
THAT SOUNDS EXPENSIVE. WHY DID YOU DECIDE
TO INVEST IN THIS TECHNOLOGY AT THIS STAGE?
APN Outdoor has made a very substantial
investment into the development of Calibre.
We are in the business of selling audiences,
audiences that are reached via our physical
assets. Digital and social has redefined the
benchmark of audience knowledge and insights
so we needed a system that would allow us to
compete at that level.
We looked at the systems used globally
and picked the best elements of each,
developing a system we believe is un-paralleled.
We are pulling in over a billion data points
from multiple sources into Calibre at the
present time.

84 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017

OUR APPROACH HAS
BEEN TO TAKE A LEADERSHIP
POSITION TO DRIVE THE
INDUSTRY FORWARD AS
A WHOLE WITH THE INTENT
TO UNITE THE OOH PLAYERS.
OUR CLIENTS, THE AGENCIES,
HAVE BEEN CALLING FOR THIS
FOR MANY YEARS. SOMETIMES
YOU JUST NEED SOMEONE
TO STEP UP AND MAKE
THE MOVE.
HOW WILL INSIGHTS BE DELIVERED TO YOUR
CLIENTS (DO YOU HAVE A DIGITAL DASHBOARD)?
Agency planners will have the option of utilising
an Optimisation tool in the initial phases
of planning their campaign, whereby they
can select from a range of demographic and
behavioural audiences, to generate a site list
which best targets this audience. Alternatively, a
simple site list upload or an interactive map can
be used to pick sites.
A report will then be generated showcasing
the standard media metrics, reach, frequency,
contacts and CPM, as well as rich audience
insights, reach curves and audience location
heat maps.
As Calibre continues to develop, additional
data sources can be added to provide more
insight at a category, expenditure and brand
level. We forecast advertisers will look at
overlaying their own enterprise data on the
Calibre platform, and the system certainly has
the capability for them to do so.
WE’VE NOTICED THAT YOU ARE MAKING THE SYSTEM HOW DO YOU SEE CALIBRE EVOLVING IN THE
AVAILABLE TO OTHER OUTDOOR MEDIA COMPANIES? COMING YEARS?
WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? ISN’T THERE AN ELEMENT Calibre has been designed to constantly evolve
OF SHARING YOUR SECRETS IN THIS? and this will be dictated to by the ongoing
Very good question. For the OOH media development of data depth available from
industry in New Zealand to grow we need to be our partners. Deeper insights and audience
able to provide our clients true accountability understanding is the key driver.
and prove ROI. To effectively do this as an
‘industry’ there needs to be a singular audience To develop this layered system, APN Outdoor
measurement system as opposed to each partnered with Snakk Media, Experian,
company having their own and confusing the Marketview and Qrious in addition
market. We are the only mainstream media that to Reachmedia.
does not have a unified measurement solution,
and we believe we need to move towards
standardised planning and buying for OOH.
Some of our competitors currently have their
own version of an AMS. Our approach has been
to take a leadership position to drive the industry
forward as a whole with the intent to unite the
OOH players. Our clients, the agencies, have
been calling for this for many years. Sometimes
you just need someone to step up and make Contact: Mike Watkins, GM New Zealand
the move. mike.watkins@apnoutdoor.co.nz
The Media Issue 2017 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 85
 ...now it’s your turn
SPRING INTO ACTION and share your innovative
product, service or business with us. As kiwis, we
have innovation in our bones, so don’t miss your
chance to tell us about the great things you’re doing

enter
to change the world!

now
ENTRIES OPEN 6 JUNE - 28 JULY
0800 2 INNOVATE (46668)
innovationawards.org.nz

86 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | The Media Issue 2017


ALTERNATIVE
TO CONCEPT
OPTIMISATION
INNOVATION RESEARCH - AN ART AND
A SCIENCE
The art is evident in the workshops,
ideation sessions, and concept-building
huddles that take place at the earliest
stages of innovation. This is where
creativity, imagination and ingenuity meet
to form the keys to success.
And then there’s the science. This happens
when quantitative testing, optimisation, and
modelling help to steer the concept to success.
Often there are multiple combinations of
product features, benefits, branding, price-
points, packaging and insights to measure as the
optimum combination for the greatest market
potential is sought. This can get even more
complex when estimating trial potential, ‘what
if’ simulations and volume forecasts.
Readers will be familiar with the empirical
tools used to evaluate these factors. However,
there seems to be a missing piece—one that our
clients are increasingly asking us to provide.
The piece in question is the recipe for what
consumers want from the concept. Specifically,
what is the best combination of elements to
include in a concept? Our clients narrow down
the best insights, benefits, reasons to believe and
other elements to include in the concept. What
they still need to know is which combination of
these elements will yield the greatest consumer
appeal in the most efficient way.
So, how do we do this in a way that
nurtures unique, disruptive ideas versus
a natural selection method which rewards
common, close-in ideas? While most concept
optimisation tools employ choice or purchase
intent—which kill anything that is different
from what’s already in the market— we at
Ipsos find that solutions that actually reward
uniqueness are much better in the long run.
GETTING TO THE BEST CONCEPT
For this sort of work, many readers will be
familiar with conjoint trade-off methodology.
There are many variations of this but all they
will do on their own is identify the winner of the
bunch – but not if the eventual ‘winner’ actually
has sufficient appeal to the target consumer,
with current competing options factored in.
So we find that the key is to also have the
various concepts rated on three key factors:
relevance, expensiveness, and differentiation.
These measures, which are proven success
factors, are defined as follows:
NZ MARKETING IPSOS
Relevance:
The extent to which an innovation meets
consumer needs.
Expensiveness:
The extent to which an innovation is
perceived to be higher-priced than
competitors (higher price points are not
always bad of course, but price points have
to be justifiable via high performances on the
other two measures here).
Differentiation:
The extent to which the innovation provides
unique benefits versus competitors.
By testing in a competitive context and using
appropriate modelling, results from this kind of
analysis can be delivered quickly and flexibly,
so no further re-testing is usually necessary.
Another key benefit from using these three
measures is that they are not biased toward
familiar concepts like line extensions, so we can
be confident that disruptive concepts with high
potential will not be killed.
In addition, by looking at how each concept
performs across these three variables it is also
possible to profile the nature of each concept’s
profile – e.g. whether it has the markings of
being a true winner; simply an also-ran; a
breakthrough concept; or perhaps a niche or
premium option – all of which require different
go-to-market strategies.
Armed with this information, product
innovators can choose the best possible concept
to move forward with; understand its strategic
role in the innovation portfolio; and predict
how well it will perform in-market.
The high failure rate of newly launched
products has often been cited in marketing
circles, but that need not be the case anymore.
This piece was written by Lee Markowitz, Lucy
Robles, Luis Abimerhy and Jonathan Dodd, Ipsos
Please contact: Winifred Henderson, senior client
director, Ipsos NZ, +64 9 538 0537,
winifred.henderson@ipsos.com
The Media Issue 2017 | STOPPRESS.CO.NZ | 87
 Championing the practice
of professional marketing

A REFRESHED VISION
AND REFOCUSED Tony Mitchell

STRATEGIC PILLARS Acting CEO, Marketing

Association of New Zealand

After my first month stepping in from the Marketing VISION

Association (MA) board to be the acting CEO, Our vision is to inspire business success through a your development
I’ve been focused on bringing to life the strategic connected marketing community.
Your source for lifelong professional development.
plan that was developed in conjunction with many To achieve this, we will work tirelessly to create a
stakeholders. I’d like to take this opportunity to - Qualifications
connected community of talented marketers, who
share our vision and strategy with you. - Partnerships
can in turn promote and deliver marketing success in
- Events and Conferences
The framework has been constructed based on their organisations.
- Training and Skills
engagement with our 7,000-plus members – New STRATEGIC PILLARS - Resources and Toolkits
Zealand marketers who want an association that can The strategic pillars support the vision by focusing
provide three core functions: our efforts, initiatives and interactions to be connected
• relevant education, development and connections aligned with the core needs of our members. your community
for every stage of their marketing career; The pillars have been created through significant Creating tangible connections between members,
• a membership body that can be the voice for their research on the membership, reviewing best-in- leaders and organisations.
concerns and industry issues; class membership models from around the world
• and providing a platform to facilitate connections - Networking
and strategic planning sessions.
between other members, leaders and - Advice and Support
organisations. The strategic pillars for your association are: - Regional and Advisory Groups
- Your development - Awards and Recognition
With ever-increasing complexity in the environment - Your connected community - Student Engagement
that marketers and organisations operate in, - Your voice
members are looking for the MA to be a partner
throughout their marketing career to help them keep your voice
ahead.
A voice for marketers.
- Advocacy and Influence
- Marketing Might and Communications
Principal business partners - Regional and Advisory Groups
- Thought Leadership

88 www.marketing.org.nz
Our members are our key stakeholders and
customers. In most cases, our members are
organisations, from the very small to the very large.
These organisations range from commercial to
not-for-profit, to public sector. We have a direct
relationship with both these organisations and the
individual marketers who work within them.
We also have some members who chose to join
us as individuals.
We acknowledge that these different audiences
have different needs but that they are
interconnected and brought together under our
vision to inspire success through a connected
marketing community.
YOUR DEVELOPMENT
We will lead the way in developing marketing
talent in New Zealand.
The marketing environment is fast-paced and
keeping your skills current is vital for you and your
organisation's ongoing success. Keeping current is
an ongoing need that requires the right professional
development throughout your career.
The MA will be the premier source of marketing
development to maintain your marketing value
throughout your career journey and for areas of
specialisation.
The choices you make with your professional
development will be the differentiator of your
marketing talent. Your value in the marketplace will
remain high, resulting in better career opportunities
and greater rewards in New Zealand and overseas.
Our resources will be focused on the
initiatives to achieve our vision, which include:
• Qualifications: Strategic and technically
based curricular that enables a platform for
a member’s career. Including certificates,
diplomas, short courses and online learning
and classroom programs to deliver against
the current and changing development
needs of marketers
• Events, Awards and Conferences:
Education that gathers and inspires
marketers on the big topics of the
profession
• Resources: Best-practice toolkits, guidelines,
templates, articles, services and advice for
your day-to-day role and organisation
YOUR CONNECTED COMMUNITY
We will create a connected community of talented
marketers that provides ongoing support, networking,
mentoring, recognition and advice for members.
Enabling connections between members to foster
learning, and to support and challenge each other
is paramount for ongoing success of the marketing
profession.
A connected community of marketers will drive thinking
and promote current content. It facilitates self-
regulation, development of best practice and creation
of networks and valuable life-long connections.
Our resources will be focused on the
initiatives to achieve our vision, which include:
• Partnerships with leading local and
international learning institutions
• Speciality Groups: Including regional
groups to provide ongoing support and
development for northern, central and
southern areas; and advisory groups,
creating connections for members within
the areas of specialisation, namely data,
strategic marketing, digital, not-for-profit
and others as they become relevant
• Networking and Sharing: Networking
event series
• Student Engagement: Creating awareness,
attraction and a pathway for a career in
marketing with tertiary students
YOUR VOICE
We will be the leading voice for marketers.
The MA represents the interests of 7,425 members.
Ensuring a collective voice for marketers and
representation on key issues is paramount.
As issues and opportunities arise, we want the MA to
be heard in the marketplace with a strong point of view
that resonates with members and the wider business
community.ur
Our resources will be focused on the initiatives
to achieve our vision, which include:
• Advocacy: providing advocacy and
influence for your profession and
organisations on critical issues
• Marketing, Might and Communications:
Initiatives and activities that act as a
cheerleader for marketing in the wider New
Zealand environment
DELIVERING ON THE STRATEGY
The strategic pillars represent a refocusing of the
direction the MA is already heading. This refocus will
allow the initiatives and activities that the MA put in
place to become better aligned to members’ needs
over the next 12 to 36 months. It will also support more
targeted use of resources and finances. Over the next
12 months you can expect to see:
• Membership - refined and segmented for
effective engagement
• Content – sourcing, creating and delivering
relevant customer-centric content through
learning, development and events, and marketing
platforms, to reach our target audience and beyond
• Delivery – innovative service delivery to provide
content locally
• Networking – provide more effective networking
opportunities to our target audience
• Stakeholders – increased presence and activity
from regional and advisory groups
• Advice and Advocacy – proactive approach to
improving marketing standards and best practice
with members, government and media
We welcome your feedback and I look forward
to discussing and updating you on our progress
and success.
develop connect voice 89
 THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
When did you last have the chance to tell 12,000 marketers about your product and services?
Sponsoring a Marketing Association
event is a fantastic way to raise your
company’s profile, engage with the
MA’s members and showcase your
expertise to New Zealand marketers.
The MA team will ensure that you
enjoy all the benefits of association
with the right event, targeted at the
right delegates, with a promotional
package that underpins your
marketing strategy.
Each year, new sponsors join the
MA network – this year, the MA was
delighted to welcome Fairfax Media
as exclusive sponsors of the Network
of Executive Marketers and Equifax
as new sponsors of the Smarter Data
Conference. Here’s what they had to
say about the experience:
“Sponsoring the Network of
Executive Marketers (NEM) is an
opportunity for Fairfax Media
to support growth and help local
talent thrive. An important part of
this is being able to connect senior
marketers and facilitate those
conversations. We’re excited to
support the NEM events (which were
90 www.marketing.org.nz
kicked off by Betty Li of Netflix). The
MA team are dedicated, passionate
and fantastic to work with. We’re
proud to be a partner. ”
Grant Torrie
Acting CMO - Fairfax Media New Zealand
“Smarter Data is a very well-
established event and a must for
data professionals to have in their
calendars. Therefore, as a data
solutions provider, sponsoring the
event was the perfect way for us to
engage with our target audience and
it exceeded expectations with regard
to brand exposure, leads generated
and ROI. The MA team were also
great to work with and just made it
really easy organising everything.”
Darron Jermy
Head of marketing services NZ, Equifax
Another new sponsorship option is
the popular Sunrise Sessions. Free for
members to attend, these workshops
are delivered by suppliers who
value the opportunity to share their
expertise with MA’s members.
“We had the great pleasure of
working with the team at the MA
to host a Sunrise Session around
virtual and augmented reality.
From the outset, they were willing
to go to all lengths to make this a
successful event for us. We wanted
to showcase some demos and they
helped accommodate us in terms of
space and equipment. The event was
well organised, attended and well
received with great feedback from
our team and attendees. “
Sam Ramlu
Managing director, Method Studios
A special thank you is due to MA’s
two principal business partners, New
Zealand Post and Ubiquity, for their
ongoing support and involvement.
Both have shown true commitment
to the New Zealand marketing
community. New Zealand Post are
also premier sponsors of the Direct
Marketing Conference and the NZ
Direct Marketing Awards.
“Ubiquity has enjoyed a strong
partnership with the Marketing
Association for over four years,
first as a sponsor of the Brainy
Breakfast Series and more recently
as a principal business partner. Being
associated with events of the calibre
of the Brainy Breakfast series has
been great for raising the profile of
Ubiquity amongst the marketing
community. Our involvement has also
enabled us to learn what resonates
with the Kiwi marketers, allowing us
to incorporate this into our marketing
automation products and services. “
Nathalie Morris
Managing director, Ubiquity
SPONSORSHIP OPTIONS
Principal Business Partnership
Premier Conference Sponsor
Exhibitor
Event Series Sponsor
Sunrise Sessions
Content Hub Sponsor
NZDM Awards Category Sponsor
Services & Suppliers
To find out more, please contact
the MA on 09 361 7760 or
contactus@marketing.org.nz
 FIVE TIPS TO ADVANCE YOUR CAREER
IN A DIGITAL INDUSTRY
Our global recruitment business gives us landscape transcends age. New Keep abreast of what's happening.
great insights into developments and trends
in the digital industry. Here are some key
job opportunities are countless,
especially in non-digital industries.
4 Look out for courses, blogs, webinars
and network to find mentors you
points every marketer should consider: can learn from. Ask your company to
There is no one-size-fits-all
Jacqui Barratt
CEO, SALT Stay agile and take life-long learning
3 masterplan for digital. Digital
support you in developing your skills.

1 seriously. Industrial revolution, digital

revolution, the world will never stand
is a tool which gives us amazing
ways of engaging, analysing and 5 Build your personal brand online.
Digital changes recruitment. Your
understanding our customers but online footprint matters and a
still and we need to learn to keep up
it needs to be part of an integrated keyword-optimised CV helps you to
and adapt to the changes.
strategy. This is your chance to stand get noticed.
Digital is for everyone, not just for
2 millennials. All industries undergo
digital transformation and the digital
out. Every company needs people who
understand digital but can put it into
context and create the right solutions.

NEM
NETWORK OF EXECUTIVE MARKETERS
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FAIRFAX MEDIA
The Network of Executive Marketers (NEM) is an elite group of New Zealand’s senior marketers and
decision makers. In 2017, we will be delivering exclusive events and experiences featuring distinguished
global and local speakers.

NEM Member criteria includes:

Senior marketers with a minimum of 10+ years executive level experience
Chartered Marketer (CIM)
Executives from Businesses and Agencies

To apply to become an NEM member, please email us

at: events@marketing.org.nz

develop connect voice 91

 UPGRADE YOUR OPPORTUNITIES IN 2017
MA CERTIFICATE AND DIPLOMA COURSES
After feedback received from students and
practitioners, the MA is very happy to announce
that we are launching a range of new certificate and
diploma courses.
As the hub of New Zealand’s marketing industry,
you can be confident that our courses are
developed locally with content relevant to New
Zealand marketers.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?
• We are keeping all the good bits, including our
world-class facilitators.
• More practical content, relevant to our New
Zealand context.
• Improved course content, assessment methods
and processes.
• All courses will still award CPD credits towards a
Chartered Institute of Marketing status.
Check out the new and improved courses below:
• Certificate of Marketing, starting 27 July,
Auckland
• Certificate of Digital Marketing, starting 25 July,
Auckland, and 5 August, Wellington
• Diploma of Marketing Management, starting 26
July, Auckland
Contact us with code MAL&D2017 before
31 July, to receive a $50 discount off any
Certificate / Diploma or Short Course.
educate@marketing.org.nz (09) 361 7760
CASE STUDY
Kim Versfeld, head of customer engagement,
senior marketer and NZDM Award Winner
“As marketers, we are seeing disruptions
that are radically changing marketing
team structures, what marketers do and
the strategy that drives us. We're seeing
marketers leading large customer and digital
focused projects, with increasingly more
cross functional groups of people.
Increased focus on customer is blurring of
the lines with customer experience seeing
92 www.marketing.org.nz
the breaking down of traditionally siloed
business units of technology, customer and
marketing with new roles appearing that
bring together customer experience and
digital responsibilities. It’s now imperative
to keep up with new trends. Completing the
Certificate of Digital Marketing inspired me
to take charge of my learning, to be more
proactive and to make learning part of what
I do every day. It provided the foundation,
which helped me to understand the impact
of new trends and grew my confidence to try
new things. I come back often to build on what
I learned to grow my knowledge over time.”
TESTIMONIALS
Certificate and Diploma courses:
Adrian McNearney, assistant marketing
Short Courses:
manager for ASB, Certificate in
Marketing, 2016: “The course exceeded Amy Batty, T&G Global, Copywriting (two-
my expectations. I enjoyed the course, day) course, 2017: “The mix of process and
every Wednesday I actually looked forward practical implementation over the course
to going to my class. I’m grateful for the allowed me to implement the skills learnt
opportunity, my tutor and my classmates. into my work life easily. I highly recommend
It’s definitely worth the investment and this course to anyone looking to learn the
your own time and if you’re looking to get basics or hone their copywriting skills."
that one step ahead.”
Sam Davidson, Mitre 10, Digital Boot
Janna Alexander, marketing and Camp, 2017: “I really enjoyed the course. The
communications manager at Active Health after-hours timing and two-hour blocks were
Care, Diploma of Marketing Management: really manageable and allowed you to digest
“For me, being able to sit down and focus on each subject area well. The topics worked
my company and our specific challenges and well together, especially finishing off with
write a strategic marketing plan throughout a focus on measuring digital marketing. I
the course, as well as hearing from industry found myself applying the knowledge pretty
experts and being able to discuss with like- quickly. Met some cool people and look
minded marketers, was a great experience, forward to the next course.”
and exactly what I needed. And to, at the
end of it, come out with a marketing plan
that I was able to use every day in my work
and use that as the structure to base my
year's plan around was really valuable.”
Calendar

04/05 JUL 25 JUL 14 SEP

Event
2 day short course
STRATEGIC BRAND KNOWLEDGE BITES
MANAGEMENT Sponsored by APD
21 CPD credits 1.5 CPD credits
Wellington Christchurch

06 JUL 25 JUL
1 day short course Event

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR

KNOWLEDGE BITES
MARKETERS
10.5 CPD credits Sponsored by APD Auckland
1.5 CPD credits
Auckland
Wellington
Also available in Christchurch on 16 AUG in
partnership with Canterbury Employers’ Chamber
of Commerce
17 OCT 21 NOV
06 JUL 15
Event
AUG 6 week short course
DIGITAL BOOT
Event Short course CAMP
SUNRISE SESSION 18 CPD credits
BRAINY BREAKFAST Auckland
Presented by Ubiquity
Sponsored by Ubiquity 1.5 CPD credits
1.5 CPD credits Auckland
Auckland

19 OCT
27/28 JUN 29 AUG 1/2 day short course
FACEBOOK FOR
Event
2 day short course BUSINESS
MARKETING DIRECT MARKETING 5.25 CPD credits
Christchurch
FUNDAMENTALS CONFERENCE
Brought to you in partnership with Canterbury
21 CPD credits Sponsored by New Zealand Post Employers’ Chamber of Commerce
Auckland 10.5 CPD credits

Also available in Wellington, 26/27 Sep Auckland

01/02 NOV

27/28 JUL 19 SEP NEW COURSE

2 day short course
STRATEGIC BRAND
2 day short course 1 day short course MANAGEMENT
COPYWRITING PROGRAMMATIC 21 CPD credits
ESSENTIALS MARKETING
Auckland

21 CPD Credits
Wellington 10.5 CPD credits For more information and to view our full list of events
Also available in Auckland, 18/19 Oct & courses visit: www.marketing.org.nz
Auckland
All event details are correct at the time of publication

develop connect voice 93

 Join the Marketing Association
We help marketers succeed and connect with New Zealand marketing success.
Our purpose is to inspire business
success through a connected
marketing community. We do this
by helping our members develop,
connect and have a voice.
We have a thriving member base of
over 7,000 businesses and marketing
professionals, and we connect with
over 10,000 people every single week.
As the only New Zealand industry
body dedicated to marketing, we
work tirelessly to have marketing
seen as a success driver for
organisations of all shapes and sizes.
Our members are facing complexity
and pace in their operating
environments, and we partner with
them throughout their marketing
career to help them keep ahead.
So join the MA today and reap the
benefits for your career and your
organisation.
Build and protect your reputation
ADVICE LINE: ASK KEITH
We're here to help our members stay
on the right side of the many laws that
affect marketing and marketers.
Typical advice line enquiry topics:
• Sales Promotions and the Gambling Act
• Email communications….Do you
need consent to send?
• Terms and conditions
• Privacy, collection, transfer and
storage of data
• Name suppression services
• Competitions
• Supplier and agency
recommendations
94 www.marketing.org.nz
What we deliver:
your development
We lead marketing talent
development.
The MA is the premier source of
development to ensure you stay
current in marketing throughout your
career journey.
services include
– Qualifications, including certificates,
diplomas, short courses, online
learning and classroom programs
– Events, Awards and Conferences,
including the TVNZ NZ Marketing
Awards, NZDM Awards, Brainy
Breakfasts, Sunrise Sessions and
Knowledge Bites
– Resources, covering best-practice
toolkits, guidelines, templates,
articles and advice for you and
your organisation
DATA WARRANTY REGISTER
What is the Data Warranty Register?
The Data Warranty Register (DWR)
is a self-regulatory system that will
provide best-practice transparency
relating to the collection, storage and
use of marketing data by New Zealand
businesses for marketing purposes.
It is designed to be an effective
identifier of data owners, providers
and enhancers who follow best
practice guidelines and/or are trusted
sources of data.
The DWR is intended to future-proof
the collection, storage and use of
connected
your community
We bring marketers together.
The MA enables connections
between members, to facilitate
support, learning, self-regulation
and network creation.
services include
– Partnerships, with leading local and
international learning institutions
– Support, for northern/central/
southern regional areas and
advisory groups
– Connections, for members in
specialist areas
– Networking, via events series
– Student Engagement, to create
awareness and pathway for careers
in marketing
both consumer and business data
to demonstrate the effectiveness
of a self-regulatory regime, thereby
reducing the likelihood of restrictive
laws being implemented which may
affect the ability (and the right) to take
goods and services to market.
Companies that carry the Data
Warranted logo treat your personal
information with respect and absolute
privacy, in accordance with best practice
standards and New Zealand law.
NAME SUPPRESSION SERVICES
Consumers have the right to opt out
of receiving unsolicited marketing
your voice
We give marketing
a collective voice.
The MA ensures marketing industry
representation on key issues, with a
strong point of view that resonates
with the business community.
services include
– Advocacy, providing influence for
marketing and organisations on
critical issues
– Marketing might and
Communications, including
initiatives and activities that act as
a cheerleader for marketing in the
wider New Zealand environment
communications, whether by mail or
telephone, at their home addresses. The
Do Not Call and Do Not Mail lists, as well
as the NZ Deaths List, are available by
subscription for organisations.
The Name Suppression Service allows
members of the public to add their
name to Do Not Call and Do Not Mail
lists. The MA then allows subscribers
to access these lists, along with an
additional Deaths Information list.
To find out how to subscribe or
for more information:
contactus@marketing.org.nz
or phone 09 361 7760
2017 Tour to New Zealand

Sheet of collectable stamps 1oz silver proof coin

Get behind The British & Irish Lions 2017

Tour with limited edition collectables
Available from your nearest PostShop or online at nzpost.co.nz/lions
develop connect voice
FLOWCHART START HERE

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Get top tips & tricks from great
kiwi innovators on every stage
of business growth
innovationcouncil.org.nz
sticking up for NZ since 1982.
Find your own flora for the concrete jungle and unleash
your creation in our bespoke art frames nationwide.
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