After two decades of national and international awards, successful grads with awesome careers both here and overseas, (including a recent wave of grads hitting CD and ECD status) they've come to the end of the road. As a diploma that is. To cut a long story short, the educational powers that be, after reviewing MDS' results in terms of awards and both short and long-term employment results, have said "MDS, make it a graduate diploma now."

To celebrate Special's 10th year they want to buy everyone in the entire industry a beer to say 'thanks'. Yes everyone.
 

For too long, electricity retailers have held the power over consumers by dictating how they pay for their power. Powershop was the first retailer to recognise that it doesn't need to be that way.
This campaign, made by EightyOne with media partner MBM, highlights how Powershop shifts this power.

DDB New Zealand has lured Chris Willingham, formerly global business director on Nike at Wieden + Kennedy, Portland as managing director, a new role at the agency.

The entry deadline for the 40th AWARD Awards is ending soon.

Spark PR & Activate, an agency within PHD Group, has today announced world-first crisis simulation event, which will launch in early 2019. CrisisX:  The Readiness Conference is designed to challenge organisations' current levels of preparation for crises. The event will bring together speakers who have been through major crises, while testing business leaders with a live and realistic crisis simulation.
 
From a data security breach to natural disaster and everything in between, a crisis can devastate culture internally and destroy credibility externally.  Despite the risks, research shows 46%¹ of companies don't currently have a crisis plan in place, and fewer than half of those that do aren't confident it will be effective¹.

My first big pitch. I had a pitch jacket that made me look like a featured extra from Miami Vice. I was shitting myself and had a fixed smile on my face in the futile attempt to appear professional.

New Zealand agencies Gladeye and Assembly are New Zealand's winners at this year's Comm Arts Interactive Competition.

Gladeye scored a trophy for its "Listen to America" work for HuffPost. Assembly's winning work is "Oat the Goat", created with FCB NZ.

Paul Brafield was today announced as the new head of Media Design School (MDS), New Zealand's most awarded tertiary institution for digital and design technology and part of Laureate Australia and New Zealand.
 
From 14 December 2018, Brafield will assume the position of general manager, design and technology, which encompasses MDS in Auckland as well as Laureate's Design faculty in Australia.
 
Brafield comes to the role with more than 23 years of industry, academic, business and leadership experience in the design and creative technology sectors. He has been the director of product innovation at Laureate Australia and New Zealand for the past three years, responsible for implementing product strategy and driving best practice in the online/digital learning experience through product management, new program development and enhancement, while ensuring connectivity and collaboration with the global Laureate network (of more than one million students studying at 60 higher institutions in 20 countries). Brafield has a deep connection to Laureate's Design faculty, having worked in a number of key roles, including program director for digital media and head of learning and teaching.

Students. We all know they can be a bit naive when it comes to budgets, especially when
they start throwing all the latest tech around. A theme we decided to put on steroids
for our end of year show invites, even down to delivering some of those invites by drone - view here.

But that little beast of drone is now safety locked away, so if for some reason you didn't get your invite yesterday contact kate.humphries@mediadesignschool.com and we'll send one flying your way.

The duo are the masterminds behind some of New Zealand's favourite above the line work including Vodafone's Piggy Sue, Mitre 10's Kong and most recently, Road Commander for VTNZ1.

Podcasting is in its ascension. The medium is turning marketer's heads the world over, with brands always looking for new ways to interact with their customers and infiltrate popular culture.

So, if it's our job as marketers to inspire people, how do we, in turn, inspire marketers?

Recently appointed New World head of marketing and customer experience, Dominic Quin, approached the Clemenger Group to help create a long-term platform for New World. But this wasn't just a comms challenge. To ensure this was a success, the entire business needed to buy in. The process was one of immersion, discovery, and collaboration between Foodstuffs, 99, Colenso BBDO, Fish, and justONE.

Wetlands are the kidneys of the earth, filtering pollutants and contaminants before they reach our rivers and oceans. Currently, only 10% of Aotearoa's historic wetlands remain. Seventh Generation, with the support of Spark PR & Activate, is aiming to inspire a green revolution as the brand launches in New Zealand. This includes a bold awareness and fundraising campaign alongside Million Metres to restore the country's natural resources for generations to come.

COLLINS and animator Angela Stempel have created and launched "The Cube, Part Five" in support of ADC 98th Annual Awards Call for Entries.
"The Cube" campaign was developed by brand experience design firm COLLINS, with each :30 episode brought to life by one of six talented animation and illustration studios from around the world.  

Curious Film is delighted to introduce accomplished fashion and fine art photographer, James K Lowe as its newest director.

His skill to illuminate and beautify details that would otherwise go unnoticed is what makes his work so distinctive. It has earned him a plethora of impressive achievements including First Class Honors for his Masters of Fine Arts Degree from Elam School of Fine Arts and representing New Zealand at Photoquai at Musee du quai Branly in Paris early in his career.

Rainger & Rolfe has launched a new radio campaign for AA Smartfuel.

Says Ian Sutcliffe, director, AA Smartfuel: "Radio has always been the cheeky medium - but it's also massively under-rated when it comes to educating and inspiring an audience.

 
"We've done some really great work with Y&R in a short space of time, including moving to our 'We can help with that' platform and our fantastic new Christmas campaign, which has taken Countdown in a new and really fun direction this Christmas.  We wish them every success."

After several months on Netflix's Emmy Nominated Series Chef's Table in London, Delhi and Los Angeles, FINCH's Zia Mandviwalla has returned home with the beautifully emotive 'Street Smart' TVC for Holden.

The NZ based Holden Street Smart initiative is all about getting young drivers ready for life on Kiwi roads, and with her special brand of character driven storytelling Mandviwalla has brought to life the true and touching story of Bella and a tragic car crash that changed her life forever.

WARC, the global authority on advertising and media effectiveness, has today released its Effective Use of Brand Purpose Report 2018, outlining successful key trends when using brand purpose in marketing strategies.

Based on an analysis of the winners of the Effective Use of Brand Purpose category of this year's international WARC Awards, a global search for next-generation marketing effectiveness, the report identifies common themes from marketing initiatives that have successfully embraced a brand purpose and achieved commercial success as well as a benefit for a wider community.

Squealing Pig has launched a quirky new campaign via Treasury Wine Estates' global creative agency J. Walter Thompson, Melbourne.

But soon, you discover to write a good book, you need to write it full-time.

Well, that's Karl Fleet's story and what he has been doing for the past six years to bring his series of books - the Truth Files to life.

Samsung has confirmed the appointment of FCB as its new creative partner.

Ipsos New Zealand has today announced the appointment of Amrutha Murthy as a director leading customer experience for the market research company.
 
In the new role, Murthy will be responsible for leading customer experience strategy at a senior level with Ipsos's major clients in New Zealand.
 
Murthy brings 15 years experience in delivering customer experience programs from business case to implementation. She is a commercially astute customer experience strategy leader, passionate about developing and leading transformational change to deliver excellent customer experiences across all channels.
 
Most recently, Murthy led CX design at New Zealand Post, after implementing an enterprise CX voice of the customer solution for IAG, where she was enterprise customer experience manager. Prior to IAG, she was a senior strategic advisor of customer strategy at New Zealand's Inland Revenue, and has also worked at Kiwibank and IBM. Murthy is certified in Human Centred Design and has a Masters in Business Administration (Distinction).

Schweppes has leading man Robbie Magasiva serving a sparkling local twist on its "Character Required' campaign via TVNZ and Ikon.
 

Auckland-based creative solutions agency Crave has today launched Guardians of the Gulf, a pilot website designed to engage and inspire more Kiwis to take action in improving the Hauraki Gulf.

Almost half a million Kiwi kids have been taught life-saving first aid skills thanks to the ASB St John in Schools programme, and ASB is celebrating this achievement by putting children at the centre of its latest ad campaign via True.

A gang of AUT Adschool grads is after industry creatives to help them break into the industry. All you have to do is turn up to their end of year portfolio show this Wednesday (14 November) from 5.30pm at the Tuesday Club.

They've already sent out 'recruitment masks' to a bunch of CDs  and within hours of them being delivered, some important head honchos look ready for action.

As it says on the invitation, 5.30-7pm is industry only and then a few family mobsters might turn up too till 8pm.

Will responsibility kill creativity? That's the question clients, agencies and journalists will be asking at the Epica Awards Creative Circle, which will take place in Amsterdam on November 15. The setting is the magnificent KIT Royal Tropical Institute, one of the city's most remarkable buildings. Epica Awards are represented by Campaign Brief in Australia and New Zealand.

Taking part in a series of exclusive round table conversations are ABN Amro, KPN, Nuon, Philips and PWC. The agency side is represented by BETC, Cheil, DDB, Superheroes, We Are Social and Wieden + Kennedy. They are joined by journalists from titles such as Adweek, Adformatie, and Werben & Verkaufen.

In 2017 Tower Insurance launched its brand platform 'What the world does, we undo.' It's been a successful brand platform, with the work to date being recognised as a finalist within the hotly contested consumer services category at The Effies. The campaign, developed by BC&F Dentsu demonstrates how Tower make it easier to protect the things you love.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has appointed FCB as its new creative partner in New Zealand. The agency, who won the business following an informal pitch process, will provide the organisation with communication strategy and creative services.

Performance and data agency, iProspect New Zealand, has been appointed as JUCY's digital agency following a competitive pitch.

Every nation on earth has an annual celebration to share with the ones they love. And finally, Pedigree have created the thing we've all been asking for, a festive holiday for dogs.
 
Introducing the Season of Good Dog, a global campaign celebrating the festive season through the eyes of our four-legged friends, developed by Colenso BBDO New Zealand and BBDO New York, and produced by FINCH.

PHD Group, a part of Omnicom Media Group, has continued to grow its extensive and talented team, having made a string of recent appointments following a period of significant growth for the agency. 

PHD's award-winning search team will be strengthened further with the skills of search director, Max Massia, who brings extensive experience across search, strategy and consulting.

A new digital media agency called D3 has been launched by Richard Thompson (right) and Alex Radford (left).Thompson and Radford left their corporate media roles nine months ago to set up NZ's first digital marketing consultancy, Future State Consulting.