The secrets to the success of some of New Zealand’s most effective marketing campaigns were unlocked at yesterday’s launch of the inaugural 2016 Effie Report.

Despite the increasing amount of time consumers spend on digital platforms, real-world recommendations and ads seen on TV still dominate when it comes to discovering new brands, according to a report on English ad+media site Warc.

NZME Publishing Ltd has signed a conditional agreement to sell the daily Wairarapa Times Age to National Media Ltd, a company owned by Andrew Denholm, the current general manager of the newspaper. Included in the agreement are the Wairarapa Midweek and TA Property papers. 

The announcement last night of a merger between Sky TV and Vodafone NZ is significant industry news, but it doesn’t change Vodafone competitor Spark’s business focus or our ambition to help New Zealanders make the most of the power of technology to unleash their potential, says Spark managing director Simon Moutter.

NZ Herald Sideswipe correspondent Ana Samways found this image at thecuriousbrain.com – since then, it’s popped up on B&T and a number of other sites.

Following in the footsteps of their previous Go Red For Women print ad (see end of the story), the Heart Foundation is continuing to address the lack of heart disease awareness among women.

Interactive Advertising continues to grow, according to the latest IAB/PwC Online Advertising Report which notes that Interactive generated $203.5 million in Q1 2016, a 7% increase year-on-year.

Saatchi & Saatchi client ASB has signed a sponsorship deal with TV ONE’s Seven Sharp – effective from next month – in a partnership that ASB says will recognise and reward deserving New Zealanders.

M+AD missed two key names in our Queens Birthday honours coverage yesterday – Otago Daily Times managing editor Nick Smith and Phil O’Reilly, head of the former Newspaper Proprietors Association (better known in its day as NPA).