Westpac has unveiled the Westpac Giving Tree in Takutai Square, Britomart – a launch that DDB says is the first Christmas tree installation to be powered by public donations.

Consumers can expect to see more linked messages in 2015, with ads on TV being backed up by an increasing number of reminder and reinforcement messages on digital devices, including desktops, laptops, mobiles and tablets, predicts WPP-owned global research agency Millward Brown in the first of its annual Digital & Media Predictions, released yesterday in Sydney.

After three years as the best CAANZ sponsorship & events manager in recent times, Kelly Gilkison is leaving to take up a new appointment in the field of sports event management: Replacing her is Natasha Stichbury who joins CAANZ from the Newmarket Business Association where she worked in a similar role as marketing & events manager.

FCB senior writer (and prolific author) Peter Vegas has released his book The Jesus Onion on Kindle – and it’s free for the next week.

JWT-owned Wellington shop Heyday has been reappointed as Z Energy’s digital agency after a six way pitch. The win confirms Z’s commitment to digital as a key part of its future business, and is an endorsement of an incredibly strong working relationship with Heyday,” says Z Energy head of marketing Jane Anthony.

Clemenger SHOP has appointed Luke Procter to the newly created role of insight & strategy manager: “We’ve been working with Luke on and off for the past six months on a range of projects and his unique insight, data and strategic skill-set combined with his enthusiasm for the shopper marketing discipline has quickly proven he is the right man for the job,” says GM Troy Fuller. 

Clemenger BBDO Australia has sold its Adelaide office to independent agency KWP, according to a report in Campaign Brief.

Instagram now has 300 million monthly active users globally, up 100 million actives in just nine months. The photo and video-sharing app owned by Facebook is now more popular than Twitter, which had 284 million monthly active users at the end of the third quarter.

There is a growing realisation that agencies are facing a culture problem that makes them inhospitable for women to make long-term careers, according to a new study in the Guardian Online. It’s a multi-layered problem that defies easy solutions, the report says. There are exceptions to the rule, but agencies are at risk of losing touch.