AUCKLAND, Today: A new agency, Serious, has been launched “in close partnership” with PHD Group to help brands navigate crises like Covid-19.

AUCKLAND, Thursday: Colenso creative chairman Nick Worthington is recovering from a bicycle accident in Auckland late last week. Apparently he escaped the downsizing at the agency that’s seen the departure of the ECD and CD (see accompanying story).

AUCKLAND, Thursday: More than a dozen Colenso BBDO fulltime staffers – including ECD Steve Cochran and CD/head of art Mike Davison – have taken voluntary redundancy deals, the result of the financial fallout of Covid-19.

NEW YORK, Today: The One Club has named just one creative from NZ among the 11 from Asia Pacific to serve on the jury for the global Young Guns Awards, which celebrates creative professionals age 30 or younger.

HONG KONG, Today: M+AD Daily is to forge a deal with Haymarket Media to be a media supporter of the AUNZ Campaign Asia Pacific 2020 Agency of the Year.

AUCKLAND, Wednesday: OMD has been shortlisted in the Emerging Diversity & Inclusion category of the 2020 NZ Diversity Awards – the only comms or media outfit among the 32 finalists.

AUCKLAND, Today: MediaWorks ceo Michael Anderson has this morning announced he will leave the broadcaster at the end of the year. In his public resignation, Anderson gives no hint of where he’s headed next.

NEW YORK, Today: “Dear Ed,” writes The One Club’s Kevin Swanepoel. “The One Club for Creativity and The 3% Movement have opened the global Next Creative Leaders 2020 competition, and I’m writing to ask if you could help spread the word to up-and-coming candidates in your region. This is an important initiative that will help with gender equality.

AUCKLAND, Today: It took us a while to catch up (mainly because both the NZ agency and client are staying schtum). Quite possibly because they’re as embarrassed as we are by this cheap piece of “creativity” out of the UK.

AUCKLAND, Today: FCB head of data & technology Qassem Naim and Qrious head of data powered marketing Lena Jenkins are among the ad & marketing luminaries speaking at the Marketing Association’s Smarter Data conference this month.