New Zealand is ranked the third most creative country in the world (up from #14 last year) in the latest Directory magazine’s Big Won rankings out of London. Colenso BBDO Auckland is ranked #1 creative agency and Y&R NZ ranked #2.

Kevin Roberts has taken a new direction in the next step in his post-Saatchi career – he’s been appointed chair of Wellington-based global sports tech company CricHQ. Roberts has invested a million NZ dollars, so has bought himself some decent skin in the game.

London: The 3rd D&AD Next Awards has opened for entry. D&AD’s Next series bridges the gap between the D&AD Professional Awards and New Blood programme by identifying the best new talent and promoting them back to industry.

By Bill Binch, MD at ANZ’s Sydney-based global marketing software provider Marketo: As 2017 begins, the marketing industry in NZ and Australia once again has proved – perhaps more so than many others – that it shifts year-to- year, season-to- season, and even minute-to- minute. 2016 brought many changes and new trends to the marketing landscape, ultimately transforming the way marketers operate permanently.

This is the last 2016 edition of M+AD’s daily newsletter. We’re taking a break and will return on Monday 16 January.

After two years of discussion and planning the MDS Creative Advertising course opens its doors in February next year at the Torrens University Campus in Sydney.

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) may intervene in the proposed oOH!media-APN Outdoor merger, according to a report in the Australian Financial Review. “This is not yet a done deal,” the AFR said.

London, 15 December – Warc, the marketing intelligence service, has today released its latest Global Ad Trends report, a unique and illuminating analysis of the data recorded in Warc’s survey of global advertising expenditure, to reveal the underlying global advertising and media investment trends and provide an outlook for the future.