Movings and Shakings: New staff at The Spinoff, NZ Herald; Trans-Tasman moves at DDB and more

Every week, StopPress hears about new appointments as well as new business ventures across marketing, advertising, media and communications. As we all know, we work in an industry that is on the go all the time, filled with talent and exciting happenings. This Movings and Shakings column will provide a key summary of all of the movements within the industry we know about.

Is your latest hire, or new company missing from this list? Let us know by sending an email to editor@stoppress.co.nz.

Two new journos for The Spinoff

For what seemed to be the first time ever, The Spinoff was on the hunt for a new staff writer after team member Stewart Sowman-Lund moved from his role as writer to take up the role of Bulletin Editor.

Today, The Spinoff introduced Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (Waikato Tainui, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) as its new writer, a former reporter for 1News’ Breakfast, Te Karere, and most recently Stuff, where she covered lifestyle and entertainment before moving to general news, including breaking news, pop culture and business.

Describing it as a dream gig for any young journalist, Waiwiri-Smith says she’s keen to get stuck in and learn more about politics and business reporting while learning from the greats in The Spinoff office.

Also new to the team is Liam Rātana as The Spinoff’s Ātea Editor, who has experience across the media industry, including live television, magazines, daily news and comms. Ratana has tribal roots in Herekino in the Far North and currently chairs his whānau trust and hapū entity Ngāti Wairupe rāua ko Ngāti Kuri Inc. He is previous a board member of the Northland Conservation Board.

Ratana is looking forward to developing not only his own skills at The Spinoff, but also helping to foster the next generation of Māori storytellers.

NZ Herald welcomes news leader Sarah Bristow

As a result of Newshub’s closure on July 5, former Director of News Sarah Bristow has joined the team at New Zealand Herald as the Head of Content and Strategy – Video and Audio.

In her role she will work to expand NZ Herald’s audience and increase engagement across NZME’s digital platforms.

Bristow has been in the media and journalism industry for over 20 years both in New Zealand and Australia, including as Executive Producer of AM, Paul Henry, Australia’s Breakfast and has been recognised at both the Voyager Media Awards and the New Zealand Television Awards.

Trans-Tasman moves: CSO farewells DDB Group Aotearoa for DDB Sydney

DDB Group Aotearoa is saying farewell to its Chief Strategy Officer Rupert Price who is making the move across the ditch to DDB Sydney.

It was a tough decision to leave, says Price, but the opportunity to work with the Sydney team to was too good to pass up. Price has worked in agencies across London and New Zealand for the past 25 years, with 12 of those at DDB Group Aotearoa.

In Sydney, he will lead the planning department, working with clients such as Westpac, Volkswagen Group and McDonald’s.

New agency ‘Matter’ aims to make your data and research work harder for you

Launching this week was new data intelligence agency Matter, whose mission is to remove the barriers to effective decision-making.

Matter’s Founding Partner Ollie Allen, who is the former General Manager of Australasian full-service research and intelligence agency Perceptive, says research is a tool that fuels strategic thinking, but it must be used effectively.

Businesses need to make sure their insights and data give them the clarity and confidence needed to make decisions that drive commercial results, he explains.

Operating alongside independent commerce agency, Multiplied, and creative experience agency, Twenty4, Matter aims to take the noise out of the equation and deliver insights that matter to its clients.

Anchora expands into NZ; hires new Regional Director

Global marketing tech company Anchora has officially launched in New Zealand, appointing Romit Sinha as Regional Director, previous Chief Technology Officer of Kiwi marketing agency Proximity.

Over the last year, Anchora’s work with local clients including Xero, Spark, Kathmandu, Auckland Airport, Rabobank and Pepper Money laid the groundwork for the company’s increased investment here in Aotearoa.

Supernormal welcomes Thunderlips to its director roster

Kiwi duo Thunderlips, otherwise known as Sean Wallace and Jordan Mark Windsor, have joined creative production studio Supernormal’s director roster.

Thunderlips has worked on both Hollywood movies and no-budget short films in nearly every department from casting to makeup to lighting to camera and locations to name a few.

Its these skills and the duo’s anarchic sense of humour that stood out to Supernormal, whose projects include commercial production, branded content, and documentaries.

The post Movings and Shakings: New staff at The Spinoff, NZ Herald; Trans-Tasman moves at DDB and more appeared first on stoppress.co.nz.

stoppress.co.nz