Latest Industry News

Over the last few months, there have been several news accounts of promotional tactics that signal a common thread of malpractice under the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) Code of Ethics and PRSA Professional Standards Advisories (PSA). While each tactic varies in method and medium, PRSA states categorically that misrepresenting the nature of editorial content or intentionally failing to clearly reveal the source of message contents is unethical.

As social media continues its meteoric rise, Peter Boyes believes PR can help businesses master the new marketing universe. View Story>>

As the media continues to converge, it is increasingly important for public relations professionals to maintain strong relationships with all reporters and influencers; whether more traditional outlets or the new breed of media bloggers and thought leaders.  After all, ensuring a client’s communications and messages are delivered clearly and in a timely fashion to relevant targets is a key part of the job.

Square Circular editor Malcolm Hopwood will send out his last monthly bulletin in December. The Palmerston North City Council’s communications manager is stepping down after 11 years in the role to establish his own company.

Students and practitioners networked during PRiNZ’s annual speed dating event held at Auckland last month.

The company’s step-by-step response after a vulgar video went viral. Comment on story.

A recent decision of the High Court of England and Wales has held that anonymous bloggers have no right to privacy in their identities. Comment on story.

Three communications and media industry specialists presented their views on the changing face of communication technology and its effects to more than 60 communication, journalism and marketing students at Massey University. Comment on story.

Louise Johnstone has joined SkyCity Entertainment Group as corporate communications manager

One of the founders of the public relations consultancy business in New Zealand dies in Brisbane.

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Advertising and public relations stand at a crossroads -- at once battered by recession-driven corporate downsizing and confronted with a bevy of new and often untested online platforms. Comment on story.

TVNZ Media7 host Russell Brown in discussion with Simon Lambourne (Public Affairs Manager, AA and PRINZ Northern Committee Head) , Karen Beanland (Spokesperson, Ports of Auckland) , Helen Sissons (Senior Communications Lecturer, AUT) and Jock Anderson (Truth Chief Reporter). Click here to view video>>

“I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Fiona Cassidy and the appointment of Rear Admiral David Ledson as chair,” Mr Finlayson said.

After 10 years in the PR business, former IBM PR Manager, parliamentary press secretary and all round practitioner Jeremy Seed is going out on his own as Seed PR.

The National Business Review is introducing a new paid Subscriber Only Content service to augment its regular news service. These selected, top stories will be aimed at providing you quality, original, useful material you will not read anywhere else. Comment on Story.

This forum will be hosted by the New Zealand Human Rights Commission. The Chair will be Gilbert Wong. More>>

The Society of Local Government Managers has given the New Plymouth District Council high praise for its consultation with the community this year.  More>>

Australia’s premier strategic brand PR agency Haystac has announced its expansion into New Zealand and Singapore. More>>

Richard Edleman's thoughts on social media and particularly the impact it is having on PR agencies and their images. Comment on story.

New Zealand's most successful corporate and public affairs consultancy, Exceltium Ltd, has expanded again with the appointment of another new senior consultant, Barney Irvine.

MANGO is very happy with its Gold Award while TBWA\PR has changed its name to Eleven/PR...

Late last week, Twitter co-founder Evan Williams reported that his personal email accounts hacked...Comment on story.

The publishing world is experiencing uncertainty as it moves from print to online. Comment on story.

Don't miss the Public Affairs in the Nation's Capital Conference hosted by the Walkley Foundation on August 5 at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.

 Dr. Holger Sievert and Stefan Porter are the first winners of the Institute for Public Relations BledCom Special Prize for the best new research on the cultural variable in public relations practice.

From digital PR campaigns to measurement strategies and budget breakdowns, PR and marketing professionals will learn the strategies employed by corporations, nonprofits and agencies in the PR News Top 100 Case Studies in PR.

The PublicAffairsAsia Gold Standard Awards will identify best practice in a wide range of issues including government transparency, stakeholder engagement, crisis communications and governmental lobbying.

Members were able to engage in discussion with Graeme about the development of the Trustpower Community Awards, the Public Relations aspects of it and the logistics of organising such an event.

The blogosphere as a whole lags behind, but a few blog sites are the quickest to pick up stories that later gain wide attention on the Web, led by Hot Air and Talking Points Memo, the Times reports.

What are PR professionals using to stay informed, distribute information, stay on the media’s radar and get work done while on the go?

Not everyone believes Twitter’s popularity will rise. A recent poll of communicators conducted by Ragan Communications and PollStream found that 54 percent of 702 respondents claim Twitter is a fad and will plateau.

2DayFM’s famous radio announcers have attracted some controversy over the last few days through claims they’ve been artificially increasing their Twitter followership, which was confirmed yesterday by uSocial.net CEO Leon Hill in a statement to Australia’s Daily Telegraph newspaper.

The Department of Internal Affairs is holding a public meeting to ratify a new member to represent the Bay of Plenty area on the Pacific Island Consultation and Advisory Group (PICAG).

The Department of Internal Affairs is holding an election for a new member to represent the Waikato area on the Pacific Island Consultation and Advisory Group (PICAG).

Auckland-based public relations and experiential agency Mango has taken home a Gold at the Australasian Promotion and Marketing (APMA) Star Awards for its ‘Cranial Billboards’ campaign for Air New Zealand. More>>

A long time member of the public relations industry in New Zealand, Paul Prince, has died.

On May 19 this year The Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) received an ethics complaint from a journalist regarding a PRINZ member. The ethics investigation committee is satisfied that there has been no breach of ethics by the member in relation to the matter complained about.

The Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management has announced the sponsorship of four scholarships to assist international participants at the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI)’s Master of Science in Communication Management (MScom) program for the fourth year in a row.

A new international survey of PR professionals has found that more practitioners than ever are measuring the effectiveness of their communications programmes.

The Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival has just recently the winners of the  PR  Lions category at the first of four Awards Ceremonies taking place during the Festival week.

Marketers will join the New Zealand Marketing Association (NZMA) today to celebrate a long awaited achievement in the drive towards better data practice.

This was the first year that the Cannes festival has honored PR and it was Queensland's "Best Job in the World" campaign that netted the inaugural Grand Prix for the PR category

Public relations practitioners around the world are focused on using new media more aggressively, and on measuring and demonstrating the value of public relations to business leaders, according to an international survey of the leaders of the world’s PR industry associations.

You don ’t become one of the world ’s most successful PR companies by aiming low. "We ’re masters at turning the expected into the extraordinaryl" says Jane Sweeney, managing director of Porter Novelli, a full service PR company.

When preparing to talk about a social media strategy for your organization, think about things from your boss’s perspective. What outcomes would make him or her look like a rock star? Focus on addressing those. It will take some effort to create a case for your specific organization, but it will pay off.

Waikato is one of just three universities outside the United States – and the only one in the Southern Hemisphere -- to have won certification from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), which represents 22,000 PR practitioners and educators.

Leading newsmen Bernard Hickey (editor, www.interest.co.nz), Mark Jennings (Head of News and Current Affairs, TV3) and Nevil Gibson (Editor-in-chief, National Business Review) addressed a gathering of PRINZ members about how the changing media landscape affects the business of news making.

Donovan Boyd Communications has recently appointed Amelia Cairns to the team as Senior Account Manager.

New survey data that points to the emergence of social media as a direct marketing channel and significant planned investment in email marketing and social media programs in the second half of 2009.

The latest IAB Insight Report for Q1 2009 has been released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau of New Zealand and PriceWaterhouseCoopers today. Click here to read the accompanying article.

Sam Halstead has joined public relations consultancy Ideas Shop as a consultant. He has recently returned to New Zealand after working in UK for eight years.

New Zealand Trade & Enterprise has completely re-launched its web presence to make accessing information and services easier for New Zealand businesses which are involved – or looking to become involved – in exporting.

Eighteen MCSA members had a terrific field trip to Auckland where they met with leading PR practitioners and discovered what the industry looks like.

June 6, 2009, Vancouver, CANADA -- The Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management, the umbrella organization linking PR professional associations worldwide, today elected a new leadership team of officers and board members to guide the organization and endorsed a bold new strategic plan. The new board will take office on July 1, 2009... More>>

Auckland, NZ – Auckland’s SKYCITY complex is now not only the home of entertainment in Auckland – its Sky Tower has joined an illustrious list of global landmarks and structures that are using Philips’ advanced and energy efficient light emitting diode (LED) technology to beautify their city skylines and landscapes... More>>

Auckland local Jamie Kristov took out the top prize over Queens Birthday weekend (31 May-1 June) at the first ever SKYCITY New Zealand Poker Open. With a total prize pool of $140,000... More>>

Passion, commitment and service to the Public Relations industry was rewarded last evening when Auckland practitioner Tim Marshall was awarded Life Membership to the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand. More>>

(Melbourne), May 15, 2009 – The chairman of Melbourne public relations firm Currie Communications (www.curriecom.com.au), Derek Jones FPRIA, has been elected as Secretary of the Public Relations Global Network (PRGN) (www.prgn.com), which comprises 40 agencies on six continents, with 800 people and revenues in excess of $US100 million, following a meeting in Brazil this month. More>>

Fairfax Media is relaunching the Sunday News, with a bold new look and complete overhaul of content focussing on what readers want. More>>

The findings of the Attitude New Zealand survey from marketing rresearch company, Perceptive were presented to the Public Relations Institute Conference in Wellington this morning.

John Bell from Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide told the annual conference of the Public Relations Institute (PRINZ) in Wellington that social media were the most important ways of achieving the engagement modern brands need.

The man who helped create those television advertisements that encourage women to have breast cancer checks and cervical smears is the winner of this year’s Waikato University Ted Zorn Alumni Award for management communication. More>>

With the release of the 2009 Global Reputation Pulse study, new RI Publications, an interactive Reputation Community, and our annual conference less than one month away, there's a lot going on at www.reputationinstitute.com for non-members and members alike. Visit us to see the latest news and updates. Highlights include: More>>

NZ Communications Limited, the company behind New Zealand’s third mobile phone network, has rebranded to 2degrees, as the countdown begins to its network launch in August 2009. More>>

The National Business Review’s website will launch a new service on Monday May 11 designed to accept unedited business and political media releases. The category will be titled: FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH. More>>

Excitement for the race to the top of Auckland’s most iconic landmark, the Sky Tower, is building. 349 firefighters and 58 auxiliary participants, a total of 407 people have signed up for the Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge and are gearing up to walk, run and huff their way to the top. More>>

6 May, 2009, Auckland – Andrea Hammond is joining The Republic of Acumen as Group Director Brands, working closely with its Hot Tin Roof marketing, advertising and design team, but also right across the integrated communications group. More>>

Open Polytechnic students completing technical communication qualifications with the distance education specialist are now able to staircase their studies into a masters programme in the United Kingdom. More>>

NHNZ has completed an extreme website makeover. The New Zealand-production company’s updated website will... More

London, 28 April 2009 - YouTube and the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival have partnered to search for two young creatives to win a trip to this year's Festival... More>>

Following the overwhelming success of SKYCITY poker tournaments during 2009, SKYCITY is delighted to announce... More>>

OgilvyMetro has been signed as the exclusive creative services and production supplier to North Shore City Council, further consolidating their position as New Zealand’s foremost specialist communications agency for local government. More>>

A host of New Zealand’s top personalities will come together on 16 May at the SKYCITY Convention Centre to raise money for the newly formed Stellar Trust, leading the way in the fight against P in New Zealand. More>>

On Saturday 18 April iconic kiwi musician Dave Dobbyn stunned the 270 guests at the Leukemia & Blood Foundation (LBF) fundraiser, SKYCITY Dining for a Difference, performing classic hits such... More>>

London, 20 April 2009 - Made up of senior practitioners from international PR agencies and consultancies, Cannes Lions are delighted to announce the members of the first PR Lions jury. More>>

Ogilvy announces the appointment of three new executives to its Auckland-based PR team. More>>

The 35th Air Transport WorldAirline Achievement Awards, Public Relations has gone to Air New Zealand. This is regarded as one of the aviation worlds... More>>

New research from the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) in the UK shows that 84% of PR firms believed... More>>

SKYCITY is proud to announce its sponsorship of one of this year’s most eagerly anticipated sporting events in New Zealand, the V8 Supercars at the Hamilton 400 which takes place from the 17-19 April.

This week the Government launched a review of electoral campaigning and political party funding. More>>

Pam Wade, freelance writer, won the Cathay Pacific Travel Writer of the Year Award and Auckland photographer Amos Chapple took the Cathay Pacific Travel Photographer of the Year Award, presented last night [Tuesday 31 March] at a glittering Indian-themed gala dinner at The Heritage Auckland’s Grand Tearoom. More>>

As anticipation builds worldwide for the launch of the new STAR TREK film, SKYCITY today announced it is rolling out the red carpet for its star- studded Auckland premiere at the Sky Tower on Thursday 9 April. More>>

A global pioneer in digital era communication will provide the keynote speech for the Public Relations and Communications national conference in Wellington on 20 May 2009. More>>

Former television news producer and reporter Dianna Vezich has joined Pead PR as a senior account executive. More>>

Welcome to a new issue of the 'Global Alliance newsletter'. During these tough times for the world economy our alliance is focused on strengthening and promoting our profession. More>>

New Zealand’s most well known icon, the Sky Tower will be powering down this Saturday night 28 March in support of WWF (World Wildlife Fund) Earth Hour, helping to raise awareness of global warming. More>>

Hamilton City Council has approved its long-term plan for public consultation and has branched out to a social networking site, Facebook, to attract more interest in the process. Read More>>

Air New Zealand CEO, Rob Fyfe has been voted Communicator of the Year for 2008 by the College of Fellows of the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand. Read More>>

The UN Children’s Fund is encouraging Aucklanders to get behind an epic water pistol fight that could put New Zealand on top of the world. More>>

Fairfax Media reaches 84.5% of all New Zealanders aged 15+ across its multi-media platforms, more than 2.8 million New Zealanders every day.

Small and medium PR businesses should be taking advantage of their size to do well during the downturn, business support specialist Sarah Trotman says.

The DraftFCB PR department has appointed Ryland Wood as an Account Executive to meet demand from new business.

An online public relations journal run by the Department of Communication, Journalism and Marketing at Massey University, has received top quality international responses to its call for entries in a special issue prize. More>>

A new national study of how editors/journalists use and value public relations assistance, More>>

With the flick of a switch, Auckland will be leading the world in the 2009 WWF (World Wildlife Fund) Earth Hour on Saturday March 28 at 8.30pm with its most iconic landmark, SKYCITY’s Sky Tower turning off its lights, along with the rest of the country for Earth Hour 2009. More>>

2009 is likely to be one of the worst years for business in decades. Pressure on clients will in turn bring pressure to bear on PR consultancies. How they respond will determine their future. Read More >>

Procter & Gamble has today announced the appointment of Impact PR as its choice of public relations agency. More>>

Flight Centre (NZ) Ltd is pleased to announce the appointment of Marie Pilkington to the position of PR manager. More>>

The latest IAB Insight Report - covering Q4 and full year 2008 - was released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau of New Zealand and PricewaterhouseCoopers today. More>>

Auckland-based brand consultancy Pead PR has made two new appointments at junior account executive level. More>>

Pictured: Claire Lancaster and Mihika Gujral

The programme has been finalised for the New Zealand Public Relations Conference in Wellington on Wednesday 20 May 2009…and PRINZ Executive Director Paul Dryden makes no apologies for KIWI & PROUD being “full-on!” More>>

AUT University and community newspaper Indian Newslink have launched a journalism scholarship in a bid to boost the standard and practice of the profession. More>>

(Pictured: AUT University Vice Chancellor Derek McCormack and Indian Newslink publisher Ravin Lal)

Although a true Hamiltonian, Gordon Chesterman has devoted years of a distinguished career in public relations, advertising, marketing, manufacturing and export, the media and as an independent company director, many miles away from the city in which he was born. More>>

The Commerce Commission has granted clearance for Media Monitors Pty Limited to acquire all the business and assets of Chong Bureau Limited.  More>>

The Central Office of Information (COI) has appointed the Advertising Association's chairman as its new chief executive. More>>

Calling all non-environmentalists. Waikato University student Richard Parsons needs you to help bring tuis back to Hamilton. More>>

New Zealander Ben Martin has quickly climbed the management rungs at Club Med making history with his appointment as the first Kiwi Chief of Village. More>>

MediaWorks Radio has acquired the Auckland based radio station George FM, and also leased the Auckland frequency 96.8FM which the station broadcasts on. More>>

Two biggish piecces of Aussie tourism PR business were announced this week. More>>

The It's More Than Talk discussion paper from the Building Better Government Engagement (BBGE) reference group has been publicly available.. More>>

Hotwire has secured a six-figure brief with global software company Novell, following a competitive pitch. More>>

Auckland-based corporate and public affairs consultancy, Exceltium Ltd, is pleased to announce the appointment of a new senior consultant, Sarah Phillips.

New Caledonia Tourism New Zealand has appointed The Media Counsel PR, headed by Melanie Pohl, who was previously Communications Manager for Flight Centre NZ, as its public relations agency.

Professional Public Relations (PPR) has beaten out stiff competition...  More>>

Pead PR has been appointed NZ PR agency for EMC and RSA after a transtasman pitch. EMC is, says Deborah Pead, "the market leader in information infrastructure solutions."  More>>

In surveying 1,256 professional communicators, worldwide, on how organizations currently use their intranets, current intranet development priorities and budgets available for 2009, a key finding of Melcrum’s new report, Transforming your intranet indicates that the majority of corporate intranets fail to meet employees’ expectations and needs. More>>

Our latest resource for patients is a pamphlet entitled:  Heart and Lung Problems? Physiotherapy for a full and active life. More>>

Does your favourite non-profit or community group need a helping hand with its public relations? Students at Massey University’s Wellington and Manawatu campuses are looking for clients for hands-on project work, particularly in event management and publicity planning. More>>

Band & Brown Group has launched a full service social media agency named Brando Social.  More>>

Brahm has launched an online PR division called OnVisible, working together with digital marketing agency Swamp.  More>>

KUALA LUMPUR - Gary Read, senior brand director at McCann Erickson Malaysia, has left the agency after only a year.  More>>

SINGAPORE - Marina Bay Sands is reportedly conducting a closed-door pitch between two agencies for its regional media planning business. More>>

The CIPR is launching a qualification for local government communicators. More>>

The UK Film Council has brought in Bondy Consulting to launch its new film search engine FindAnyFilm.com. More>>

Television journalists are helping their old mate Rob Harley take on the PR industry.  More>>

Australian-owned Media Monitors is seeking to expand its business here by acquiring rival company Chongs from Christchurch businessman George Gould. More>>

Apparel company Icebreaker has hired Auckland native Leah Evans as its communications executive. More>>

SINGAPORE - Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore and Malaysia CEO, John Foley, has left his position to take on the post of Sydney CEO, following the departure of Simone Bartley.  More>>

HONG KONG - The Financial Times has unveiled a mobile-specific version of its FT.com website, m.ft.com. More>>

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Music Publishing Group - Australia has signed an exclusive, long-term, world-wide joint venture with Brisbane based independent music publisher Dew Process Publishing. More>>

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Jan. 28, 2009 — Microsoft New Zealand today announced the appointment of Ms Lucy Powell as the company’s director of corporate communications for New Zealand. Her new role began 5 January.  More>>

NEW YORK, Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, the world's third* largest advertising agency, has announced the appointment of Marie-Claire Barker as its Chief Talent Officer. She is replacing George Rose who is leaving Ogilvy after two years for an opportunity on the West Coast that will be announced shortly.  More>>

WATERTOWN, Mass., Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Chris Klaehn, Partner and Director of Account Strategy, and Ryan Evans, Director of Experience Design at Corey McPherson Nash (CMN) (www.corey.com), a leading national branding and design firm based in Watertown, Massachusetts, recently outlined the six rules for social media at the AIGA (www.aiga.org) Boston event, Social Media & Your Business.  More>>

CARLYSS, La., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Global Industries, Ltd. (Nasdaq: GLBL) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, PT Global Industries Asia Pacific Pte., Ltd. has entered into a contract with PT Transportasi Gas Indonesia (Transgasindo) to provide the replacement and zero downtime repair of a 28" pipeline offshore Indonesia. More>>

NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With 2009 expected to be one of the toughest years yet for auto retailing, the incoming chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association issued a call-to-action Monday, urging dealers to make their voices heard in the debate over how to return the industry to economic viability and how new emission standards should be implemented. More>>

Telecom has poached top Vodafone executive Craig Herbison to lead its retail brandhhg push as it prepares its new 3G mobile phone network. Telecom retail division boss Alan Gourdie has appointed Herbison general manager of marketing and branding, matching a similar marketing and communication role he had at Vodafone overseeing both Australia and New Zealand. He is expected to establish a new brand name for the 3G network.

BEIJING, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Good Life China Corporation http://www.goodlifechina.com/ (GLCC) is pleased to announce that it has acquired a majority controlling interest of Entervision, LLC. Entervision LLC controls Innovation Investment Company (China) http://www.ydwtz.com/ (Innovation) and http://www.ydwtz.com/html/ysfm/ysfc.html. More>>

GenVault's energy and space efficient technologies ideally suit the needs of the Japanese Biobanking community, and create a new paradigm for eco-friendly, sustainable Biobanking initiatives. More>>

Virtual World Fashion Is A Must Have For Inauguration Day More>>

Global Research Feature Article, www.GlobalResearch.ca, What Solutions to the Current Economic Crisis? Eric Janszen interviews Michael Hudson, Harvard University, December 2008 by Dr. Michael Hudson, Global Research, January 18, 2009. GlobalResearch.ca More>>

Wanted: Warner Bros. game brief More>>

JAKARTA - Coca-Cola has shortlisted Lowe and Oze as it hunts a brand activation agency for its Sprite brand in Indonesia. More>>

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Robert Weiner, National Democratic Strategist and former White House and congressional senior staff, today defined many specifics of what "change" by the Obama Inauguration actually likely means. Weiner was interviewed today on Sky News Television. Aired in 120 countries, the show and interview were hosted by Adam Boulton. Joined by correspondent Jon-Christopher Bua, Weiner discussed and laid out "Change" via Obama's agenda (already underway) vs. the last administration: More>>

BEIJING: Industry experts have given a cautious thumbs-up to Chinese Government plans to spend US$7 billion expanding key domestic media outlets overseas. More>>

Schutt Sports, the world's leading provider of football helmets and faceguards, is taking safety to the next level through their association with one of the most innovative sports technology companies in America. More>>

KUALA LUMPUR - Milk+Co has won the branding brief for Bank Negara museum and art gallery. More>>

JAKARTA - M150, an energy brand owned by Osotspa ABC Indonesia has called a full-service pitch involving three agencies that include Berakar, OZE and incumbent, Ogilvy. More>>