STOP. START. CONTINUE...

Cruising at an altitude of between 30,000 and 40,000ft as I write this letter, the experience of international travel after two plus years is quite surreal! While it has been said 1,000 times before – and is even more so evident as I venture outside the borders of New Zealand – the world is much changed post-covid. And, who’s to say that we’re even at that post- stage.

But, if Covid-19 has taught us anything, it’s that life does go on, if only in new and different iterations. We adapt, evolve, and make the most of thriving in the situations we find ourselves. Take for instance Air New Zealand’s Ask Oscar chatbot designed to help passengers navigate the ins and outs of international travel in a virtual reality, or the airline’s bid to place passenger wellbeing as top priority when ensuring better overall CX.

Brands and businesses are adapting and evolving – often despite uncertainties and the stop-start nature of life disrupted. A disruption we’ve witnessed in the marketing and advertising industry over the past 12 months as new players and market trends emerge to challenge the status quo.

New Zealand Adland – more specifically creative agency land – has seen international creative consultancy services enter the market in a big way in the past 12 months. This, new (to New Zealand), model of creative agency is looking to tap into a well of talent and digital expertise in a bid to support marketers in new and exciting ways. What’s interesting here is not so much the new offering, but rather how existing players in the market are responding. You can read more from page 28.

One of the challenges the marcomms sector is facing is that of talent sourcing and retention. Because when life changes, so do people and their wants and needs. In this issue we chat to Kiwi corporates about what they are doing to retain and train staff in the midst of the ‘Great Resignation’ and discover why this is important for business continuity and development. See page 77 for the discussion.

This entire issue of Nzmarketing is dedicated to the ‘c’ word – and not the two that may come top of mind – rather, ‘change’. We explore the shifts in market as we hear from companies like Mitre 10, Kantar, Kiwibank and more who are embracing the change game and, in the process, refining or redefining who they are and what they stand for.

The same can be said for the many creative agencies you’ll hear from here, as they share their thoughts on the shifting industry, and how they intend helping marketers best navigate the changes, and continue, business as…