AUCKLAND, Today: The Comms Council has posted details of a personal skill development course – Managing Those Difficult Conversations, led by employment lawyer Anthony Drake.

NEW YORK, Wednesday: New York Festivals International Advertising Awards has announced Matt Eastwood, global chief creative officer of McCann Health, as its 2019 executive jury president – joining four Kiwis already appointed to the jury.

AUCKLAND, Today: Former FCB NZ CCO James Mok has been appointed to the managing director role at VMLY&R NZ – a move confirmed this morning by Sydney-based PR executive Katy Denis.

AUCKLAND, Today: APN Outdoor, now part of JCDecaux, has added two billboards to its growing digital portfolio, launching at Auckland International Airport and on the iconic Parnell Bridge, two of New Zealand’s most prominent outdoor locations.

AUCKLAND, Today: Visa, together with Colenso BBDO & Clemenger BBDO Sydney, has launched Urban Survivalist, a branded entertainment series starring one of Australia’s most successful comedic exports, Ronny Chieng (The Daily Show, Crazy Rich Asians).

LONDON, Today: Colenso BBDO and MediaCom NZ picked up a Bronze and the Platform Pioneer Award at the 2018 Tech category in the Warc Media Awards.

AUCKLAND, Today: NZ branding & packaging design agency Onfire has been ranked #10 by the World Brand Design Society in the field of consumer and corporate brand design.

AUCKLAND, Today: Dow Goodfolk (formerly Dow Design) is celebrating 25 years as a leading design agency in New Zealand, with a commemorative wine gift (packaged, of course, with a lot of attention to detail and a story to go with it).

AUCKLAND, Yesterday: Over 70 agency types donned “whites” for last week’s inaugural Big Mobile Pompallier Wine Mixer Mixed Doubles Tennis Championship in Ponsonby last week.

PARIS, Today: DDB New Zealand has been ranked 4th among most awarded agencies in 2018 in the Food & Beverages category of the 2nd AdForum Business Creative Report.