AUCKLAND, Wednesday: Auckland creative indie Pitchblack has won a pitch to be appointed as the lead brand & retail agency for Vehicle Testing NZ, with the scope of work including strategy, brand design, communications, retail and innovation.

AUCKLAND, Wednesday: MediaWorks has appointed Liz Fraser as its incoming commercial director. Currently, she’s customer-GM at Air New Zealand.

AUCKLAND, Today: oOh! NZ is “bringing innovative, cross-channel solutions to the fore” with the promotion of Rick Goodwin as its new product solutions & innovation director, the hiring of industry veteran Chris Phillips as street furniture product manager, and the promotion of Rebecca Heer.

AUCKLAND, Today: Publicis Groupe NZ has this morning announced the appointment of Mark Cochrane to the newly created dual role of ceo of Saatchi & Saatchi NZ, and chief growth officer of Publicis Groupe NZ.

AUCKLAND, Tuesday: Shortland St-based branding design agency Principals has created the brand strategy, story and identity for Fairgrow, a charity created and run by T&G Fresh to help distribute fresh fruit and vegetables to Kiwis in need.

NEW YORK, Today: Two big NYC 2021 ad shows have opened for entry in the past 24 hours – The One Show, and the New York Festival International Advertising Awards.

NEW YORK, Tuesday: A 147-year-old advertising institution – the FCB network – has been selected by Adweek as its Global Agency of the Year.

SINGAPORE, Today: Six NZ jurors have been selected for the Spikes Asia in February. Five of the six Kiwis are women – while the overall jury (of 86) will see an equal gender split.