AUCKLAND, Today: Independent agency Lachlan McPherson and Friends has unveiled a national digital outdoor campaign as part of the global launch of the new ghd Oracle styler.

LONDON, Last night: New Zealand scored 10 D&AD Pencils at the 57th awards ceremony, including a Yellow Pencil (equivalent to Gold), a Graphite (Silver), and eight Wood Pencils (Bronze).

AUCKLAND, Today: A new energy drink has hit stores throughout the country – and Gilda Kirkpatrick and the team at Auckland agency Hello are “incredibly proud” of the result.

AUCKLAND, Today: Kiwi author and comms industry advocate Sarah Ritchie – a winner at the USA’s Axiom Business Book Awards earlier this year – has joined the list of speakers for the annual Australian Association of National Advertisers Reset conference in Sydney on Tuesday 17 September.

SYDNEY, Thursday: Out-of-home operator QMS has stuck by its profit estimates for this financial year, joining competitor oOh! in bucking the general declining spend in the Australia market, according to Mumbrella Australia news editor Paul Wallbank.

Op ed by Isentia NZ country manager Russ Horell: The long wait for the highly anticipated 2019 budget is almost over. Dubbed the ‘wellbeing budget’, it is the first of its kind in New Zealand, or indeed, anywhere in the world.

SHANGHAI, Today: Chinese students and their desire to study abroad is a major drawcard for Australian and New Zealand education institutes, according to Chinese comms agency United Media Solutions.

LONDON, Today: DDB NZ has taken out one of only four Golds at the Effective Innovation category of the Warc – for (you guessed it) Netsafe Re:scam.