AUCKLAND, Friday: Bauer NZ – widely pilloried for gutting the NZ magazine sector – has partially redeemed itself by selling a chunk of its portfolio to Sydney-based private equity company Mercury Capital, and other buyers – all of whom intend to revive the magazines.

SINGAPORE, Friday: Kiwi creative leader Rob Sherlock, who was FCB NZ ECD from 1992-2000, has been appointed chair of an international advisory board for the Brisbane-based Rumbletown group of agencies.

AUCKLAND, Today: M+AD’s fame is spreading around the world – but it’s clear we need to do a little work on our moniker.

AUCKLAND, Thursday: Stanley St has appointed Renée Smith as group media director. Smith is an award-winning media and marketing professional, with 15 years’ experience in media agencies, media-owner roles and clientside head-of-media roles.

AUCKLAND, Today: DDB and FCB appear to have contained the pandemic damage with minimum casualties. Both agencies were reluctant to discuss figures, but had no trouble talking in generalised terms about “single-digit” layoffs.

AUCKLAND, Today: DDB, FCB, Stanley St, and Clemenger BBDO are the agency finalists in The Radio Bureau’s 2020 Orca Awards, announced this morning.

PARIS, Today: Entries for the Epica Awards, the only global creative award judged by the press, have opened with an early-bird €100 discount until August 31.

TAKAPUNA, Wednesday: Health TV has extended its nationwide network of TVs – widely seen in GP medical clinics & hospitals – to the medical clinics in Defence Force bases in the NZ Army, RNZN, and the RNZAF.

AUCKLAND, Wednesday: US-based Magnite, which bills itself as the largest independent sell-side advertising platform, has appointed Yael Milbank as MD for New Zealand.

AUCKLAND, Today: Publicis Groupe has confirmed that Saatchi & Saatchi is the only Groupe agency in NZ to be impacted by Covid-induced redundancies – confounding AUNZ ceo Michael Rebelo’s earlier warnings that 30+ roles were at risk in both countries.