AUCKLAND, Today: Sean McCready, managing partner at indie media agency MBM, reckons he’s “pretty excited about some new talent on the bench – calling out a crew which now has even more depth to deal with continued strong growth over the last few months”.
MediaWorks delivers The Block

AUCKLAND, Today: Manu Vatuvei can finally hang up his dancing shoes and slip back into his boots after Dancing with the Stars wrapped on Sunday night, marking another successful season for MediaWorks. Now it’s up to The Block NZ to deliver the numbers for this season’s commercial partners – Aussie furniture retailer Adairs and global sandwich chain Subway.
NZ ‘a nation of podcasters’

Five more Kiwis on Cannes shortlists

CANNES, last night: A further five New Zealand campaigns – from VMLY&R (x2), FCB (x2), Assembly, Augusto, and Colenso – have made Lions shortlists.
Colenso scores Bronze Lions hat-trick

CANNES, last night: Colenso BBDO has picked up three Bronze Lions in the Cannes Film Craft category (with partners Sweetshop and Finch), taking NZ’s medal tally so far to four Bronzes (the fourth being Special’s Uber Eats Bronze in Outdoor, on Monday).
Special wins Bronze Lion

CANNES, Last night: New Zealand has picked up a Bronze in the Outdoor Lions for Special Group’s Uber Eats Shark Bait created in conjunction with Wonder, Oddboy and Pead PR.
Arrivals & Departures: Carat ANZ taps new ceo
SYDNEY, Today: Carat has appointed Sue Squillace as its new Australia & New Zealand ceo. Squillace, who will be based in Australia, joins Carat from Spark Foundry where she was ceo.
Influencer marketing pow-wow

AUCKLAND, Today: Following a recent successful first session of The Business of Influence, Mango next week takes a closer look at the process of influencer marketing and how to measure success with a second session, Setting the Standard.
YoungShand reaches the Pinnacle
AUCKLAND, Today: Pinnacle Life last week launched its new brand campaign via YoungShand, asking Kiwis to think about what makes them feel lucky, and the consequences when they’re no longer there to help protect them.
Arrivals & Departures: Eleven PR adds two
AUCKLAND, Today: Eleven PR, a division of TBWA, has expanded its team with the recruitment of two new staff to bolster its offering in disruptive communications.