PATTAYA, Saturday: “Awards are the best retention tool we will ever have,” Leo Burnett global CCO/exec chairman Mark Tutssel told the Adfest audience yesterday.

LISBON, Friday: The Association of NZ Advertisers and the Comms Council have welcomed the World Federation of Advertisers call for all brands globally to hold social media platforms to account in the light of recent failures to block dangerous and hateful content.

AUCKLAND, Tuesday: He may have suspended his M+AD sub (after we “exchanged views” on a recent campaign story – now deleted from our site) but Barnes Catmur & Friends Dentsu founder/partner Daniel Barnes has lost nothing of his wit.

SYDNEY, Wednesday: Five NZ agency execs and marketers were guests of NYC-based Verizon Media (formerly Oath) when they brought together 50 creative Antipodean rising stars for their inaugural Brand Love Academy event.

SYDNEY, Today: In her role as Campaign Brief ’s weekly guest judge, Colenso BBDO creative director Maria Devereux (whose credits include Pedigree SelfieSTIX) has named her selection of the best print, TV, outdoor and interactive ads of the past seven days – plus the runners up.

WELLINGTON, Thursday: FCB New Zealand has announced the promotion of Sean Keaney to managing director – Wellington.

AUCKLAND, Wednesday: Downtown Auckland creative shop Hello has launched a new outdoor campaign for Prime Energy, which sees the Kiwi electricity retailer tackle the big energy corporations, head on.

NEW YORK, Today: NZ journalism crowdfunding platform PressPatron – NZ’s hottest media industry tech start-up, according to Marketing Magazine in 2018 – has won a small share in a US$3.2 million APAC prize set up by Google to support new business initiatives.

CHRISTCHURCH, Wednesday: “Friday 15th March hit hard,” writes Phantom managing partner Jamey Holloway about the tragedy that has beset us all. “Christchurch is our tūrangawaewae and home for many of us. What can we say or do that could be half adequate in the face of this?”