The 2015 Asia Pacific Effie Awards has announced its call for entries, which is open to entries from Australia and New Zealand.

Auckland-based corporate communications agency One Plus One has been awarded the Greater Group PR account for Asia, Australia and New Zealand, without a pitch, and been given a remit to further improve the profile of the international design-led retail agency.

Students at both Auckland creative ad schools are celebrating a big week which saw a flurry of gongs from the International Crowbar Student Awards, plus a fistful from the Newspaper Ad Awards.

Baurepaires love him/hate him champion for the past three decades, Ausssie Vince Martin, will be permanently put out to pasture now that NZ agencies DDB and DDB Group-owned comms planning agency Dynamo have been appointed to the creative side of the business, following a pitch.

The power outages in Auckland played havoc with M+AD’s coverage of the latest radio survey – so we’re referring readers direct to The Radio Bureau site – one of the few sources of info not tainted by the necessarily self-interested coverage in MediaWorks and NZME (formerly APN) press releases. Not to mention the Herald, which unashamedly favoured NZME stations in its coverage.

An ultra-simple VW ad has won the 2014 Newspaper Ad of the Year announced in Auckland last night. Beetle For Sale won DDB $10,000 cash, and is their second win in two years (last year it was for YWCA Women Work for Free).

Comedian Ewen Gilmour died in Auckland last night, aged 51. Just hours earlier, he had been filming in MediaWorks TV’s Auckland studios for a comedy special (still to be named and scheduled).

Auckland architect Nat Cheshire – the creative thinker who recently gave what has been described as the most engaging, inspirational and emotional talk in the 10-year history of Semi-Permanent – should be a strong attraction at the next CAANZ First Five Rungs speaker event later this month.