As New Year’s Day 2017 rolled by, there were 3,700,000,000 regular internet users in the world – and just 0.8% were based in NZ/Australia/Oceania, according to a wide-ranging new report out of US-based internet trends tracker vpnMentor.

“I slept like a baby that night. I felt I had finally moved on.”– Hard not to grin at these defiant words from a scorned Hawera wife who swears she has no regrets about postering the town with nude shots she found on the smartphone of her long-time cheating husband with his scarlet woman – one of them taken in his daughter’s bed.

New Zealand is ranked the third most creative country in the world (up from #14 last year) in the latest Directory magazine’s Big Won rankings out of London. Colenso BBDO Auckland is ranked #1 creative agency and Y&R NZ ranked #2.

Kevin Roberts has taken a new direction in the next step in his post-Saatchi career – he’s been appointed chair of Wellington-based global sports tech company CricHQ. Roberts has invested a million NZ dollars, so has bought himself some decent skin in the game.

London: The 3rd D&AD Next Awards has opened for entry. D&AD’s Next series bridges the gap between the D&AD Professional Awards and New Blood programme by identifying the best new talent and promoting them back to industry.

By Bill Binch, MD at ANZ’s Sydney-based global marketing software provider Marketo: As 2017 begins, the marketing industry in NZ and Australia once again has proved – perhaps more so than many others – that it shifts year-to- year, season-to- season, and even minute-to- minute. 2016 brought many changes and new trends to the marketing landscape, ultimately transforming the way marketers operate permanently.

This is the last 2016 edition of M+AD’s daily newsletter. We’re taking a break and will return on Monday 16 January.

After two years of discussion and planning the MDS Creative Advertising course opens its doors in February next year at the Torrens University Campus in Sydney.