The Black Caps will be laughing all the way to the bank. Specifically, the ANZ Bank, which has sponsored New Zealand Cricket, the Black Caps and bought all four ad packages for sponsoring Sky's Cricket World Cup broadcasts.
Beyond the big TV audiences for advertising, the bank has associated itself with one of New Zealand's great sporting teams - crowned as national heroes whether or not they bring home the World Cup.
Back in December 2012 New Zealand Cricket was in funk and there was dysfunction inside the team over the captaincy. Coach Mike Hesson was pilloried by some media for sacking nice guy Ross Taylor and appointing the more brash Brendon McCullum.
It wasn't seen as cricket back then, but nobody remembers those days any more.
At about the same time that the game seemed to be unravelling, ANZ announced it was ditching the National Bank brand, but would keep up the sponsorship of New Zealand Cricket that went back to 1999.
ANZ corporate affairs boss Peter Parussini says the bank was convinced New Zealand Cricket's plan would work. That conviction has paid off - better, no doubt, than anybody could have expected.
ANZ is believed to have paid more than $3 million in cricket sponsorship. Its decision to take all four Sky broadcast packages was made late in the piece. Overall, it is spending more than $12 million on sports sponsorship this year.
Lend me your ears
Radio Broadcasters Association chief executive Bill Francis (right) with Murray Deaker at the NZ Radio Awards last year. Photo: Norrie Montgomery.
The New Zealand media industry is wrestling with the issue of whether traditional media should get the kudos for their rapidly growing digital arms, amid calls from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) for the two to be kept separate.
One ad agency executive says the row between the old and new media groups is just a public relations row about whose numbers are biggest, but it illustrates the relentless push towards convergence.
Calculations on market share were released in the annual Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) figures, out last week. The radio industry has already taken the lead by incorporating interactive with its members' traditional radio revenue in the ASA figures.
TV revenue dropped for the second year in a row, while their interactive ad revenue rose. The TV industry body Think TV wants a change in the way ad spending is measured. "Advertisers tell us that they are confused by the definition of 'interactive' advertising which is captured in the ASA report as a catch-all category across a myriad of advertising buckets," says Think TV's general manager Rob Hoar. "It's currently ill-defined and not that useful for those making marketing decisions today."
Think TV says advertisers are buying across media but that isn't being recognised by ASA figures.
Radio Broadcasters Association chief executive Bill Francis says change is afoot and predicts that collated figures will be used next year by TV and newspapers, though the Newspaper Publishers Association could not be reached to confirm that was the case.
The Association of NZ Advertisers chief executive Lindsay Mouat says advertisers want both converged figures, as well as a breakdown of the numbers into interactive and traditional media.
However, the Interactive Advertising Bureau - an international body with a strong influence from global media - is not backing the plan and believes such a move would be unique to New Zealand and out of kilter with what happens in other markets.
The IAB - which is made up of both traditional and new media companies such as Facebook and Google - has not been consulted on the move by Think TV and says it will be talking to the TV body today.
Whatever happens, it seems the IAB will continue to provide figures for interactive companies that are not linked to traditional media firms.
TVNZ, MediaWorks and Sky TV will provide both on-air and online revenues to the ASA for reporting from 2015 onwards.
Numbers game
According to the ASA figures, interactive advertising has made dramatic increases over the years, though the changes from 2013 to 2014 are slightly less startling in percentage terms, as the overall numbers get bigger.
In 2014 interactive advertising was the second biggest area of media spending, attracting $589 million, or 24.7 per cent, of advertising, compared with $471 million or 20.6 per cent the year before.
Traditional TV advertising held the top position - $614 million, or 25.7 per cent, in 2014, compared with $634 million, or 27 per cent, in 2013. Newspaper print advertising took $484 million, or 20.3 per cent, in 2014, down from $509 million, or 22.2 per cent. Radio (including interactive) took $280 million, up from $267 million, maintaining its 11.7 per cent share.
Nighty night
Karyn Hay and Andrew Fagan. Photo: Norrie Montgomery.
MediaWorks is believed to be considering more changes to the RadioLive lineup, with the show featuring husband-and-wife team Andrew Fagan and Karen Hay (7pm to 10pm) expected to be in for a change.
MediaWorks says: "Karyn and Andrew remain hosts of the evening show on RadioLive." But I understand that with KiwiFM being dropped by MediaWorks, Hay's contract is over and chief executive Mark Weldon is looking at a makeover.
Evening radio is hard for presenters. You have stand out from the crowd, and the husband-and-wife team achieved that.
It is believed that Marcus Lush was considered for the evening show, but a radio source, not associated with rival TRN, says Weldon was slow to make the decision and in the meantime Lush was poached by TRN.
Hay and Fagan could not be reached for comment.
Murdoch news
APN chief executive Michael Miller.
Vincent Crowley is standing down from the board of APN News & Media, where he represents Irish firm Independent News & Media, which has sold its 18.6 per cent in the firm.
All up, INM and interested party Baycliffe sold 30.8 per cent of APN. Crowley is being replaced by independent director Sir John Anderson.
Following the sale, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp now owns 14.99 per cent of APN, but it appears that News Corp did not seek a representative on the board.
The News Corp move was a surprise in New Zealand, given its exit from its 42 per cent stake in Sky TV in 2013.
Michael Miller, APN's chief executive, has said the change of investors will not mean a change in the company's direction.
Miller has held a number of positions at News Corp, including representing the company on the board of Sky TV, before taking the CEO role at APN two years ago.
Australian media have speculated there are strategic reasons for the stake, because it would provide Murdoch with a platform to expand if - as some expect - regulations are eased for owning shares in more than two media in an individual market.
If that does occur, then News Corp's stake could put it in a good position to develop a scheme of arrangement, or prevent an outside bid, Australian media have speculated.
