NMD PR has established a special consultancy team geared on clients in the fintech, technology, and disruptor sectors.

The new division will focus as an extension of a client that passes representation standards such as prominence in their chosen industry and offers groundbreaking products or services with a proven success record. NMD is known for representing only one client at a time.

“For every client we create a personalised strategy that applies a wealth of knowledge. Each time it is vastly different. We value the media and work with them on every story to meet their deadlines and expectations. We place tremendous value on exclusives and we encourage our clients to think the same,” said agency founder Nancy McDonald.

Wunderman Thompson and Nikon Australia have joined forces on a new campaign featuring world surf champion and Nikon brand ambassador Stephanie Gilmore (pictured), called “Capture Tomorrow.”

The campaign is aimed at amateur and professional photographers/videographers using Nikon cameras to capture special moments. Gilmore kicks off the campaign with a two-minute video of her morning runs on the waves and the pool, coupled with guitar sessions at home and taking nature shots out in the fields using a Nikon Z 6 with NIKKOR lenses.

Surfing Australia is aiding the campaign with airing Gilmore’s movie on Nine, in addition to content over on Nikon’s digital and social media channels.

“Not surprisingly, the imagery captured by the Nikon Z 6 was absolutely stunning and documented Steph’s life, training and personal passions in a genuine and engaging way.  We’re proud to partner Nikon on this campaign and hopefully encourage others to see the va

Havas Group Australia has joined forces with research technology provider GLOW.

Under their new tie-up, Havas will use GLOW’s agile research platform to collect market insights that clients need. Global panel data specialist Dynata aids in the platform’s data mining with real-time access to a depository of 800,000 Australians.

The move is part of Havas’ recent thrust into more data research tools.

“Our partnership with Glow will give us the competitive advantage of being able to gather a diverse range of consumer insights to fuel our communications strategies across our media, creative and PR disciplines,” said Havas Melbourne Group managing director Matt Houltham.

“From behavioural insights that inform target audience definitions to concept testing ad creative, to getting feedback from events and even for more traditional category U&A and brand tracking research, Glow will enable us to get better insights faster and more cost-effectively.&rd

PR agency Herd MSL is introducing two new innovations to power its services, as reported on B and T.

The first system, called Results, Outcomes, Analysis and Recommendations (ROAR), is designed to aid clients with the presentation of real-time market information based on their own PR campaigns. The resulting data may lead the client to adjust their movements accordingly.

The second platform, Fluency, is MSL’s global system marketed towards end-to-end influencer activities. It will parlay to Herd MSL’s own influencer database by linking up clients with influencers to give campaigns an added market thrust, which could be critical if the influencer is active in a client’s industry.

Herd MSL innovation lead James Kean is spearheading the rollout of the two platforms. He had been working particularly on the development of ROAR since joining the agency late last year after two years consulting at N2N.

Agency social strategist Cal Guyll is now tasked to manage the Austra

PR and communications group Herd MSL has scored the corporate communication support contract for Audi Australia.

The new deal calls for Herd MSL to manage Audi Australia’s current communication strategy and brand awareness campaigns for a wider audience.

“We are incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to partner with one of the most progressive and premium brands in the world and one that has forged a reputation both in Australia and globally for excellence and high-performance,” Herd MSL CEO Vanessa Liell said.

“We are an ambitious, fearless and creative team that thrives on achieving more than our clients ever thought possible and are excited to bring our enthusiasm, talent and professionalism to Audi Australia.”

Audi Australia corporate communications manager Shaun Cleary added that Herd MSL’s depth of experience with corporate strategy earned them the assignment.

Publicis Sapient Australia has a new crop of executives to aid the agency’s digital transformation initiatives.

Bruce MacLeod (pictured) comes in from Thoughtworks as Publicis Sapient Australia’s new associate director, product management. He will guide the usage of agile tech methods in bolstering customer value in a campaign.

Fiona Morphett and Danish expat Christopher Toyberg-Frandzen are managers for Publicis Sapient’s Strategy and Consulting practice. Morphett signed up on account of her experience as Telstra’s strategic transformation manager, plus added roles in the Attorney-General’s Department and Kantar Millward-Brown, among others. Toyberg-Frandzen settled in Australia from Denmark, where his most recent employment was almost four years at Danske Bank as its resident consultant and project manager for payment solutions.

Both Morphett and Christopher Toyberg-Frandzen will report to fellow hire Jane Headon as their team director. She

Aden Hepburn (pictured) has tendered his notice as CEO of VMLY&R’s ANZ office.

WPP AUNZ announced that Hepburn is set to transition away from the company over the next few months. Hepburn had been in charge since co-CEO Pete Bosilkovski left last month.

Current VMLY&R global chief retail and commerce officer Jon Bird is flying home next month from New York City to assist Hepburn with the changeover.

Bird has been in New York since April 2014, when he joined Labstore as managing director for retail and shopper. He joined the former VML two years later as ED for global retail and shopper marketing and went up to CRCO when the VMLY&R merger was completed.

“I’ve had the most amazing time, loved every minute with the Group, and couldn’t be prouder of our collective achievements. I leave the business in great shape and am excited to see what VMLY&R can do from here - the positioning, capability and promise of the agency is powerful,” sai