The Marcomms Leadership Group has been established to raise awareness of the value of PR and experiential marketing services for clients and other non-PR/experiential CAANZ members.

The decision to set up the Group reflects the growth in this area of marketing communications in recent years, with companies spending an increasing share of their marketing dollars on PR/experiential.

The Group members are CAANZ members who represent a cross section of marcomms companies and are typically heads of an agency or the marcomms department within a larger agency involved in marketing communications, ambient, experiential or events. The Marcomms Leadership Group chair sits on the CAANZ Executive board and provides a marcomms perspective to industry issues. The Group works collaboratively with PRINZ and EMANZ.

CAANZ marcomms members are united by their approach to PR and experiential marketing from a creative, strategic and consumer insight perspective. These agencies typically use the tools and disciplines of the advertising agency model to develop PR and experiential campaigns for organisations who want to communicate with consumers.

An important first step in raising awareness of marcomms PR/experiential was the establishment of an EFFIE category – Effective Use of PR/Experiential in a Marketing Campaign – in 2009, reflecting that effectiveness is an important part of what the marcomms industry offers.

The Leadership Group's remit includes:

• Establishing relevant professional development courses for marcomms agency staff, clients and other CAANZ members
• Developing a library of marcomms PR/Experiential case studies from New Zealand and around the world showcasing best practice and effectiveness
• Identifying inspirational speakers for events
• Working with the CAANZ graduate internships programme and AUT Communications School to increase knowledge and skills of these areas of marketing communication
• Undertaking research and debate on areas that will help further the understanding and use of PR and Experiential eg measurement

Marcomms Leadership Group Members:

• Thursday 16 September 2010