News

APN NZ rebrands business to NZME

NZME logoAPN News and Media has rebranded its New Zealand assets under a new company NZME, as it moves towards a sell-off of the business.

The company owns several major media assets in the country including the NZ Herald, The Radio Network which includes NewsTalk ZB, magazines including That’s Life and Girlfriend and online group buying site GrabOne. NZME stands for New Zealand Media and Entertainment.

Earlier this month APN took the unusual step of admitting it was looking to float the assets on the NZ stock exchange, as it looks to sure up its balance sheet, and last week announced a raft of new management appointments.

The release:

From today the businesses formerly known as APN NZ, TRN and GrabOne are unifying their print, radio, digital and e-commerce brands under one new, overarching brand, NZME.

The re-launch is the next major step in NZME. fully realising the power of its content,  audience and eCommerce capabilities and is designed to maximise the New Zealand Group’s combined asset potential. NZME. or ‘N-Zed me’ stands for New Zealand Media and Entertainment.

“Our combined assets have exceptional reach in the New Zealand market with 2.9 million people connecting with our brands every week,” says CEO, Jane Hastings. “As NZME. we will be able to leverage that advantage to more effectively connect advertisers with audiences across the country.”

91% of large business owners and 87% of SME business owners engage with NZME.’s platforms and by 9am, 66% of Auckland has read, heard, seen or engaged with an NZME. brand. Each month, NZME.’s news brands reach 2.2 million Kiwis while their sport and entertainment brands reach 1.1 million and 2.7 million Kiwis respectively.

“While APN NZ and The Radio Network will become NZME., our much loved brands don’t change,” Hastings explains. “For example GrabOne is still GrabOne, NewstalkZB is still NewstalkZB and The New Zealand Herald is still The New Zealand Herald.  Only where you had previously seen ‘APN NZ’ or ‘TRN’ will you now see NZME.. This will bring all of our platforms together to clearly establish us as the preferred news, sport and entertainment destination for New Zealanders.”

Of the rationale behind the new name Hastings says the ‘me’ in NZME. perfectly reflects that NZME.’s brands and people are always at the centre of what’s going on.

“NZME. also recognises that New Zealanders want a New Zealand perspective. They want to be connected to the content they want, the way they want it and when they want it. That’s what we give them,” says Hastings.

She points to the integration of the New Zealand businesses being an important part of the new business strategy, which focuses on fully realising the power of NZME’s combined content, audience and eCommerce capabilities.

“We are committed to being multi-platform, to being the biggest creators of locally produced news, sport and entertainment in the country whilst connecting with the best international content.

“NZME. is uniquely positioned to deliver relevant and vertically integrated content. We can provide the innovation and solutions our advertisers need to connect with our audiences so they can better market their brands, products and services. This is another important step in our exciting journey,” says Hastings.

The company’s new corporate website can be accessed from today at www.nzme.co.nz.

ADVERTISEMENT

Get the latest media and marketing industry news (and views) direct to your inbox.

Sign up to the free Mumbrella newsletter now.

 

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up to our free daily update to get the latest in media and marketing.