It must have been 2 or 3 years ago when Tauranga made it to the big time and got inserted between Hamilton and Wellington on the big city run through. Now I have nothing against Tauranga, but WTF!

Looking at Wikipedia, Napier and Hastings is bigger than Tauranga.

Now maybe they look at Napier and Hastings separately, but Tauranga hardly has its hands clean with that two city Tauranga and the Mount thing going on. They may have even snuck in Te Puke. No doubt someone at Tauranga did a great job getting reclassified.

Surely this is a wrong that must be righted!

About 75 trees and 200 wetland plants recently planted alongside the Karamu Stream around Anderson Park in Havelock North have been stolen this week, spoiling the work of many school children and families.

Schools including Flaxmere College and local primary schools, community groups and families worked hard over a week planting the area in June.

Most of the trees (about 75) on the Mangarau Stream have been pulled out and about 30 metres of wetland plants alongside the Karamu have been taken out, at a cost of about $600.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council says someone in the area must have noticed something as it would have taken some effort to steal this many plants.  The Council would appreciate hearing from anyone with information.

Most of these plants aren’t much use for private gardens as they are specific to wetter areas.  Some plantings will have to be replaced and the Council hopes that Flaxmere College students will be able to help again with planting, as the students know how to plant well and work hard.

I can think of some illegal plants that people might like to steal, but this is just bizarre. It’s not like you could take 75 trees and 200 wetland plants down to Cash Converters, is it?

Publisher and editor, Susan Hoyle, was named Editor of the Year in the same category. The judging panel described Upstart Magazine as: “Fresh, fun and lively. Punches above its weight. Serves an important niche market, and this is recognised by the alliances it has established. Has a vision and purpose that demonstrates the power of magazines and the way they can create and enable change. It is making a real difference as an advocate for its readers.”

The judging criteria for Magazine of the Year included some pretty serious stuff: editorial positioning and content; commercial success; and design and presentation.

The judges also commented on Susan Hoyle’s performance as editor, saying of Sue: “Clever editing, a safe and readable magazine. Vibrant, interactive and stimulating. Perfectly pitched and managed by an obviously passionate and deeply involved editor. Full of energy – a reflection of its audience. Great work-life project and a positive role model for kids.

Go Sue – taking on the country’s top magazines and editors from the heart of Wine Country!

Over the last year I have been making a special boat for Duck Shooting with a flatter hull for use in shallow water.

I set out trying to find a motor that we could use in about an inch of water and about 1 metre of thick soupy mud. Normal outboards and jet units dont like mud so this wouldn’t work. I couldn’t afford to spend thousands on a everglades baot with a 6ft diameter air prop similar to a small aeroplane or a hovercraft  , so i settled on a design that we copied from pictures of Mud Boat Motors  from the States.

The attached pictures show how we made the engine mounts and drive train use a stepdown drive and a 600mm shaft with the special mud prop that I bought from America.

The first boat (DD1) I made had a few flaws , it was pretty heavy , made from 18mm ply and about 4m long.  We ended up shorting it with a chainsaw down to 3.2m and angled the transom so the prop would be below the water line without causing to much water disruption.

DDII has been made using 10mm ply construction,3.2m long 1400mm wide , screwed & glued with fiberglass joins , paint finish is sandstone and she is propelled by a 13hp engine. Max speed / better than wading in waist deep mud.

DD1 worked well , unfortunately like many prototypes has been sacrificed to the gods and retired from service.

We launched DDII earlier this season but ran into drivetrain issues and luckily enough we returned her to the shore before it became a hazard in the busy water ways of Lake Hatuma.

This Weekend I will be taking her back into the water with a revamped drivetrain, better starting and excited captain (me) at Lake Hatuma ,CHB.

I understand Cat from Mogul is a boat builder so I might have to use her expertise on the next project!!

Thanks to Reece Barber, Tony Ludeman, my brother Dan for helping me out with the engineering and thanks to my wife for letting me spend money on a project she didn’t understand.

Look out for my updated post on Monday morning or if you want to see it in action your most welcome to come down to Lake Hatuma at 6am this sunday morning.

See you then,,

Ben Keehan

P.S  all XT mobile’s  get the water test.

Taken on Sunday Morning down at the Clive river.  Had some fun with my family and took these snaps.

why sports sponsorship for us

As one of two owners of BPX, we both have a passion for health & fitness and are actively engaged in a number activities ranging from multi-sport events, mountain biking, squash, to running around every Saturday pretending to be a footballer.  We wouldn’t call ourselves fanatics or top athletes by any means but one thing is key for us and our business – we value and place an emphasis on a healthy lifestyle to the extent it’s one of our core 10 consultant selection criteria when recruiting new staff.  If it’s important to us, we expect it to be important to the people working with us.

what did we expect in return

For us brand association with health & fitness was easy, but our core market is not the health & fitness sector – in fact it’s not a market for us at all so what were our expectations – did we even have any?  Our main motivators were primarily about giving something back to the community and in particular kids – so for us as fathers of young children making financial contributions to the clubs where our kids get benefit was an easy investment.

Over time with the additional sponsorships and marketing investments we have in place we’ve had to put our business hats on and justify the spend – but in truth sometimes we do things because it feels bloody good – not because we expect a direct commercial and measurable return.  I know that probably goes against what marketing 101 tells you not to do…..but for us value return isn’t always about increasing revenue…intrinsic value gained from knowing others directly benefit provides a value in itself.

how have we made this work

In saying the above we still operate in a commercial and competitive market and don’t have the luxury to call our marketing investments ‘donations’ therefore our main motivator is generally about increasing brand awareness and local profile here in Hawke’s Bay.  Our core client markets are Wellington and Auckland and a personal motivator for me is to establish local work here in Hawke’s Bay, which means not having to jump on a flight every week and be away from the family.   For our company a great way to access the HB business community is via HB sporting events and clubs and we now have a great working association with another iconic Hawke’s bay business – Unison, who are also passionate about all things sport.

In terms of leverage we are conscience that an investment in isolation is a poor investment and needs ‘a helping hand’ or leveraging, as the marketing guru’s will tell you.  For us it’s about getting as many ‘touch points’ as possible.  For example with our Sport HB sponsorship additional ‘touch points’ like radio and newspaper advertising and simple low cost things like promoting the event via your own customer newsletters, website and email don’t take a lot of effort.  The thing to recognise is that making an investment without any additional effort or spend is a little naïve.

any lessons learnt

Good things take time, so don’t expect one hit wonders.  We now have a marketing strategy and recognise that any investment needs to be sustainable year on year.  Previously we’ve been a little ad hoc with our spend but now we have a ‘plan’ and a committed yearly budget.  We’ve also recognised that we’re not Saatchi and Saatchi even though we might think we know what’s best in terms of marketing effort and now utilise a marketing agency to keep us on track.

About BPX:

BPX are a professional project management services company established in 2005. The founder and managing director – Andrew Smith, lives in Taradale with his wife Sue and two kids Finley and Tamsin.

My brief, as rugby writer, for next year is to follow the All Blacks throughout the tournament. But those who do find themselves in the city, which is hosting three non-AB World Cup matches, can congratulate themselves on their good fortune. The city has a huge amount to offer beyond rugby.

Everyone knows about the wine – hours, days, weeks even could be whiled away tasting and not really spitting, but what if you’re travelling with the kids in tow?

That was our challenge: for my wife, Fiona, and I to take our three kids, Mackenzie, 6, Isla, 4, and Lachlan, not quite 1, to Napier for four days to see if we could keep them entertained. They loved it. We loved it. We want to go back, although we would like someone to arrange for the sun to shine as it’s supposed to.

But even in the rain, Napier had us hooked and on this trip it was mini-golf rather than rugby that was the big hit.

Isla has two great loves in her life – one is mini-golf. The other is corn on the cob. When we arrived at the unfathomably strange world of Corncob Crazy Golf on the outskirts of Hastings, we had to check she wasn’t hyperventilating from excitement.

What appears, at first glance, to be a messy paddock filled with abandoned farm equipment in fact turns out to be a mini golf course. One clever, diversifying farmer has built the course in one of his fields, and instead of normal putters, he’s made clubs with corncobs on the end. Genius.

For Isla, life just couldn’t get any better, but if you do want more there’s also a maze through the maize in a neighbouring paddock. Just a note, the mini-golf and maze are both closed over winter but it’s the perfect pastime once the weather warms up in spring.

The next stop for us though was a little more scary. We were off to the National Aquarium – a space-age style building on Napier’s Marine Parade, offering a huge range of weird and wonderful aquatic life. The scary bit is the shark swim.

It was only after I’d offered myself up for the cage-free experience that I thought to ask when the toothy big fish had last been fed. It was all a bit much for Mackenzie, who burst into tears at the idea of dad becoming shark fodder for afternoon tea.

Nevertheless, in I plunged giving my best impression of being fearless, as the kids watched, their noses pressed to the glass walkway that cuts through the aquarium.

Hopefully, they were impressed that I seemed so relaxed in such close proximity to the 2m- shark known affectionately to staff as “Big Girl”.

Little did they know I was relaxed only because I had no clue that Big Girl was quite so close. Once I caught sight of her and the rest of her pals, I couldn’t fake it any longer – although it was as exhilarating as it was terrifying to be so close.

Dried off and with nerves calmed, we headed to Napier’s excellent museum where the key exhibit focuses on the city’s famous 1931 earthquake. Museums are not an easy sell to young children but the quake draws them in – part geological lesson and part history.

We trundled out of the museum some time later feeling infinitely more informed about the forces that shaped this small city – then headed for a little more contemplation across the road at Ocean Spa hot pools. Again located on Marine Parade, the pools are the perfect spot to sit, relax and admire the views across the Bay to Cape Kidnappers.

We obviously relaxed too much though, as when we were packing up to leave few days later, we realised we (sorry, I) had left all our togs at the pools.

To our amazement and delight we returned to find that not only did they have them, but they had been washed, dried and neatly folded. Nice.

IF YOU GO

“Ah, Kennedy Park.” It’s the response you get from everyone who knows Napier when you mention that’s where you’ll be staying in Hawkes Bay.

It’s a local institution. And like all good classics, the reason it has been so successful and earned such fame, is because it never lets standards slip. The staff could not have been friendlier or more helpful and our two-bedroom villa was spotless, warm, comfortable and well equipped.

The biggest plus was the playground, which contained a “jumping pillow”, pictured, a kind of giant trampoline that is a genuine piece of Kiwi ingenuity. The presence of pedal cars was also a huge winner. Handily placed close to town, Kennedy Park is the perfect choice for families with young children.

By Gregor Paul

There’s a new opportunity in this year’s Chamber of Commerce Business Awards, The Business Innovation Award – sponsored by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and Venture Hawke’s Bay.

Now it’s your chance to get some well deserved recognition for your business and staff.

Have a look at the basic criteria below:

The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and Venture Hawke’s Bay
BUSINESS INNOVATION AWARD

Open to all businesses & organisations that can demonstrate innovation, building on key elements in Hawke’s Bay’s environment – land, water, climate, people – creating new products or services that embrace future-focused technologies or systems that are New Zealand-leading or are moving towards success in this area.

The judges will be looking for:

• a clear explanation of how Hawke’s Bay’s strengths have been harnessed to develop this innovation, and how the use of resources has been considered
• a clear plan under which this has been developed
• a clear marketing plan to make this product or service ‘profitable’
• evidence of success

If you are interested, please contact Ross Holden on ross@nettel.net.nz who can provide you with more details.

The Hawke’s Bay Chamber of Commerce Business Awards event is held each year early in November.

Jenny Brown
Portfolio Manager
Venture Hawke’s Bay
Tourism House, 64 Dickens Street
Napier 4140
P: +64 6 833 5895
F: +64 6 834 0299
M: +64 27 210 0253
E: jennyb@venturehawkesbay.co.nz

Please note that I work part-time and am in the office Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesday.

“After investing a huge amount of my own, my staff and the Board’s energy and focus, we’ve developed an organisation that is starting to deliver, while focusing on local economic growth in a number of areas,” said Ms Takarangi.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council chief executive Andrew Newman announced the decision on Monday to staff and indicated the role would be disestablished and not replaced.

Since 2008, Ms Takarangi has reorganised Venture Hawke’s Bay to focus on Regional Promotion and Marketing, Investment and Planning, and Productivity and Innovation. The organisation is working on significant projects that include inwards investment into Hawke’s Bay in addition to the delivery of the regional promotion and marketing programme, opportunities with exporters related to the Shanghai 2010 Expo and the Rugby World Cup 2011.

“We recognise the value to the region of the initiatives and momentum generated by Janet over the last two years and the commitment is to capitalise on this momentum within a tough economic environment,” said Mr Newman.

Media contact
Andrew Newman, Chief Executive, ph 06 835 9200

Our entire decision making process is guided by association – the merits of each name are either quickly dismissed or considered to greater depth based on pre-existing associations. In consumer psychology we refer to this as Classical Conditioning which is well used by fragrance, alcoholic beverage and vehicle manufacturers. Names that are known to us we attribute personality and character traits without too much cognitive engagement, and so the process goes on until mum and dad finally agree on a name that neither parent can associate with a serial murderer, social retard or school bully.

Putting aside physical characteristics and personality traits that are a function of genetics, we as parents embark on building and managing perceptions to match the reality, and if the reality doesn’t stack up many proud parents will do their utmost to create a perception in the hope that it becomes reality.

We as brand builders and marketing professionals do essentially the same thing; apply a certain amount of science and pulling all manner of levers to sculpt desired identities and, like parents, manage perceptions.    

Brand managers however, have the upper hand.  An immature brand can be manipulated at the whim of it’s creators, a hormone driven immature adult, not so much.

Tank Marketing