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Cut the bull! Building trust with farmers

Our agricultural industry contributes billions of dollars to our economy each year. Its farmers rely on quality goods and services to help them run profitable and sustainable businesses. It’s no surprise then that farmers are bombarded every day with messages designed to influence their decisions about who to trust and what to buy. You can’t blame them for being sceptical. Most farmers are smart, savvy business people. So how do we grab their attention and build trust with them? How do we c...

Sticky buyers and cautious investors could give Hamilton home buyers a brief respite from record-breaking prices

Lodge Real Estate Managing Director Jeremy O’Rourke says ‘sticky’ home buyers and cautious investors could combine to give Hamilton buyers a break from record-breaking house prices in the city. “Hamilton experienced a record number of homes sold in the city during March.  It’s likely to sit around 460 once final numbers are confirmed later this month.  The Lodge Real Estate team saw our median house price soar above $800,000 for the first time ever and our mean house price br...

Latest bull team offers more than just high index

CRV New Zealand’s latest bull team offers more than just high index, responding to farmer demand for genetic solutions to tackle challenges around the environment, herd efficiency and animal welfare. CRV has introduced a wide range of new sires to its portfolio for 2021, with 22 newly graduated sires and 15 new genomic InSires, in addition to 13 new sires in its global portfolio. CRV is encouraging farmers to get orders in early for sexed semen, as availability is limited due to increased pop...

Leading non-bank lender urges Government to rethink Kainga Ora $2B support plan to get new affordable houses built quickly

Scott Massey, Director of non-bank lender Omega Capital, says the Government’s new housing package announced last week does not address one of the biggest barriers to housing supply: developers’ access to finance. “Omega Capital is talking to developers around the country every day who cannot gain access to bank funding for their housing projects.  “When developers are forced to alternative finance sources, they add 6-8% to their funding costs.  This dramatically affects housi...

Business and industry awards – why you should take the time to enter

Have you thought about putting in an application for an industry award or competition? Keen to add something to your company’s ‘trophy cabinet’? Most major industries will have a governing, regulatory or advocacy organisation that organises annual awards, often accompanied by a conference and awards dinner or ceremony. For us comms people, it’s the PRINZ awards held each year alongside the annual conference, but if you’re in tourism it might be the Qualmark awards or Dairy Woman of the...

Thanks for the reminder

By Heather Claycomb If you follow this column you’ll know I’m all about sharing practical PR tips and advice you can use in your organisation. This month, I’m sharing four unrelated lessons my team’s client projects have reminded me about as we kicked off 2021. Communicate to Staff First We’ve had a few clients making significant changes to their businesses at the start of the year, including a CEO suddenly stepping down and an acquisition taking place.  Remember, that these sort...

Could cow’s milk help in the fight against COVID-19?

Research commissioned by New Zealand company Quantec has found that its patented New Zealand milk-derived ingredient IDP® (Immune Defense Proteins) is effective at protecting cells against COVID-19. The research, completed by an independent US laboratory, shows IDP® has the ability to protect cells from COVID-19, but it may also reduce the severity of COVID-19 symptoms, a key concern particularly for sufferers of ‘long COVID.’ CEO of Quantec, Raewyn McPhillips, says these results suggest t...

Hamilton residential housing market gears up for a record-breaking March

Historically, March is always the busiest month of the year for Hamilton with more homes being listed and sold than any other month of the year.  But this March is set to be a game changer. With 24 years of real estate industry experience under his belt, General Manager of Lodge Real Estate Jeremy O’Rourke says the historical data coupled with current market statistics combine to predict a March like no other. “March is always the most active month of the year in the real estate market....

Feilding software engineers help mastermind game-changing irrigation system

A team of Feilding-based software engineers has helped mastermind a game-changing irrigation prototype that diagnoses its own operating faults, can launch a drone to manage crops at leaf level, and can even tell a few dad jokes. Lindsay, which produces the Zimmatic™ brand of pivot irrigators, has just introduced the concept of the world’s first ‘smart pivot’ to its markets around the globe. Now, they are inviting New Zealand farmers and irrigation industry colleagues to give feedback...

Lessons on the intersection between PR, advocacy and fundraising

We recently completed a major piece of work with Habitat for Humanity NZ, a national organisation with seven regional affiliate offices.  It required a communications strategy that would intersect with its fundraising and advocacy plans, while providing a roadmap to build the organisation’s reputation and relationships.   Heather led this work, as she knows the organisation well from serving on the board of the Habitat for Humanity Central affiliate for 20 ye...

Let's Get Personal

If you want to make one high-impact change this year in the way you present your organisation, I want to challenge you to ‘get personal.’ While I haven’t done comprehensive formal research, I’ve certainly noticed a general shift in the type of social media posts, media stories and general conversations that are currently exciting and engaging people.  And that shift is all about personal, real, emotive stories.  During times of stress and upheaval, like we’ve been through th...

Mystery Creek Predator Free Community Hub helps further Waikato’s conservation goals

Mystery Creek has been designated a predator-free hub and is now joining forces with local protection groups to extend its reach and help further the Waikato’s conservation goals. Conservation and protection have been a large focus for the NZ National Fieldays Society over the past 12 months. With an investment programme and support from DOC and the Waikato Regional Council, the Society undertakes predator control on the entire 114-hectare Mystery Creek property. Now the Society is teaming up...

Why 2021 should be the year you get on the digital content train

At HMC, we see it every day: a business has plenty of knowledge and stories to share, but their website text (bar product information for e-commerce/catalogue sites) could fit on one piece of A4 paper. They might have explained who they are, what they do and how customers can get in touch, but it stops there. If there’s one communications action you focus on in 2021, jump on the digital content train. And don’t package up your thoughts and knowledge into an e-book, then hide it behind a $10 ...

Easy 100-day comms plan formula

If 2020 taught us anything, it is that we do not know what is around the corner.  So that brings up a good question: how do you plan for 2021 when there is so much uncertainty?  When it comes to communications planning I believe it’s essential to keep your plan simple, focused on core actions and short-term.  That way you can remain nimble and change when circumstances require. I find, however, most people run out of planning gumption by 1 December.  And with the exceptiona...

Research shows patented milk-derived ingredient IDP® effective against influenza virus

Research commissioned by New Zealand company Quantec, and completed by an independent US laboratory, has found that its patented milk-derived ingredient IDP® (Immune Defense Proteins) is effective against influenza virus species. At a time when there is an intense global focus on viruses, Quantec commissioned the independent in vitro study to see if IDP® had antiviral activity, and if so whether its formulation, which contains over 50 bioactive proteins, provides greater antiviral activity tha...

Sod turning kicks off development at Jack’s Landing

Members of local iwi group Te Haa o te whenua o Kirikiriroa (THaWK) joined the Jack’s Landing development team, Jack’s House Transit representatives and contractors from Camex Civil on Wednesday 9 December to bless the site and turn the first sod for the residential housing development. The Jack’s Landing development is a collaboration between Hamilton-based construction companies Golden Homes, Holah Homes and Anthem Homes, and will offer 110 house and land packages bordering Innes Common ...

Partnership the key to success for Canterbury sustainable irrigation award winners

Canterbury farming couple Ted and Sue Rollinson are the New Zealand region winners of the inaugural Zimmatic™ Sustainable Irrigation Awards. The Rollinson’s own a 380-hectare dairy farm in mid-Canterbury. Sharemilkers Tom and Leanne Heneghan have been on farm for 11 years and milk 1,500 cows on the property. The Awards aim to celebrate excellence in sustainable irrigation and encourage Australian and New Zealand farmers to share ideas for achieving sustainable water management. Each en...

The privilege of storytelling

As PR professionals we love story telling. And our HMC team thrives on helping our clients articulate their stories and share them with those who matter to their business. Usually, this storytelling involves interviewing a client’s customers, stakeholders or staff. But often we don’t know these people from a bar of soap! So why would they share their story with a perfect stranger? The key is investing time in building rapport with each person and reassuring them they can trust us with the i...

Christmas Communications Checklist

Christmas is coming and for many of us that means a long summer break is on the horizon. But before you turn out the lights and head off, take a few moments to ensure you’ve got your communications sorted. Here’s a list of five communications actions to tick off your list before your break. Distribute good news With a dearth of business news coming out over the Christmas and New Year break, journalists are often looking for good news stories to fill space.  This creates an opportunity ...

Waikato business leaders launch Digital Pop-Up education week

Waikato business leaders and digital marketing experts have come together to launch the Digital Pop-up Shop, a week-long event offering practical advice to improve businesses’ digital performance. Taking place from 23 to 27 November at the Auaha Design Space (formerly Smart Space) in the Hamilton CBD, attendees will be able to book into a range of workshops and seminars, with the latter being free of charge. The event team have highlighted five key digital development areas covered by the trai...

Rocketspark launches first AI SEO tool that generates text content for its website builder

New Zealand website builder Rocketspark has launched what is believed to be the first Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool on the market that creates text content for its website users, helping get their businesses in front of more customers online. Cambridge-based Rocketspark, with funding from Callaghan Innovation, has developed a tool which enhances customers’ websites, by automatically generating content to improve their website’s search engine rankings. The search engine optimisation (SEO)...

Hamilton home sellers cautioned against ‘fast sale mentality’ as holidays approach

The average number of days to sell a home in Hamilton hit 25 in October.  This is the fastest average sale time in the city in five years.  Additionally, Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) statistics released this morning report the Waikato region’s average ‘days to sell’ of 28 days is less than the 10-year average for October which is 36 days. This startling ‘quick sale’ trend has prompted Lodge Real Estate managing director, Jeremy O’Rourke, to caution sellers t...

Cannasouth submits first product assessment and registration application to Medicinal Cannabis Agency

Cannasouth has submitted assessment applications for its first three white label products to the Medicinal Cannabis Agency (Agency). To date, no new product applications have been approved by the Agency. If successful, Cannasouth expects its products to be available to patients in the first half of 2021.    The Agency has indicated that product assessments and registration against New Zealand quality standards could take up to three months to complete. Following successful regist...

Ex-farmer now helping others run viable, profitable businesses

Ex-farmer Daniel Payton is now using his knowledge and practical experience to help farmers make changes to their system, while retaining a viable and profitable business. Daniel (37) is Perrin Ag’s newest consultant. One of his first projects is working as part of a larger team to complete work for the Government’s One Billion Trees Programme – an initiative that aims to increase tree planting across New Zealand, reaching one billion trees planted by 2028. Perrin Ag is being funded by Te ...

Media Interview Prep: map your key messages

Planning for a media interview can be daunting, especially if it’s something you don’t do often.  So, it’s imperative that you plan and practise beforehand. One of the most important things you can do to prepare is to write down the top messages you want to come across in the interview.  Whittle these down to very concise statements that your audience can absorb and understand. Think of this planning exercise as a ‘key messaging map.’  The first thing to determine is, wh...