​Network’s 12 PR days of Christmas.

Network’s 12 PR days of Christmas. 

On the first day of Christmas, my true love (Public Relations) sent to me …  

OK, so we’re not going down this track - but we did want to finish the year by looking back on some of the highlights that have made it so enjoyable and have taken some festive inspiration to do so. 

Before we get to these, on behalf of Sandy – who’s already gone in search of a White Christmas over in the UK – and the whole team here at Network (particularly Lucy who at this time of the year is part PR consultant, part Christmas elf), we’d like to wish you a very merry Christmas.  

To our amazing clients, thank you for allowing us the opportunity to continue to contribute to your ongoing success. With the Triple B rating of Beers, Beaches and Baches figuring pretty strongly in our immediate plans, we’d be lying if we said we couldn’t wait to pick up where we’ve left off in 2023 –but we nevertheless look forward to another great year ahead with you! 

Happy holidays… 

1. Holding the banks to account with George from Nikko AM 

June 27 was a manic Monday for Nikko AM’s Managing Director, George Carter – and for us. A day after his article was published across Stuff’s suite of online and national publications, exposing the huge consumer impact of banks increasing their lending margins, he was in hot demand for broadcast interviews, culminating with a spot on TV3’s The Project. Helping our clients shape stories with their expertise that resonate, and then working with media to help tell them, is something we love to do. We won’t lie though, it helps when the client’s such a media natural! 

2. We’ll let you be the judge, dammit! 

It’s Wednesday July 17 and we’re standing in a room surrounded by hundreds of wine samples just waiting to be tasted. This might sound like the peak of work perks, but alas, ever the pros, we didn’t touch a drop. Rather we were there to share this glimpse behind the scenes at the New World Wine Awards judging, hosting national and regional journalists. Stuff’s Emily Brooks described her visit and the logistical feats that make the event possible here, while Newshub’s Lana Andelane gave consumers a run down on the big buzz around non-alcoholic wines, which were an important part of the judging line up.  

3. Turning days into weeks – anything’s possible with good PR! 

International Blood Donor Day was celebrated around the world on Tuesday June 14. However, this year we worked with our long-time client New Zealand Blood Service to span the celebration out a bit longer, creating NZ’s first National Blood Donor Week (13-19 June). Under the inaugural theme of 'We are Whānau', we focused on family-based case studies to help highlight and promote the life-saving importance of blood donors. This included organising for the New Zealand Herald to speak to sisters Emma and Hannah Ashley, who know first-hand the importance of being able to access safe blood when you need it. 

4. Talking the walk on sustainability with PMG Funds 

Sustainability and in particular the need for us all to find ways to pick up the pace in the race to Carbon Zero is a responsibility shared by pretty much every sector and industry we work with – not least those around the built environment, which accounts for 20 per cent of NZ’s carbon footprint. On Thursday 14 July, we organised for PMG Funds’ CE Scott McKenzie to talk to Kathryn Ryan on RNZ’s Nine To Noon about the leadership role they’re taking to ensure a lack of accountability for the unlisted property sector and private property owners doesn’t result in a dangerous lack of action. 

5. Lotto; Saving Kiwis from an Unlucky Dip 

A special blessing ceremony in Auckland on Friday September 2 brought to a close a fabulous project we had the privilege of being involved in with Lotto NZ, alongside their partners Coastguard NZ and Emirates Team New Zealand. The 4UNZ project, which took a little longer than anticipated to deliver thanks to the ongoing gift that is Covid, saw 26 chase boats from the last America’s Cup repurposed and gifted to Coastguard units around the country. Our role in this was to work with local media to generate local stories like this that wouldn’t just name check our client, but ultimately contribute to improved water safety for all New Zealanders. And thankfully for this Christmas wrap, we did it with one pun-heavy media release title to spare! 

6. Serving up a recipe for healthier kids with the Ministry of Education

Most PRs will admit to at some stage having suffered an attack of imposter syndrome, or an existential crisis of some sort – if a pitch hasn’t worked or a project fails to capture the imagination. But then projects like this come along to make it easier for us to connect the dots of the big picture we contribute to. Huge kudos to our FoodGroup team for their mahi in the drive to reduce food insecurity for children and young people. The Nutrition standards for Ka Ora, Ka Ako were published and released to participating schools on Monday October 31. 

7. Telling the story within a story with Barfoot & Thompson 

Nobody knows the Auckland property market quite like Barfoot & Thompson’s Peter Thompson. We’ve been helping him share his considered commentary with media now for over two decades - and for the last few years of these, the story has followed a familiar, singular theme. However on Thursday March 3, we were able to share the long anticipated news that Auckland’s property market had finally run out of puff … for a while at least. Not one to lose sight of the bigger picture though, Peter described a dip in average sale price thus: “At $1,106,036, the average sales price for February is still the fourth highest on record, and 11.2 per cent higher than the same time last year.” Oh Auckland. 

8. Bottling the pure spirit of Aotearoa New Zealand with Pokeno Whisky 

On Monday August 8, we had the privilege of sharing one of NZ’s best-kept secrets with the launch of the first New Zealand single malts from the Pōkeno Whisky Company.  We’d actually been in on the secret for a while and had helped the Pokeno team shape their story ahead of the launch across product packaging, website and video. For the full story, you can check out this great piece in the NBR – and if you don’t have an account to get past the paywall, shame on you - you’re missing out as the publication has gone from strength to strength this year. 

9. ‘A bit of blue for the dads’ 

It may be more celebrated for marking the first day of Spring, but for one of our newest clients, Monday September 1 also sees the official start of their largest annual fundraising campaign. This was our first year supporting Prostate Cancer Foundation New Zealand’s annual ‘Blue September’, which was back again for 2022 with an even more urgent plea, as prostate cancer has now become our most diagnosed cancer. Getting the message out involved sharing the voice of internationally renowned speaker Dr Hendrick van Poppel, who’s call to the government to have better screenings for prostate cancer was heard across multiple media outlets, including the 6pm news. 

10. Making news of the old with JLL and more 

Through its global network and NZ expertise, JLL provides us with myriad opportunities throughout the year to engage media in research and trends influencing the way we work, live and play. But there’s one research paper in particular that always grabs the media’s attention: their annual Retirement and Aged Care Report, which was released this year on Tuesday July 19. This is a sector we have looked at from a number of angles, not only through JLL but directly for providers and also through an investment lens with Nikko AM 

11. Helping ProCare lead the discussion on equitable health 

On Friday November 18, we proudly shared, through a piece in the NZ Herald, a very personal story from ProCare’s newly appointed GM of Māori Health and Equity, Mihi Blair. In this she discussed Māori health outcomes, touching on some of her own experiences as well as the journey ProCare is embarking on to create a more equity in the healthcare sector. On the back of placing the editorial piece, we secured an interview for Mihi on Today FM’s weekend breakfast show. 

12. When PR met HR … a GIB® love story 

Few companies have had to live 2022 under the same scrutiny as Winstone Wallboards, AKA the makers of GIB®, who have essentially been afforded naming rights for the year’s post-Covid lockdown building supply shortage. Amidst this, the company have been undertaking a massive recruitment drive for its state-of-the-art new mega plant opening in Tauranga next year – and we’ve been adding our PR skills to their HR expertise to help attract talent in and to the Bay of Plenty. As you can see from this story in the Bay of Plenty Times from Thursday December 15, the results have been pretty awesome. 

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