Global Kiwi

The aim of this series is to highlight the incredible stories of our World Class New Zealanders and inspire other Kiwi to push the boundaries of their own business goals and expectations. Our World Class community are keen to use their insights and learnings to help others achieve the same heights of success that they have experienced.

This month Kea spoke to South American based Kiwi Craig Bell. Craig believes the most important challenge for businesses is to make a dollar and a difference. His commitment to leaving his adopted country of Brazil a better place than he found it, has led him to create a groundbreaking South American dairy model based around traditional New Zealand pasture based farming practices and give back to his local community.

What makes Craig really stand out as a World Class New Zealander is his dedication to share his knowledge and insights with a number of other business owners and entrepreneurs both in Brazil and New Zealand. To hear Craig’s story and discover the challenges and opportunities of operating in the South American market.

Watch the full webinar below.

Architecture Van Brandenburg is a cutting-edge architecture and design company with studios in Dunedin and Queenstown. For the past few years Damien Van Brandenburg and his team have been focused on building a 120,000m2 corporate campus for Chinese fashion giant Marisfrolg in Shenzhen, China. Supporting thirty thousand employees, Damien says the campus is like a mini city and it’s design aims to mimic the natural world.

“The design of Marisfrolg is based on nature and how nature can inspire architecture. We have the ability to learn from natural networks and use these to enhance our lives. For example the roof of the campus is created from leaf life shapes which form canopies, they collect rainwater and push it down a ‘stem’ to be collected and reused much like a plant or a tree would. There is a lot to learn from the way in which a forest, for example, will grow and adapt to look after all the species within it. We can learn from this when we think about the planning and architecture of our future cities.

Marisfrolg corporate campus in China takes its design cues from nature

Damien’s designs aim to use as many recycled and sustainable materials as possible and he says the ability for New Zealand cities to adapt and evolve particularly when it comes to sustainability needs to be a key consideration for Aotearoa.

“Nature is constantly adapting and evolving and changing to make things more efficient for trees and plant life. People have had to adapt a lot recently in response to the pandemic, and I think in future we will see that adaptation be applied to the growth of cities. For example could the cities of the future be grown entirely from trees? Could all our homes come from renewable materials such as mass timber construction which is all digitally fabricated? I think the challenges and opportunities are in adaptation. There is a huge amount of data out there to influence city development so cities of the future can really be learning from the cities of today.”

Making sure Aotearoa’s future cities learn from others is something which Professor Anthony Hoete (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Ranana) is passionate about. Anthony recently moved back to New Zealand after thirty years of practising architecture in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. These days he’s working for the University of Auckland using his expertise in optimal density housing to research ways to make Aotearoa’s cities more compact. He feels New Zealand has a number of opportunities in this space but it’s going to require a big shift in thinking.

From Northern to Southern boundaries Auckland is 120km, whereas if you look at a city like London with almost four times the population it’s around 50km from one edge to the other. We have to optimise our density of living as we move forward, it’s the one major means to tackle the housing crisis. We have a lot of opportunities for infill within our cities, a lot of places where we can build up or create more compact living particularly around transport hubs. A lot of houses with empty roof voids. We need to move away from the quarter acre dream and get used to living closer to each other, yet living closer doesn’t necessarily come at a detriment to quality as we can design buildings for sunlight and daylight, for privacy and overlooking, to make the most of shared spaces.”

“There is nothing wrong with a backyard but let’s get rid of the side yard. Moving into the future we need to look at arrangements like terraced housing. High density housing doesn’t mean ugly cities. Paris, Barcelona and Berlin are all seen as beautiful cities and with citizens living side by side and above and below each other. We also need to question the relationship between house and car, we need to look at parking on the street – maybe walking 20, 50 meters to our front doors and I know that’s a bit of a pain-in-the-rain but accommodating the car onsite is really impeding our livable space.”

Along with the ability to increase density, Anthony says New Zealand also has a real opportunity to create less suburban sprawl and more sustainable cities of the future given our unique environment and our culture of embracing technology.

“We can grow pinus radiata and spruce relatively quickly in this country given our soil conditions. Reforestation is a real opportunity. It’s surprising to me that given we have the capacity to plant the second-largest man made forests in the southern hemisphere (Kaingaroa) we cannot socio-economically exploit locally-grown exotic forestry more. We need to shift the entire housing supply model, embrace off-site manufactured processes with a lot more digital fabrication technologies. By doing so, we could minimise waste and upskill and increase the labour market and disrupt housing supply chains.

Founder of the New Zealand Green Building Council Jane Henley says our building sector is one of the last sectors to innovate and when it comes to cities of the future, innovation and factory manufacturing within the sector will be key.

“Currently the building industry is very bespoke, we need to look at how we can drive a manufacturing mindset. Innovation is key to sustainability and cost effectiveness. The more we can drive computer technology and bring that into the market, we will be able to reduce waste and reduce design cost wastage. If you build better buildings you in turn will have better cities.”

Another key consideration for New Zealand is how we incorporate our culture into urban planning. Deidre Brown has a background in Māori and Pacific architecture and says the cities of Aotearoa’s future must celebrate their place within the pacific.

“Right now the University of Auckland is working on a project looking at how Tāmaki Makaurau would have developed into a modern city without colonization. If we can imagine that and build a model of that then we can start to think about how we could bring some of that back. I think cities of the future have to reflect the people living in them and also reflect the heritage. When they are able to do that they can better adapt to their environment.”

But perhaps the most important consideration when it comes to the cities of the future is making sure they are spaces people want to live in. Damien says he’s optimistic we can create future cities which are not only kind to the planet but also kind to people.

“If you start imagining what future cities might look like, many people will have this idea of sci-fi futuristic cities which are often portrayed in movies. But I think more of an optimistic solution which I think is achievable. Future cities should have spaces, environments, and cultures that we want to be in, that are inclusive and fair. From a design perspective I want the foundations of these cities to be as welcoming as possible, I want people to be able to move through cities without huge congestion, to be able to make the most of things such as small-scale aero transportation. I’d like to think future cities will have buildings which can generate their own power and can be adapted to grow food, to allow farming to take place within a city environment. But overall I think the cities of the future need to be inclusive and welcoming, to allow people to feel safe.”

Chelsea trained as a sports physio in Sydney before emigrating to New Zealand in the early 2000s with her Kiwi husband. She worked in a physio practise in the South Island picking up work here and there with high performance athletes before moving to Auckland in 2011 to take up a role with the newly created organisation, High Performance Sport New Zealand. Then one day out of the blue the NBA came knocking.

“I got an email from an American guy asking if I could look at some issues in their programme, that in itself wasn’t out of the ordinary as I did do that sort of work from time to time. But then all of a sudden I was offered a full time job and was moving to San Francisco and joining this crazy world that was the NBA.”

Chelsea says she had only just started to feel like a real ‘Kiwi’ in Aotearoa and the move to the US brought a fresh of culture shock, however as she began navigation her new role and all that came with it she was surprised to realise that the franchise were also trying to navigate their round her.. Specifically her gender.

Chelsea and 3x NBA Champion Stephen Curry hang out pre game. Photography credit Noah Graham

“When I first arrived I thought my ‘otherness’ was because I was a Kiwi, despite the fact my gender had been brought up on several occasions, I never really believed it was an issue. I had come from a place where being a woman and doing what I do wasn’t unusual so it took me a while to realise in this new climate I was in fact incredibly unique. I was told that the biggest hesitation of bringing me into the team was because I was a woman, and I thought that was absurd, I was like your biggest concern should really be that I know nothing about basketball, you should be concerned about the fact that I literally googled basketball when you offered me the job, who cares if I’m a woman.”

A female management role in the NBA in 2016 was rare, so rare in fact that there were no female toilets, showers or changing rooms. In the early days Chelsa brushed it off, preferring instead to focus on doing her job as best she could but after a while she realised that she had an incredible opportunity to change things for those who would come after her.

“I started receiving lots and lots of letters from little girls – they see you on the television, and they see that you are there with the coaches and you are actually part of the game. Up until that point the only females they have seen have been dancers or entertainers. I would get these letters from girls and the fathers of little girls talking about creating pathways into sport science and it is impossible to not be touched by that. Once I stopped fighting and pretending that my gender was insignificant it was actually easier because I was able to become an advocate. I realised I needed to take this seriously, if I was being judged for being female, if there were no changing rooms or toilets for me, then I had a real opportunity to stop the next person from feeling like that, I had a responsibility for the people who came after me. That I had become a role and I was breaking stereotypes.. I realised I needed to respect that, because it’s a powerful thing.”

Chelsea on the job during a Golden State Warriors match

Chelsea was fortunate enough to be part of the Golden State warriors for three years in which time they won the NBA championship twice, she says being part of that moment was something she will never forget.

“To watch a group of people be that talented and to pull it together that consistently not not just once but twice I didn’t think I can ever explain how remarkable that feels, especially because it’s not my win, it belongs to the athletes, I got to be part of it because of them, it’s not mine. That I got to experience that and be there is such a gift.”

However despite the amazing high of an NBA championship win (and the shiny jewellery that goes with it) Chelsea says her biggest career high was actually something she experienced off the court.

“The highest moment for me was when I got to a place where culturally, I had learnt enough about my athletes to be able to serve them properly. It’s not just that we were different genders, they were also all different cultures and none of those cultures were mine. I honestly believe that to make a high performing person perform at their highest you really need to meet them as the person they are. Their motivations, their cultural needs, their family needs, their performance needs. After about the second year I finally felt like I was getting to that place, where I was reaching them at a level that was culturally appropriate. I wasn’t sure I would ever get there and if that was the case, then have I really served them? That’s not to say I know it all, I could spend another 20 years working there and not know everything, but to be able to understand where they are coming from enough to be able to give them what they need, that was my biggest high.”

A lone female face, Chelsea sits with players and staff at during an Atlanta Hawks game.

After three years with the Golden State Warriors Chelsea was offered the role of executive director of athletic performance and sports medicine for the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks had finished bottom of their conference and had the ambitious goal of turning their losing streak around with the aim of making it to the conference play-offs within three years. For Chelsea the opportunity embodied everything she loved about the NBA culture.

“They just kept raising the bar for you. Someone would say can you do this? How about this? Why don’t you have a go at that? Well if you did this then you must want to try that? The steepness of the learning curve is incredible but they support you and have so much trust in you. People expected things of me that I never even expected of myself that I had never imagined of myself, to this day it still feels a little bit make believe. But that was invaluable and it leaves you with this new look on life of why aren’t we having a go, why aren’t we pushing?”

“I went in as a high performance physio and came out six years later with a NBA vice presidency and I came out sitting in boardrooms learning the business of basketball because someone said well you have done that so why not give this a crack. They just keep pushing you and they place so much trust in you that you can do what they give you, further and doing more. when someone gives you that level of support it drives you.”

Chelsea saw the Golden State Warriors win the Championship twice during her time with the club.

By the end of the three years the Hawks made it through several rounds of the playoffs to compete in the Eastern Conference finals, making them one of the top four teams in the NBA that season, a crowning achievement for the club. Chelsea meanwhile had been promoted to vice president of athletic performance and sports medicine. An executive position, and one of only two women at that level.

However the drive and opportunities came with sacrifices, the job was seven days and week up to 18 hours a day. And after three years in Atlanta, Chelsea and her husband were ready to come home. Right now she’s taking a break, allowing herself time to reflect on a whirlwind six years and the lessons she has learnt. Lessons she hopes to bring to her next role in New Zealand.

“I think for me the biggest learning was around the organisation of people and how you set the bar for them. You have meet firstly as humans, if you do that there isn’t anything blocking us from connecting. There’s absolutely no reason why a white woman, half aussie half kiwi who knows nothing about basketball can go into an established organisation with all its history, and within four and a bit years be sitting at the vice presidency table when she went in as the physio. That shouldn’t work, but it did and I have had to unpack that a number of times. I think it’s because once you break it down it’s about humanity. It takes some bravery to meet someone as human because it means accepting you are one too, but once you can find that common ground with people then you can build up from there, while that might be a real challenge it’s also where the real payoff comes from.”

“I think in Aotearoa we can sometimes pigeonhole people. We say you do this, and this is what you are capable of and please don’t step outside of that. What we need to start saying to people is well how far can you go? What tools and support can we give you? Can you do that? Why don’t you try this? If you do that in your organisation everybody wins. It takes bravery and belief and huge amounts of human investment, but the payoff is that people will achieve things they never thought they were capable of. As a country we can only benefit from that.”

For those businesses starting to plan ahead with this new information, there is much to be learned from those overseas who have already begun navigating some of the more common challenges.

Kea Connect’s global community is both willing and able to offer advice to businesses in Aotearoa looking to adapt to this new normal. We spoke to several offshore Kiwi who shared advice on three common areas of concern.

Supply chain delays

With the summer holiday season fast approaching, it’s a key time of year for our business community. Ryan Bennett is based in the USA and is the Vice President of Sales at ShipHero, a leading provider of Warehouse Management Software and eCommerce Fulfillment solutions. He says many eCommerce and retail businesses are adjusting to longer lead times due to delays in shipping and planning is key.

“I see some businesses utilising air freight if their products are small, light, or of higher value, while others are ordering inventory months in advance and seeking financing options for the cost of owning stock earlier.”

Pressure on global sea freight is expected to continue

Most online retailers’ sales follow the 80/20 rule, 80% of orders come from 20% of their total SKUs. Ryan’s advice for Kiwi businesses is to order larger quantities of the top-selling 20% of items for peak season. He says New Zealand retailers shouldnt be afraid of running aggressive sales on slow-moving products (the other 80%), if the supply of goods or materials is delayed to ensure they capture much-needed revenue during peak season. “It’s critical to be flexible and quick to pivot during these unprecedented times.”

Closer to home, Melbourne businesses are reopening after enduring some of the longest lockdown periods worldwide. Kerry Osborne is a business mentor advisor working with SMEs in the Victorian capital and says supply chain issues have seen many manufacturers become less reliant on overseas imported materials.

“Manufacturers are now looking to the circular economy to supply recycled product, such as recycled plastic pellets for their goods. Also handmade and local products are really taking off both in online sales, but also within stores, as they open and use live streaming for those still unable, or unwilling to travel. I am also seeing local communities and businesses banding together to promote their food, wine and local products regionally and in urban clusters, which also uses that sustainable theme and recycling, circular economy at its heart.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade says globally the effects of Covid will continue to strain supply chains and ongoing pressure on global sea freight is expected to continue as are long standing cargo delays. This is particularly prevalent for ports along the USA West Coast. In response, businesses that usually ship to the West Coast have shifted cargo to ports along the East Coast, Gulf and Pacific Northwest.

Travel Restrictions

Difficulties around international travel continue to challenge export businesses. Whether it’s keeping front of mind with partners or securing offshore investment, it’s a frustrating environment and it’s easy for Kiwi businesses to feel left behind.

Chris Perfect helps businesses navigate risk and says there are a few tactics that Kiwi businesses can employ to make sure they stay front of mind until our borders reopen.

“Every geographic market, business segment, and industry is different. “There is no single factor that a business can rely on, but here are some themes that I’ve seen help clients navigate the pandemic to stay front of mind:

be creative – there is an ocean of samey-samey client engagement out there, even small amounts of creativity in the look and feel of engagement can make a big difference
emphasise the relationship – think personalise, empathise, energise.
don’t use guesswork – chase feedback and monitor buying patterns relentlessly. Then learn from it: be better, be more resilient.”

For businesses concerned about raising capital offshore, investor relations and marketing expert Elizabeth van Rooyen says many professionals have realised there are plenty of opportunities they can access digitally, and businesses should leverage this.

Difficulties around international travel continue to challenge export businesses

“In the venture capital world, there have been many instances of founders getting access to offshore investors through Twitter or other digital mediums that has led to funding entirely virtually. Because of this shift, investors are getting access to a whole new range of differentiated deal flow compared to the venture capital down the road from them. Business owners should take advantage of this.”

Team morale and productivity

Along with the more business focused challenges, many companies are also working out how to bring people back into the office safely and productively in the months ahead.

Chris says businesses that have done well in the USA are those that have focused on the aspirations and human concerns of their employees.

“Some workers will find returning to the workplace difficult, many have happily settled into a life of remote working, others will have concerns about the risk of contracting COVID if they return to a shared workspace. Open and frequent communication is key, emphasising the positives: increased productivity, less loneliness, and firmer boundaries between work and home life. Businesses should be ready to make reasonable accommodations. With recruiting challenges in many sectors now is time to be pragmatic rather than dogmatic.”

Former management consultant turned entertainment entrepreneur Rebecca Assice says her key tip for New Zealand businesses is to use this time to work together with your competitors to reopen your industry in the most productive and positive way possible. “Collaboration is more important than competition”.

Whatever your focus is over the next few months, remember that you are not alone. Kea Connect’s free service is happy to connect you with our global community of experts to help with the challenges facing your export business. If you would like an introduction to any of the contributors mentioned in this article, or anyone else in our international community, reach out today. To learn more about how Kea Connect can help your business and our process, see here.

We would like to thank those people from our global community of experts who helped with this article.

Ryan Bennet, VP of Sales, Fulfillment at ShipHero, USA

Rebecca Assice, Owner, Virtual Room Asia Pacific and Escape Hunt Australia & NZ, Singapore

Chris Perfect, Owner and Principal Consultant, Concept and Perspective, LLC, USA

Kerry Osborne, Lead Mentor, Managing Partner, The Leaders Mentor, Australia

Elizabeth van Rooyen, Head of Investor Relations & Marketing, Invest Unlisted, Australia

Creating a common language

Jane Henley – Founder, New Zealand Green Building Council, former CEO World Green Building Council, Kea World Class Award winner.

Kea World Class Award Winner Jane Henley — Jane Henley receives her World Class New Zealander Award

If you asked most people in New Zealand how green their homes were they probably couldn’t tell you. After all, when you think about sustainability, buildings are not the first thing that jumps to mind.

Jane Henley is working to change that, she wants all Kiwi to understand not only how sustainable their home can be but also the value that can bring. Jane says increasing people’s awareness comes down to creating a common language which can be used to talk about sustainable buildings and making sure people understand the benefits a green building can bring.

“A building will be there for 50-100 years but our thinking around buildings is often quite short term. We need people to make better decisions now for a long term future. A green sustainable building can drive down long term maintenance and running costs, it can provide a healthier home for you and your family. I think at the moment we treat our built environment like it’s a commodity – easy come easy go, and that needs to change.”

New Zealand still has a long way to go when it comes to embracing green buildings, but Jane says our passion for technology means there are lots of opportunities for innovation in the building industry.

“I want to challenge the building sector to innovate. How can a manufacturing mindset in our building industry drive productivity, efficiency and quality? My real drive is innovation and the opportunities that it brings, innovation is a vehicle for sustainability. If we can talk about decreasing costs and time and increasing efficiency across the sector then you have people’s attention a lot more than if you are just banging on about sustainability, there are so many opportunities for software, IT and automated processes.”

“I just think we can do better. I believe we have been put here to keep evolving and to keep learning and keep changing and the more that we embrace change the more opportunity there is, I challenge people to look around where they are right now and think about what went into putting that building together, how many places it came from and how many people were involved. Think about how just by making some small changes you could improve outcomes for your family and your country.”

The future of the planet is the responsibility of a collection of humans

Rose Challies – Founder Terra Nova Foundation

Rose Challies launched the Terra Nova Foundation (New Earth) in July this year. She set up the non profit foundation after spending the last 20 years working with governments, charities and businesses around the world on social and environmental impact.

The idea for the foundation had been brewing for quite some time as Rose could see many people wanted to do something to help the planet but just didn’t know where to start.

“What we are trying to do is to show people their options and make it easy for people to take that first step. Our process is about empowerment, we are not going to do the work for you but we will show you where to start and connect you to action you can take. We use quite sophisticated data models to track and measure the work that’s being done so people can really see they are making a difference.”

Rose says the biggest problems Aotearoa is facing is the decline of our biodiversity and our native species.

“We need to address how we are living, we have to turn that decline around or else we are imminently going to lose a lot of our natural assets, that’s a big issue. We are also becoming more and more disconnected with the planet so we have to address that. Aotearoa is really lucky in the sense that we have a really strong cultural underpinning to our sustainability story. A lot of global sustainability concepts are captured in Māori values and beliefs. We are so lucky to have these and we need to respect, listen and take guidance from them.”

Rose says there are several things people can do immediately to help the planet.

“The first part is to reduce what we use, then look at what we are producing and using and how we can do that better. We need to take up this opportunity. We need to slow down our consumption; sustainability doesn’t become meaningful until we can come back to one earth – right now we are on track to having a consumption rate requiring five planets worth of resources, it doesn’t add up.”

And when it comes to leading the change in the fight against climate change, Rose doesn’t see any one body or organisation as responsible, rather she takes the view that we should all be engaged.

“I see us as a collection of humans, we all have our own areas of influence and special skills. So for example, if you are in Government or run a business then you can contribute in that way. I think it has to be everyone doing their bit, sharing their resources and maximising their use for the benefit of the planet. If you have no resources but you care, then care really well. I don’t see it as government change or business change per se, I see it as just people change.”

Massive disruption is underway

Jacqui Macalister, Director, Sustainable Finance at Bank of New Zealand

Jacqui started working in sustainability in the early 2000’s first for an NGO and then for McDonalds where she built the sustainability team. She moved from there to become the Global Head of Health and Sustainability at Ikea before coming back to Aotearoa and setting up a consulting business helping SME’s work on their sustainability journey. Then she was approached by BNZ.

“I had never thought about going into sustainable finance as I didn’t have a finance background so being approached for the role was completely unexpected but I quickly realised that green finance is really important. If we are to meet the climate goals we are going to need money.”

Nowadays Jacqui puts her energy into helping businesses achieve their sustainability goals and raising the bar when it comes to what more they can do.

“We are trying to provide more incentive to go further, faster, by providing more finance to help businesses reach their sustainability goals. This can include things like preferential loan rates and financial advice, we find a bit of incentive really galvanises people internally to achieve their goals. It also allows us to take companies a bit beyond their comfort goals to achieve a bit more than they would have normally done.”

Jacqui says that all sectors need to be working towards a more sustainable future because internationally every sector is being disrupted.

“We don’t always see the extent of the disruption here because we are a bit cut off, a bit more remote but there is a massive disruption underway. For a competitive advantage New Zealand business should really stretch themselves and aim for those difficult goals.”

She believes that New Zealand’s entrepreneurial and innovative mindset gives Kiwi businesses a big advantage in leading the charge for sustainable growth.

“I think what New Zealand really has going in its favour is that once we understand something and the penny drops we tend to really go for it. The opportunities for Aotearoa are vast. For example we have one of the best ETS systems for forestry in the world. We have an agricultural industry that’s really hell bent on moving from volume to value so will be producing a better quality product with high environmental standards, and we have lots of opportunities in the field of nutraceuticals – natural products and what can be extracted from those for skincare through to medicine. These are just a few examples off the top of my head but there are many more. We really are uniquely poised to capitalise on these.”

People are hungry for solutions

Rebecca Percasky – Founder Better Packaging

Rebecca has always been passionate about sustainability and has a background in technology. She was working in the ecommerce space when she realised that there had to be a better way to ship products without creating such huge amounts of waste.

“It really started to sit quite heavily on me, the amount of waste that was being created and I couldn’t be a part of that anymore. I started thinking about alternative solutions and over time The Better Packaging Company was born.”

The Better Packaging Co. produces a range of recycled or compostable packaging options, and for the past three years has seen 200% growth year on year. Rebecca attributes that growth to the fact consumers are demanding change and voting with their wallets.

“There aren’t any more excuses. The solutions that we have are so superior to the unsustainable alternatives. Brands have to get on board. But change needs to be easy. Our products are similar to many of the non sustainable ones our businesses are already using – they perform in the same way so it’s easy for them to switch over.”

Rebecca’s company isn’t just looking at reducing waste, they have also recently launched a project which takes sustainability one step further.

“We have just started making packaging out of ocean bound plastics in Indonesia. We are working with communities in disadvantaged areas and paying them a fair wage to collect pollution on the beaches and around the oceans and rivers and then turning that pollution into packaging. So we are using packaging to not only clean up our oceans but also to create sustainable communities and lift people up out of poverty.”

Rebecca says the sustainable packaging industry is fairly new and this provides huge opportunities for New Zealand.

“I can see us creating an innovative packaging hub in New Zealand, the industry is so new, everyone is experimenting and we need all that thinking and technology to make the impact required, it’s an incredible opportunity for some really innovative solutions and for Kiwi to step up and lead the way”

“My hope for the future is a circular model, where we place a value on waste, because once we value it then we will use it a lot more carefully. I think in time we will look back on using virgin plastic in the same way we look back at smoking on airplanes, with disbelief that we ever did that.”

World Expos are held every five years to encourage innovation and cooperation. From October 2021 – March 2022 Expo 2020 will bring together the world’s leading innovators and thought-leaders on themes impacting our planet.

The explosion of digital has undoubtedly changed the landscape of marketing. However for veteran marketer Richard Bleasdale it’s been a double edged sword.

“While there have been benefits, I think what digital has done to a large extent, is enabled and driven a massive focus on efficiency and cost cutting which has resulted in a lot of short term thinking and weirdly also a lot of siloed behaviour. It’s allowed for everyone to be a little master of their own destiny and has in turn driven a lot of disintegration in the marketing world.”

Richard has worked in marketing for thirty years and says it’s time marketers started thinking less about efficiency and more about effectiveness.

“It’s a subtle but important difference. I think the job of marketing is growth. That’s why you market. The focus isn’t about saving money, it’s about getting the best return from the money you spend. There is no doubt that across the last 10-15 years marketing spend has become less and less effective.”

Richard says the problem has been highlighted by a global pandemic which no one could have predicted but which has left a lot of businesses scrambling.

“We’ve got a cohort of marketers that have been coming through for the last 10-15 years that are so focused on short term marketing and efficiency, now in the midst of a pandemic marketing has to be about growth, but the problem is none of these marketers, through any fault of their own are set up to take the opportunity that is in front of them.”

He’s urging Kiwi businesses to take a step back and think about how their marketing plans are set up to serve them in three or five years time, not in the next quarter or half year.

“It sounds incredibly basic, but it’s really about taking a step back and deciding what you want to do at a strategic level. Marketing has become so tactical and everyone is looking at the week to week or month to month or quarter to quarter picture but you need to sit down and look at a three year and a five year plan. Then find the right agency or partner to come with you on that journey. We are seeing people partner with an agency for short term business or on a 12 month contract. My advice is always to find a good agency partner for the long term and find a way to give them skin in the game, to benefit from your success.”

Richard hopes that post Covid there will be a shift back towards growth and effectiveness, a move back to what marketing should be about.

“The biggest mistake I see people make is that they consider marketing as a cost, not a long term investment. The industry these days is all about transformation. The trick is to try and not conquer the world overnight, instead take something small and trial it, but importantly make a long term commitment to it.”

And he says big budgets are not a barrier to good marketing, in fact Richard feels that the smaller budgets of Kiwi businesses can in fact be a benefit.

“Budget is an excuse, just because you don’t have lots of money doesn’t mean you can’t have really effective advertising, that’s why NZ marketing sits on a global stage. There are not huge amounts of cash, you have to make great effective advertising on smaller budgets so you get more creative and you think harder.”

Richard is just one of Kea’s many ‘solvers’ – Kiwi who are keen to provide advice and mentoring to other Kiwi businesses through our free Kea Connect service. If you’d like to speak to Richard or any of our other solvers then get in touch with Kea Connect today

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