WOODS Founder and managing director, Reuben Woods. Photo / Supplied
The creative team at WOODS Agency have been named as finalists for an unprecedented eight entries across five categories at the Best Design Awards 2022.
The awards, presented by the Designers Institute of New Zealand, recognise the best creative work produced throughout Aotearoa and Australia in the past 12 months.
Based in Mount Maunganui and Tairāwhiti Gisborne, WOODS Agency is the only regional agency to place as a finalist.
Founder and managing director, Reuben Woods, said the team was delighted to be shortlisted for many award categories during what has been a challenging year for the economy.
"Entering these awards was important for our team and our clients. We know that we create world-class strategies and creative, and the results for our clients have been outstanding.
"This is a testament to our teams' talent and the willingness of the businesses we work with. It also shows how successful the business environment is in the regions," he says.
"Key to this success is our open and collaborative relationships with our awesome clients. This established trust allows the team to push the boundaries and create outstanding creative with real impact."
WOODS Agency specialises in partnering with brands driving meaningful social and behavioural change in Aotearoa.
The agency was a finalist in the Large Brand Identity and the Colour Award Graphics categories for its work on the Western Bay of Plenty District Council's rebrand.
It was also a finalist in the Small Brand Identity and the Public Good Award for its work put into branding for the Young Innovator Award (YIA).
"YIA is close to our hearts. We co-founded the programme 12 years ago to foster a culture of innovation amongst rangatahi in our region and remain major sponsors of the annual event," Woods said.
"We were excited to have the chance to rebrand YIA for the first time since its inception. We wanted to reflect both the changing world our rangatahi are living in and the opportunities these changes create to express themselves through innovation.
"It's the icing on the cake to be placed in the finals for this type of mahi, and this means so much to our whole team.
"Placing as the only finalists outside of the main centres is a huge honour."
The agency was also a finalist in the Large Brand Identity & Colour Award Graphics, Small Brand Identity and Self Promotion for its work with Ōtūmoetai College, Pāpāmoa Boardriders Club and WOODS Christmas Gift 2021.
The Best Awards will be presented in October.
New scholarship offers support for rising property and business stars
Local property and business industry advocates Urban Task Force for Tauranga (UTF), has established a new Leader Development Scholarship to encourage, support and retain skilled young businesspeople in the Bay of Plenty.
The new scholarship will offer the successful applicant a seat on the UTF Board, a career mentor in their chosen field and a financial contribution towards further study.
UTF chairman Scott Adams said the growth of people was key to the growth of the city.
"We recognise that in promoting and celebrating young leaders, we have the opportunity to not only grow their skillset, but to encourage them to engage with the city in a more profound way; to be truly invested in the future of Tauranga and to remain in the region long-term."
The scholarship recipient will also be offered a financial contribution from the UTF towards further study or qualifications as appropriate.
Applications for the UTF Leader Development Scholarship were now open to candidates based in the Bay of Plenty. Completed forms must be received by October 7.
The successful applicant will be announced at the UTF Annual General Meeting on November 30.
New social media platform to increase voter engagement
Award-winning Rotorua-based app development company Salt + Tonic has released a new social media platform that aims to increase voter engagement ahead of the upcoming local election.
Its new EngageMe app aims to enable a future-focused and technology-driven solution to voter engagement in their communities, as well as reduce the environmental impact of traditional campaigning.
When local district councils choose to set up the app for their region, EngageMe provides the opportunity for locals of any age, interests or concerns to explore, research and ask questions of candidates directly.
Candidates can answer questions directly and anyone in the community can see their answers. Searchable by candidate or by topic, the app aims to provide a shift in the way voters can learn about their potential future representatives.
Salt + Tonic was the winner of the 2021 Tompkins Wake Rotorua Business Award for Innovation and Technology.
Founder Matt Browning said for several election cycles it had been frustrating and challenging to see a lack of voter engagement, particularly among young people, who he said were one of the most under-represented groups in local body politics.
"Reading endless mailbox pamphlet drops is not the way to connect with people who are constantly on the move and rely on their smartphones to stay digitally connected to what matters in the world around them."
EngageMe strategy director Tash McGill said it would love to see all New Zealanders engaged with their community representation, whether it was a school board election, local or central government.
"Ultimately, we want good outcomes for our communities and our neighbourhoods — and billboards no longer do the job.
"People want to know who they are voting for and what they stand for, they want to know their vote will make a difference."
Top developer's headquarters up for sale
A multi-tenanted Mount Maunganui office block anchored by one of the country's top building and development companies has been put up for sale.
The three-storey commercial building on a freehold corner site on Totara St was built in 2020 by Form Building & Developments for use as its head office, with four other tenancies fully leased to national and international businesses, one currently subleasing.
The five tenancies have an average lease term of 7.8 years.
With a team of more than 170, Form Building & Development is behind major projects - including retail, office fitouts, multi-storey apartments, school buildings and industrial facilities - across Auckland, Bay of Plenty and Waikato.
Its Tauranga and Bay of Plenty projects include the Mount Central retail complex on Maunganui Rd, high-end apartment blocks, one of New Zealand's largest kiwifruit post-harvest facilities in Tauriko, and a major mussel processing plant in Ōpōtiki.
The other tenants include agricultural processors ADM New Zealand, school administration and student management software provider KAMAR, log exporting service provider PFP, and resource management and planning consultancy Mitchell Daysh.
The property at 33 Totara St is being marketed for sale by negotiation, through Rory Brown and Lloyd Davidson of Bayleys Tauranga.
Bay businesses expect New Zealand's economy to decline over the next year
Some Bay of Plenty businesses are not confident about the future of New Zealand's economy, a new survey has revealed.
The new data was revealed in business management platform MYOB's SME Snapshot – a survey of more than 500 local small-to-medium businesses.
The survey showed 71 per cent of Bay businesses expected the economy to decline over the next year - 39 per cent in the region expected that decline to be significant.
Revenue performance in the last 12 months for the region was fairly evenly split between businesses whose revenue had declined (45 per cent) and businesses that have seen revenue stay the same of the last year (42 per cent).
MYOB head of go-to-market, Jo Tozer, said its latest SME Snapshot insights painted a troubling picture for local businesses facing a perfect storm of pressures.
"Between the impacts of inflation, ongoing supply disruptions, employee sickness and the very real challenge of finding staff, it's little wonder that SME confidence has now dipped close to what we saw as New Zealand entered its first lockdown."
Leading legal practitioner appointed
Tauranga City Council has announced the appointment of local barrister and solicitor Simon Collett to work with its legal team.
Collett will be on contract initially for two days a week, which was likely to increase to three days a week from November.
Council chief executive Marty Grenfell said Collett had taken up a senior legal advisor role and will support the work of the council's existing legal team leaders and the general manager of corporate services, as well as providing high-level commercial, contracts and property advice.
"Simon has been a partner at Holland Beckett for the past 16 years and continues in that role.
"He has acknowledged expertise in commercial property transactions and negotiations, property financing, commercial structuring and commercial contracts, all of which will be of particular value to council."
Leaders of the future give back
Twenty migrant and refugee families settling in Hamilton were gifted bikes as part of a Leadership programme run by the University of Waikato's Management School.
About 80 Year 13 students from across Waikato and Bay of Plenty came together this week for the Waikato Management School (WMS) Leadership Academy Summit Day. They heard about leading with compassion and empathy from celebrity speakers Mike King and Richie Barnett and spoke about personal self-assessment.
A surprise bike-building activity also taught students about the importance of working together, while giving back to the community.
Students grouped together to build 20 children's bikes, donated by The Perry Charitable Trust and heavily discounted by Torpedo7. The completed bikes were checked over by Torpedo7 mechanics to ensure they were roadworthy and ready to be presented to families at the Hamilton Multicultural Services Trust.
Throughout the programme, students benefit from world-class leadership concepts and training from WMS staff and executive fellow and Alum Jamie Fitzgerald. They also complete the WMS flagship first-year paper, Introduction to Leadership Communication, which means they will already have one paper if they go to university.
The pilot will conclude with a final hub day in Tauranga in September.
Just $53,000 in assets as liquidators work to sell what they can.