Published Work
NZ Herald | 5 Feb 2016
Bunnings a Jack-of-all-trades; Masters a master of none
The demise of Woolworths' Australian hardware experiment, Masters, is not going to devastate too many customers because not too many customers ever went to Masters…
NZ Herald | 20 Jan 2016
The Good Beer Co. brews for a good cause
Most of us start the New Year with grand resolutions, but not too many of those ambitions see the light of day.
NZ Herald | 2 Sep 2015
Quintessentially Kiwi Clip 'n Climb strikes an Aussie chord
Several months ago, I came across a New Zealand business in Australia by pure accident. It was a birthday party for a friend's teenage daughter at Clip 'n Climb, and it's such a quintessentially Kiwi business that learning about its heritage came as no surprise…
NZ Herald | 4 Aug 2015
GST thresholds no deterrent to online shopping
Forgive me if I'm missing a much bigger picture here but changing the GST threshold of overseas online goods won't in any way deter me from spending my money online overseas…
NZ Herald | 29 Jul 2015
More bang than whimper in Australia please
Social media is a media darling when it comes to column inches. So, you could be forgiven for thinking it's the only media channel a company needs to reap mega rewards. In fact, it couldn't be further from the truth…
NZ Herald | 2 Jul 2015
Brand building necessity for Australian architectural firms
Not too long ago, professional services firms were like the poor cousins of product and retail firms when it came to effective and strategic marketing.
NZ Herald | 26 May 2015
Refocusing on Aussie's baby category
I'm not a huge fan of social media from a business perspective, despite the fact that I do use it personally…
NZ Herald | 28 Apr 2015
The ugly side of design in Australia
Several times a year Australia plays hosts to trade shows many New Zealand businesses use to launch their brand here.
NZ Herald | 14 Apr 2015
Aussie's Freedom Furniture on going native in NZ
Every week I write about the New Zealand experience of doing business in Australia. This week I thought I'd look at the view from the other side and how an Australian brand adapts in a Kiwi environment…
NZ Herald | 31 Mar 2015
Australia one of Blunt's easiest markets
When I was still at school and earning meager babysitting wages, Country Road was selling $50 umbrellas. I remember those so clearly as, at the time, it seemed an extraordinary amount to pay for something so disposable.
NZ Herald | 25 Mar 2016
Final lifeline for Pumpkin Patch?
The recent talk of a Pumpkin Patch takeover feels like a lucky lifeline and possibly the company's last chance for survival.
NZ Herald | 17 Mar 2015
Change brewing as Coffee Supreme goes into Brisbane
When I asked my local Melbourne café if they'd heard of a kiwi brand called Coffee Supreme, they said "Er, yes. Not only do we know it, but you've been drinking it every day for two years…"
NZ Herald | 4 Mar 2015
From wholesaler to retailer, Citta has designs on Australia
New Zealand's Citta Design has been wholesaling in Australia for ten years and made the move into retailing just one year ago…
NZ Herald | 10 Feb 2015
Aussie thirst grows kiwi Karma Cola brand
I only found out about Karma Cola's existence a few weeks ago when a colleague in New Zealand asked me to send around the job spec for Australian National Sales Manager…
NZ Herald | 3 Feb 2015
Accenture Digital acquires Aussie firm founded by Kiwis
About one month ago an update by a colleague, Tim O'Neill, came through my LinkedIn feed announcing that the digital agency he co-founded had just been bought by Accenture…
NZ Herald | 7 Jan 2015
Ten tips for Australia business success
I've been working with and writing about New Zealand companies in Australia for quite a few years…
Stuff | 7 Nov 2014
Mixing Aussie ruthlessness with Kiwi grit
My Australian clients and colleagues have been listening to me prattling on about New Zealand companies for a number of years now…
Stuff | 7 Oct 2014
We can't cook - and food brands love it
According to recent research that will surprise no one, we’re all getting lazier when it comes to creating nutritious meals from scratch…
Stuff | 28 Aug 2014
All Blacks winning brand war
With my (pathetically) limited knowledge of sport, even I knew to look no further than the mighty All Blacks for my Australian marketing column this week…
Stuff | 12 Aug 2014
Bad eggs lead to mistrust of brands
This week in New Zealand, you'd be forgiven for taking your time in the egg section of the supermarket…
Stuff | 1 Aug 2014
Xero leading way in Australia
In Australia, in terms of brand awareness, Xero is just as big a brand as it is in New Zealand…
Stuff | 15 Jul 2014
Whittaker's secret weapon
Writing this fortnightly column about New Zealand brands in Australia is a tough gig. Even for a hardened marketer like myself, I can't help but take personal interest in the companies I write about…
Stuff | 17 Jun 2014
Kiwi universities should target Australian students
An article in the papers here in Australia last week reported that it was cheaper for rural Australian students to complete their degrees overseas, including all costs to live on campus…
Stuff | 4 Jun 2014
Leadership change an interesting time
A change in senior leadership in any company is an interesting time and throws up all kinds of scenarios and questions about what the long term plans are…
Stuff | 6 May 2014
Bringing the power of choice to Australia
I've just become one of the 10,000 or so Australians who switched electricity providers to Powershop. It is a brand that's likely to be familiar to most of you Kiwis, but here in Australia it's still a very new name in a recently deregulated market…
Stuff | 8 Apr 2014
Time for change at Pumpkin Patch
Five years ago I wrote a blog post about New Zealand children's retailer Pumpkin Patch. I thought the brand had lost its way and that its former glory as beloved New Zealand company founded by Sally Synott in 1990, was fading…
Stuff | 25 Mar 2014
A2 milk story wins greater market share
New Zealand's A2 Corporation (A2C) is working some serious brand magic - in spite of the debate about the health benefits of their a2 milk…
Stuff | 13 Jan 2014
Fashion's rocky road
Over the last few weeks I've been browsing up a storm at online fashion retailers around the world, comparing the goods and winter sales of favourite designers at Barneys, Matches, Browns, Outnet, SSense and many more…
Stuff | 9 Dec 2013
Warney deal smart for Moa
Australia’s favourite larrikin Shane “Warney” Warne has just undergone another transformation. This time he is doing his bit for trans-Tasman relations as a craft beer connoisseur with his own label, 99 Not Out, made in partnership with New Zealand brewers Moa…
Stuff | 27 Nov 2013
NZ story confusing
The 100% Pure New Zealand brand has been a powerful one, executed beautifully ever since it first launched in 1999. In the early years of the campaign, Tourism Australia had plenty to be envious of…
Stuff | 11 Nov 2013
Manufacturers the unsung heroes
Manufacturers are too often the quiet achievers in the world of brand and marketing…
Stuff | 1 Nov 2013
Kiwi icon’s checkered road ahead
In 2007, defending his decision to move manufacturing to China, Swanndri’s former chief executive Julian Bowden said that if any product deserved to be called a Kiwi legend, it was the Swanndri…
Stuff | 7 Oct 2013
Plastic fantastic branding
At a business lunch in Australia last week the topic of conversation turned to the troubled local manufacturing sector…
Stuff | 17 Sep 2013
Toe-to-toe in tough Aussie market
Women and shoes - a love affair that knows no bounds. The pain we endure to look good in a pair of heels is enough to make any podiatrist cry. (Or maybe laugh and open another clinic.)
Stuff | 2 Sep 2013
Seedling grows Aussie market
If you’ve ever been into a toy shop or wandered through the children’s section of a department store, you’ll know all about consumer choice…
Stuff | 5 Jul 2013
Business with Australia: The long distance relationship
In the fifth and final part of the Business with Australia series, I ask New Zealand exporters whether the long distance relationship can work…
Stuff | 28 Jun 2013
Business with Australia: culture clash
New Zealand's sense of humour, lifestyle and early heritage may not be too different to Australia's, but business culture in the two countries is not the same.
Stuff | 21 Jun 2013
Business with Australia: proud Kiwis?
One of the things New Zealanders do well is laugh at themselves. Maybe it’s part of that mythical tall poppy syndrome, or maybe cynicism is in the water…
Stuff | 20 Jun 2013
Business with Australia: homework
Going into a meeting unprepared is a business executive’s recurring nightmare. So why would you enter a new international market without local knowledge? You wouldn’t, say New Zealand exporters to Australia
Stuff | 10 Jun 2013
Business with Australia: A right time?
Although there was no single 'lightbulb moment' that sparked the move beyond New Zealand, those taking on the Australian market all have a critical piece of advice: don’t do it by half.
Stuff | 16 Apr 2013
Kiwi business loses mojo in Oz
New Zealand once appeared to have the magic formula for launching innovative businesses in Australia…