Business and industry events
Upcoming events | Recent events
Business and industry events contribute to the economic
vitality of the city. They are a key platform that position Auckland both
nationally and internationally as a desirable place to do business. They
encourage business opportunities and growth, develop industry sectors, share
innovation and showcase Auckland's industries.
We look to support business and industry events that:
- profile Auckland city's business and industry sectors
- align with our economic development goals
- support business growth and networking
- support and encourage innovation and creativity.
Upcoming events
KICKSTART your business idea
Thursday 5 November 2009
7.40am - 4.30pm
The ICEHOUSE , St Georges Bay Road, Parnell
Cost: $250 + GST
The KICKSTART Seminar is packed full of tips from experts and entrepreneurs who know how to commercialise your venture.
The seminar covers the business fundamentals of:
- Sales
- Market validation
- IP
- Financials.
This interactive, day-long workshop will help you fast-track your start-up business.
To register or for more information contact Mariko King on 09 308 6200 or visit the ICEHOUSE
website (www.theicehouse.co.nz/tabid/131/Default.aspx).
Global women inaugural forum - Thinking Globally
Tuesday 17 November 2009
8.45am - 7.30pm (registration from 8am)
Owen Glenn Building
Business School
The University of Auckland
12 Grafton Road, Auckland
Cost: $495.00 plus GST
Thinking Globally
New Zealand Global Women is holding its inaugural forum, Thinking Globally, in Auckland on November 17. It offers businesswomen from all walks of life the opportunity to hear from, and network with, some of New Zealand's best business minds, women who are taking on the world and winning.
How did Wendy Pye create a $100m a year publishing empire in the United States?
How did Rt Hon Dame Jenny Shipley break into some of the most powerful companies in China or Mary Devine turn Ezibuy into a market leader in Australia?
Find out at New Zealand's most prestigious women's networking event.
MC Carol Hirschfeld will lead you through a range of presentations, breakout workshops and Q&A sessions.
Get up close with business leaders including:
- Mai Chen, Founding Partner of New Zealand Public Law Specialists Chen Palmer
- Theresa Gattung, Chair Wool Partners International
- Annah Stretton, CEO Stretton Clothing & Stretton Publishing
Thinking Globally offers international connections, inspiration and mentoring for women from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Don't
miss out on the event of the year!
For more information see
NZ Global Women.
WHK Gosling Chapman High Impact Programme
Applications are now open for the ICT High Impact programme.
Up to fifteen innovative ICT businesses will be selected to participate in the next programme commencing November 2009 in Auckland Central.
There is no cost to attend as it will be fully funded by New Zealand Trade & Enterprise under the Enterprise Training Programme.
Programme modules
Made up of four workshops and one-on-one follow up coaching sessions, the programme will cover the following key business development areas:
| Day one |
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Wednesday 4 November 2009 |
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9am - 4.30pm |
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Marketing Strategy and Tactics |
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| Day two |
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Wednesday 11 November 2009 |
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9am - 4.30pm |
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Strategy Branding and Pricing |
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| Day three |
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Wednesday 18 November 2009 |
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9am - 4.30pm |
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Raising Capital |
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| Day four |
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Wednesday 25 November 2009 |
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9am - 4.30pm |
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Your Persuasive Sales Pitch |
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Applications close 28 October 2009.
Entry is by application only.
To find out more about the course content and how to apply email jacinta.clark@whkgc.com, call 09 958 8507, or visit
the
programme website.
ICT High Flyer Programme
ICT High Flyer is an advanced training programme fully funded by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.
It is available for small to medium business owners and managers who wish to improve their business acumen.
For more information or to register your interest for the 2010 series email
info@enterprisetraining.co.nz or visit
www.whkbusinessgrowth.com.
Recent events
Celebrating the BeST in design
16 October 2009
Auckland Museum
BeSt Design Awards
New Zealand designers buck the recession with entries into national design awards BeST yet in award programme's 21 year history
Designers around the country will be crossing their fingers this month in the hope of picking up one of the country's most prestigious design accolades, the BeST Design Awards, New Zealand's preeminent national design awards.
Finalists of the awards, which are organised by the Designers Institute of New Zealand and supported by Auckland City Council, have just been announced with the winners to be revealed at a glittering black tie awards ceremony in Auckland on 16 October.
If award entries are anything to go by, the recession hasn't put a damper on the New Zealand design industry, with this year's awards recognising New Zealand's very best graphic, product and spatial (interior) design's from the past year shaping up to be the best yet.
With an impressive 590 designs received, award entries are at one of the highest levels ever seen in the award programmes' impressive 21 year history.
Cathy Veninga, Chief Executive Officer of the Designers Institute says that as well as seeing an increase in the number of entries, the quality of the designs entered were of the
'highest standard ever seen', which, she says, is a reflection of the coming of age of New Zealand's creative industries.
"New Zealand has a pool of outstanding design talent as evidenced by the sheer number and quality of designs submitted into this year's awards. We've seen huge growth in the design industry over the past few years, both in terms of the number of people employed in the creative sectors and the quality of the designs being produced."
In Auckland city alone, where the number of people working in the creative sector currently stands at 15,991, employment in the design field grew 63 per cent between 2000 and 2008.
Veninga says that increasingly New Zealand design was receiving international recognition and praise.
"Whereas previously people would look to established design markets such as
Milan, Paris or New York for examples of great design, New Zealand is now making
its mark and has developed an international reputation for producing innovative,
world class designs."
Veninga says Kiwi designers were known for having a 'can do' attitude and were able to adapt quickly to the changing market, which had enabled many of them to thrive in what has been a tough environment over the past 18 months.
BeST Design Award finalists can be viewed online
www.bestawards.co.nz.
Australian Economic Stimulus Package Opportunities Forum, Auckland
New Zealand Trade & Enterprise hosted a forum for New Zealand businesses to learn about and discuss the $42 billion Australian Economic Stimulus Package, and other opportunities across the Tasman.
The programme included:
- overview of the Australian Economic Stimulus Package
- short and long term projects
- building knowledge of the Australian construction and engineering markets
- tools available to help companies in identifying and pursuing opportunities
- demonstration of ProjectLink, a resource dedicated to project updates on processing, engineering, building and construction
- Industry Capability Network and other contacts
exploring existing engagements that New Zealand companies have in Australia.
Taking on the world: New Zealand's best businesses
30 September 2009
Winners of the New Zealand International Business Awards 2009 were announced on 30 September 2009.
The New Zealand International Business Awards are organised by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise with Strategic Partner ANZ.
Judges' Supreme Award winner
- Beca - Judges' Supreme Award for International Business
General categories
Best business operating internationally - under $10m
- Pitango Innovative Cuisine Ltd
Best business operating internationally - $10m to $50m
Best business operating internationally - over $50m
Special categories
Most innovative approach to international business
Best use of design in international business
Best commercialisation of intellectual property in international business
Best use of research and development in international business, supported by TechNZ
Leadership categories
Emerging international business leader
Outstanding international business leader
Get a glimpse of fashion's future - the emerging, the outstanding, the brave, the talent - at AUT
ROOKIE fashion show 2009
Thursday 15 October
2009
St Pauls Church of Fashion
Symonds Street, Auckland
AUT ROOKIE fashion show 2009
Even New Zealand's best known designers didn't start out with their own label and regular runway shows, which is why Auckland City Council has been making an investment in young design talent as part of its contribution to the city's Economic Development Strategy under the action plan:
Blueprint: Growing Auckland's creative industries.
AUT University staff and students contribute a massive investment of time and energy to produce Rookie fashion show, a professional catwalk show each year. For the students it is an opportunity to experience the challenges of producing a full, runway-ready collection and cope with the pressures of meeting the exacting standards that are expected by the industry.
Selection for the show is limited to 25 final year design students thereby making the cut fiercely contested. The bringing together of three crucial elements of success; exposure, experience and opportunity make AUT Rookie a unique learning environment. AUT Rookie will show on 15 October and due to previous sell-outs, scheduling of an additional show will ensure everyone has the opportunity to experience it for themselves.
In addition to AUT Rookie, council also offers The Business of Fashion workshop developed with Dianne Ludwig. This specialised workshop is offered to final year design students at AUT University and Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design to yield a host of business savvy design graduates.
Led by Ludwig who has been advising and mentoring the fashion industry for over 15 years, this year's workshop on 28 October will feature industry guest speakers Murray Bevan, director of
Showroom 22, and leading New Zealand designers Marc Moore and Luke Harwood from
Stolen Girlfriends Club.
Council's sponsorship of the AUT Rookie fashion show is part of a wider commitment to fostering the growth of creative industries and to investing in the fashion industry. With 46 per cent of the national creative sector employment in the city, Auckland truly is the home of New Zealand's creative industries.
Auckland City Council is a longstanding supporter of Fashion Institute New Zealand, the voice of the fashion sector and wider apparel industry in its delivery of sustainable economic, creative and cultural contributions to New Zealand.
Council also supports New Zealand Fashion Week, which contributes millions of dollars to the city's economy each year, and views the work with design students as a concrete commitment to the future of the New Zealand fashion industry.
To find out more about AUT Rookie visit
www.autrookie.co.nz.
Purchase tickets at www.ticketmaster.co.nz/
Tech Ed 2009
Return of the techies
14-16 September 2009
SkyCity Convention Centre
Tech Ed 2009.
Microsoft Tech.Ed is New Zealand's largest education, training and networking event for the ICT sector.
IT professionals will get new insights into hosting, virtualisation and reducing costs. Developers will get hands-on time with new tools.
The 2009 event is shaping up to be bigger and better than ever, with over 100 national and international speakers, hands-on-labs, a large exhibitor marketplace, and several social networking events, including Techfest. For more information or to register visit
www.microsoft.co.nz/teched.
ICT is a key sector in the Auckland economy with over 2,500 businesses and more than 18,000 employees.
2009 Qantas Film and Television Awards
2009 Qantas Film and Television Awards
The Qantas Film and Television Awards celebrated the success in New Zealand film, television, documentary and news and current affairs, as well as the talents of New Zealand's leading lights in both film and television.
Held at The Civic theatre in early September, the success of the 2008 awards were followed up with two awards ceremonies which reflected the diversity and strength of the talent in the New Zealand screen production industry. The Hon John Banks QSO, Mayor of Auckland presented the Best Feature Film Under $1million, which was awarded to The Topp Twins Untouchable Girls.
Despite the current economic climate, it was particularly encouraging to see the high number of entries in the feature film categories. This shows people working in the industry believe their efforts are worth celebrating. In recognising the best and the brightest, the awards celebrate the contribution this industry makes to the New Zealand economy and to our international reputation.
Auckland City Council is proud to play a supporting role in the New Zealand screen production industry and is committed to ensuring a sustainable screen production industry in the region. Auckland city is the major centre for television employment, with 81 per cent of the national total. The city also has over 30 per cent of the national employment in the film and video sector.
Auckland City Council recognises the economic, creative, and dynamic contribution the screen production industry gives our city. The support of the 2009 Qantas Film and Television Awards contributes to the city's
Economic Development Strategy under the action plan:
Blueprint: Growing Auckland's creative industries.
Making shifts happen in brands
Duke Stump
"Look at me" branding has given way to meaningful dialogue between brands and their customers. And taking inspiration from nature will help create sustainable brands that draw people to them, and are inherently sustainable.
These were some of the pointers provided by US-based brand architect Duke Stump (www.thenorthstarmanifesto.com) at Semi Permanent 09 and in an Auckland City Council workshop (the Sustainable Brands 09 Outreach) in August. Mr Stump challenged the audience to take a pause, step back, and seize a different approach in brand development.
Under the title of "Shift Happens", he urged brand builders to be audacious about building genuine principles of sustainability into brands. He said a new approach to brand building could be applied to cities too.
"If you're branding a city," he said, "as Auckland will soon be doing with the unification of councils, make the city a place of inspiration. Ask yourselves: what are we really good at? What are our passion and our aptitude? What is the nexus between what the city's strengths are, and what the local or global stakeholders need (e.g. food, water, land, transportation, health etc), and rally people around that."
Mr Stump argued that sustainable brands of the future were 'beyond green' and were about a shift in the actions of companies (or cities)
- what companies actually do and the effect they have, rather than what they say.
"Strong sustainable brands are incredibly transparent. They are about creating meaningful, relevant, trusted relationships," he said. Giving as an example California outdoor clothing company Patagonia (www.Patagonia.com) which he dubbed
"conscious capitalism" because of its efforts to document where every item of clothing had come from in its manufacture, Duke said:
"They have created the 'footprint chronicles' - complete transparency in all
they do in terms of CO2 emissions, carbon footprint and so on. They also tell
you what's good and what's bad about them."
"Green principles" and "Sustainability" become brand drivers rather than anchors where companies are transparent, he argued.
Mr Stump outlined five beliefs and five principles of a sustainable, trusted and relevant brand.
Five beliefs
- Building bonfires with soul. Sustainable brands build bonfires with soul where all stakeholders are passionate.
- A different lens. Sustainable brands see the world through a different lens. A Japanese farmer Stump admires did not use pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers. Yet his farm produced more and better crops than any other farm around him.
"He saw the world differently," said Stump.
- A wider lens. Sustainable brands see the world holistically - as a whole.
They have a full appreciation of biodiversity and place humanity first. Duke
says - "Place humanity in your every deliberation."
- Aim for icebergs. Sustainable brands see the tip of something new, and don't disregard it. US companies Pixar and Seventh Generation are examples. Pixar saw opportunities Disney did not, and seized them.
- Empathy for the 'we' generation. Sustainable brands understand the 'we' generation (1976 to 1996).
"These young people don't define success as doing better than their parents. They believe in environmental stewardship and social justice," he says.
Five principles
- It begins inside. Great brands have great cultures. Human capital is the basis of brand capital.
- Inspiration overcomes desperation. Great brands play to their strengths. They play to win, rather than not to lose.
- See, feel, change. Master the art of storytelling by getting folks to see the vision of the brand and opportunity, in a way that they feel it
- and are subsequently moved to change.
- Nature as a mentor. Nature's principles can inform thinking in a way that helps create thriving, living cultures.
- Trust equals authenticity. Great brands recognise people don't want perfection
- they want honesty.
ATAMIRA Māori in the City
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| ATAMIRA Māori in the City. |
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ATAMIRA - Māori in the City, the celebration of Māori creativity and enterprise, returned to the ASB Showgrounds,
in early July.
Building on its inaugural 2007 success, the event attracted more than 100,000 people over three days, who enjoyed this family fun festival set against a backdrop of fostering Māori enterprise and creative businesses.
Among its many attractions, ATAMIRA - Māori in the City incorporated the National Maori Innovation Summit organised by AUT University and The University of Auckland Business Schools, and included key speakers from a range of businesses along with iwi and political leaders from around the country.
This was followed by the National Māori Innovation Icon Dinner which recognised iconic Māori achievements. The supreme
'Eye of the Needle' Māori Innovation Icon award was presented to Travis O'Keefe, founder of Health TV, which screens in medical centres as a new way of spreading health and wellbeing information.
A Tu Tangata Breakfast organised by the Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA), also attracted strong participation from local business leaders, opened by the Minister of Māori Affairs, Dr Pita Sharples.
Planning is well under way for the next Atamira - Māori in the City event during Rugby World Cup 2011.
Auckland City Council anticipates working with Ngati Whatua o Orakei, the event organisers, to promote the profile of Atamira
- Māori in the City and stimulate national and international business opportunities.
For more information
call 0800ATAMIRA or visit www.atamira.org.
A beginner's guide to sponsorship
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| Air New Zealand Fashion Week ad. |
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Common mistakes for an organisation or individual seeking sponsorship include: making assumptions about the sponsor, and a cookie cutter approach to the pitch. Yet by astute observation, asking the target organisation for pertinent information, and understanding their objectives, those new to seeking sponsorship can be successful.
Recently Auckland City Council co-hosted a Fashion Industry New Zealand-WHK Gosling Chapman workshop on sponsorship. The workshop was delivered through New Zealand Trade and Enterprise's Enterprise Training programme, and was targeted at young fashion industry entrepreneurs and seed companies.
Paula Corcoran, event sponsorship manager for Auckland City Council presented to the gathering which aimed to assist young fashion designers in their development of sponsorship.
"Sponsors need a return on investment from their contribution," says Paula, "and this is a source of misunderstanding by those new to seeking sponsorship. Basically, prospective sponsorship seekers have to connect with the objectives of the sponsor. The matching of objectives
- where both partners look at exactly what they can each achieve, and how they can achieve it together
- provides the basis for any sponsorship proposal and on-going collaboration.
"Too often, she says, while the organisation seeking sponsorship understands exactly what their own points of difference are, and what their business and marketing needs are, they can be bereft of the same information about their prospective sponsor.
"It's easy to become fixated on the pitch for sponsorship," she says, "but the content is very, very important
- more important than the presentation. The content needs to focus on the unique ways you can add value to the sponsor
- not the other way around."
Paula listed key points about seeking sponsorship:
- Don't make it a best guess proposal. Find out about the sponsor's market, their target customers, and their marketing needs. Ask the target sponsor questions to find out information about them. Don't just look at what they're doing now. That activity will probably have been planned 12 or more months ago. Insightful questions about where their brand is going, and how they wish to grow it will help tailor the sponsorship proposal.
- Understand the difference between sponsorship and grants (funding). Grants are usually contestable funds which can be applied for (often by application to a public organisation or a benefactor. They usually impose few commercial obligations, but there are still contractual clauses to be met.) In a sponsorship, there is a contractual obligation on the part of the sponsored party to assist the sponsor in its commercial goals. These may be very clearly specified.
"The objectives of a contract need to be fully serviced by the organisation that's sponsored. If you don't deliver on them, sponsors may withhold money or product in kind," says Paula.
- Measure the outcome of the sponsorship against the objectives you both set in the first place.
- The proposal itself should be tailored - and never generic. It is highly
unlikely a sponsor will meet the full financial needs in the proposal first
time round, so offer options that they might consider. While every proposal
structure is different, it still must have all the relevant factual information which might include:
- the date and nature of any event
- the cost of admission to any event
- numbers expected
- type of market reached (socio-demographic etc).
- Clearly understand how the audience for your own product connects with the audience targeted by your sponsor. If their target audience is 45 plus, with discretionary expenditure, and yours is not, the fit won't work.
- Always formally contract with your sponsor, recording what you have agreed will be delivered (and how). Many sponsors want to use their own (complex and long) contracts. This saves you money, but you need to be mindful of what they contain.Paula listed key points about seeking sponsorship:
Don't make it a best guess proposal. Find out about the sponsor's market, their target customers, and their marketing needs. Ask the target sponsor questions to find out information about them. Paula listed key points about seeking sponsorship:
Don't make it a best guess proposal. Find out about the sponsor's market, their target customers, and their marketing needs. Ask the target sponsor questions to find out information about them.
Paula also says there is a psychology of sponsorship which the sponsorship seeker needs to understand.
"Sponsors don't need to be passionate about your brand. To get their signup, you need to be passionate and knowledgeable about theirs!" she says.
"They just need to be able to see the unique commercial benefits of the potential partnership."
While no sponsorship workshops are currently firmly planned, please contact us if you would like to put your name down for any in the future.
CentrAprising in 2009
Auckland City Council is supporting our city's youth and future entrepreneurs through sponsorship of the Central Auckland region of the Young Enterprise Trust's business competition for secondary school students.
The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) has been running for over 20 years and allows teenagers the opportunity to learn the practical, hands-on experience of running their own business over a year, competing with schools from all over NZ. There is also an international competition
- The Global Enterprise Challenge - in which 12 Central Auckland YES schools will participate in June. They will be working hard to defend the title that they won last year.
Young Enterprise Trust's Auckland Regional Manager, Ewan McLeod is branding the Central Auckland region's
schools as 'CentrAprising' and is keen to find business mentors, with a strong socially responsible attitude, who are prepared to provide guidance for participants.
"We are promoting this competition as an ideal way to work towards creating a business savvy future generation that will contribute positively to our local Auckland economy."
Ewan is particularly interested in hearing from business people who have experience in leadership, marketing, sales, IT/design and production. If you would like to contribute your knowledge and expertise to the YES programme, please contact Ewan McLeod at
ewan.mcleod@yetrust.co.nz.
Commercialising ideas a success in Auckland
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| Mayor with mentors from Los Angeles. |
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More than 200 people attended the one-day conference and 16 selected projects participated in the two-day lab. The teams worked directly with their lab mentors on their own digital media project ideas, and explored partnerships and business opportunities with the other lab participants.
'I was highly impressed with the entrepreneurial spirit and talent, and look forward to staying engaged with Kiwi startups and trade groups' - Tim Chang, Principal Northwest Venture Partners and X|Media|Lab mentor.
Amongst the mentors were five attendees from Los Angeles, Auckland's longest standing international partnership. The partnership between the cities has seen renewed activity in the creative and tourism sectors, so it was great to have the Los Angeles mentors connecting with Auckland companies.
Digital media is a key area of opportunity for New Zealand. It is experiencing rapid growth and builds on Auckland companies' innovative work in screen production and interactive content.
X|Media|Lab is an internationally acclaimed industry development initiative to assist companies get their project ideas successfully to market. Events have been held in China, United States, India, United Kingdom, the Middle East and Singapore. The first Auckland event sold out at the Hilton Hotel.
Auckland - a great place to study
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| International Education Local Agent Forum. |
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The Auckland City International Education Local Agent Forum is an annual event aimed at developing and promoting Auckland city as a great place to study and live for international students. The forum is a unique opportunity for agents and schools to connect in growing the international education sector across Auckland.
This year's event, held on 25 March, was again hosted by Auckland City Council and organised by Study Auckland. It was attended by 43 locally-based international education agents, representing countries as diverse as Brazil, China, Japan, Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and Thailand. Agents met with 35 Auckland city education institutions at the event.
Valuable new contacts and business opportunities were made during the three hour event, which was opened by mayor John Banks. The programme included presentations from representatives of Study Auckland, the Auckland City Council Economic Development group, the Ministry of Education and the Citizens Advice Bureau. These were followed by a
'speed dating' session, at which institutions had five minutes each to market themselves to the agents.
Speakers at the forum recognised the economic and cultural benefits that accumulate from a strong international student sector, noting that:
- education is New Zealand's fifth-biggest export industry and brings $2.3 billion in foreign exchange to the country's economy
- the Auckland region dominates the international student market, contributing 54 per cent of the total value-added GDP in the sector
- Auckland City Council's eight international partnerships bring annual
financial benefits of around $53 million through education alone. These students greatly add to the region's
cultural mix, making it an exciting and colourful place to live.
Recent trends within the sector were also explored and attendees learned that:
- while the number of students from China has been steadily falling, the total number of international students from all other countries has increased at an annual average rate of 5 per cent between 2005 and 2007
- the sector has seen significant growth from three key emerging markets, with Brazil growing at an annual average rate of 39 per cent between 2005 and 2007, Saudi Arabia growing at 34 per cent and India at 36 per cent
- the 2008/09 financial crisis has seen the depreciation of the New Zealand dollar against most of our major partners, making studying in New Zealand much cheaper than it was just 12 months ago. This has stimulated a 15 per cent increase in foreign student numbers in the last nine months.
Auckland City Council is the principle funder of Study Auckland and looks forward to further collaboration opportunities to help promote the export education sector within the city and the region.
Auckland International Boat Show
After the excitement of the Millennium Cup Pacific Series and the Louis Vuitton Pacific series on the Waitemata Harbour and Hauraki Gulf, all eyes turn back to shore in early March to the Auckland International Boat Show.
The Viaduct Harbour will be the setting once again from 5 - 8 March for the Auckland International Boat Show.
A specially constructed marina will host hundreds of super yachts, launches and powerboats in a
showcase of the best of the marine industry. The sector exported goods and services in excess of $717 million in 2008 and is forecasting exports worth close to $1.8 billion by 2020.
On show once again will be the Earthrace powerboat now the holder of the world record for a powerboat circling of the world and fuelled by 100 per cent renewable bio diesel.
Last year's show drew 20,000 visitors to the water's edge in the heart of Auckland city. Auckland is the premier refit destination in New Zealand with the Westhaven
Marine Cluster home to over 100 marine companies working together to offer a
one-stop shop for super yachts. For more details on the Auckland International
Boat Show, visit www.aucklandinternationalboatshow.com.
Updated October 2009
