http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/ The latest Blog feeds from www.wearehmc.co.nz en-us Sat, 16 May 2026 21:16:23 +1200 Rocketspark http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/post/163683/should-businesses-use-ai-to-write-brand-stories-and-content/ Businesses will get better communications results when content is human-led and AI-assisted, rather than AI-led and human-assisted. AI can help with speed and support tasks, but it cannot replace judgement, originality, audience understanding, or strategic communications thinking.  A comment from a journalist recently stopped our team in our tracks. One of our senior account managers at HMC had pitched a story idea and, after the journalist expressed interest, offered to... Wed, 06 May 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/#post163683 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/post/164057/waikatos-first-co-housing-urban-village-comes-to-hamilton/ Waikato is getting its first co-housing neighbourhood in Hamilton East with the launch of the Peachgrove East residential development. Co-housing is an intentional, self-governing, cooperative community where residents live in private homes clustered around shared spaces.Located at 174 Peachgrove Road, the 48-home urban village is designed to support community through home ownership, wellbeing, sustainability and quality design.“Our vision is to create something quite unique – a standar... Tue, 21 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/#post164057 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/post/163591/the-mahi-behind-a-media-hit/ One of our goals at HMC is to make the hard stuff look easy.From a client’s point of view, a media story can seem pretty straightforward. We talk to a journalist. An article appears. A key message gets quoted. Great result.And, honestly, if it looks ‘easy’ to a client, that means we’ve done our job well!Doing the heavy liftingA big part of our role is doing all the heavy lifting, so our clients don’t have to. We do the thinking, strategy, research, writing, pitching, follow-up, coordin... Mon, 20 Apr 2026 12:16:17 +1200 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/#post163591 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/post/161415/podcasts-are-a-pr-persons-dream/ ... Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/#post161415 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/post/161414/to-gate-or-not-to-gate-that-is-the-question/ In marketing, “gating” content simply means placing it behind a form on a website. Instead of reading or downloading something immediately, the visitor is asked to enter their details first (usually their name and email address) before gaining access.For a long time, gating content has been treated as standard practice in marketing strategy. If you produce something substantial - a whitepaper, an industry report, an in-depth guide - the default assumption is that it should sit behind a form.... Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/#post161414 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/post/163360/star-baths--from-healing-to-headlines/ The BriefAnge Wallace from Star Baths approached HMC to help launch a premium outdoor bath, engineered by her partner Anthony Belle. Their design addressed common frustrations with outdoor bathing such as water connectivity, heat retention, and comfort while offering a visually striking, two-person experience. However, the story soon revealed itself as far more than a product launch. The InsightStar Baths’ origins were deeply personal. In 2025, while facing t... Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/#post163360 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/post/93046/why-bother-entering-awards/ Have you ever thought about putting in an application for an industry award?It can be daunting if you haven’t done it before.   What should you write? How can you tell your story in a way that will connect with the judges?From a public relations point of view, applying for select industry awards can be a great part of your business strategy. They can help you build your brand’s reputation as an industry leader and build your credibility among customers and peers.Being a finalist or winn... Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/#post93046 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/post/160734/new-granny-flat-rules-welcomed-but-not-every-backyard-qualifies/ Hamilton property experts are welcoming consent-free granny flats, but warn new rules are not a “silver bullet solution” to the city’s housing pressures - and not every backyard will be suitable.Under new national rules, a standalone dwelling up to 70 m² can be built without a building consent if the structure meets all exemption conditions. Many sites will also no longer require a resource consent under the new national planning standard.The government estimated exemptions would save New... Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/#post160734 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/post/158597/the-reputation-risk-most-businesses-dont-realise-theyre-taking/ Most reputational problems don’t come from one big mistake. They build up in small, ordinary moments - things that seem minor at the time.  Someone says something quickly without thinking it through. An email goes out and half the people reading it don’t really understand what it means for them. A leader stays quiet, assuming everyone already knows what’s going on, when they don’t. When PR isn’t thought about de... Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/#post158597 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/post/154113/when-dumbing-down-is-just-plain-dumb/ We’ve all heard it before: keep it simple, short sentences, aim for a 12-year-old reading level. It’s solid advice, in principle. After all, clear writing helps more people understand what you’re saying. But here’s the catch: simple isn’t the same as smart, and not every audience needs the same level of simplicity. The reading age rule has limits Writing at a 12-year-old reading level makes sense when you are writing for a mass audience and your goal is to be inclusive. &nbsp... Wed, 17 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/#post154113