http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/ The latest Blog feeds from www.wearehmc.co.nz en-us Sun, 08 Mar 2026 07:09:29 +1300 Rocketspark 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 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/post/154152/why-your-personal-linkedin-is-more-powerful-than-your-company-page/ A quiet shift is happening on LinkedIn, and it’s personal.You might have noticed it already. The posts that stop the scroll aren’t always the slick brand videos or official company updates. More often, they’re from individuals, sharing what they’ve learned, what they care about, or what’s happening behind the scenes. In 2025, personal LinkedIn pages are where the real conversations (and real influence) are happening. This doesn’t mean company pages don’t matter. They stil... Thu, 04 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/#post154152 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/post/154148/doing-good-in-2026-and-beyond/ Last week a certain bank hit the headlines, accused of ‘poverty porn’. The story made a lot of people squirm. This organisation learned the hard way that if you send staff to help with a food bank, and you take and share pictures of them doing so, and you happen to earn a profit in the billions and your CEO takes home a salary in the millions, you probably should think about making a financial contribution to that organisation or risk being publicly shamed.  Doing good for the comm... Wed, 19 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/#post154148 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/post/154916/what-metas-andromeda-update-means-for-small-nz-businesses/ At HMC, we are strong believers in putting some paid PR alongside the content you’re producing for owned and earned channels. Adding a paid component to your PR strategy ensures your messages, stories and information is reaching the right people at the right time, on the right channels. But one thing you can count on in the digital space is that it’s constantly changing.  And there’s been&nb... Wed, 05 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/#post154916 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/post/155157/planning-the-great-wealth-transfer-andrew-clements-on-keep-the-change/ Over the next 25 years, New Zealand will experience the largest intergenerational transfer of wealth in its history – between $1 trillion and $1.6 trillion moving from Baby Boomers to their children and grandchildren.On the Keep the Change podcast, Grayson Clements Director Andrew Clements sat down with host Luke Kemeys to talk about what this “Great Wealth Transfer” means for Kiwi families, why most fortunes don’t survive past the third generation, and how ... Thu, 16 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/#post155157 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/post/153817/visibility-without-vanity-a-leaders-playbook/ As a leader, much is expected of you.  But a key expectation some leaders don’t always get right is their “visibility.”Leaders are expected to be present with staff, demonstrate values through action, express opinion publicly on topics that matter, and be consistent in all they do and say.But getting your visibility just right requires a careful balancing act.Choosing too much of a low-key approach risks putting doubt in people’s minds about your leadership abilities if they rarely ... Wed, 15 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/#post153817 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/post/151175/the-importance-of-a-good-brief/ Imagine you’ve moved into a new house, and you have a sizeable blank wall and a collection of photos and artworks. You want them on display but you’re heading out, so you ask someone else to just choose some and put them up.You get home and the wall looks perfectly…fine. But they haven’t picked ones you’d have chosen, and you don’t love the arrangement. There’s all different frame colours, whereas you were hoping for a common aesthetic. They’re aligned in rows, when you prefer a ... Thu, 18 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.wearehmc.co.nz/blog/#post151175