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What is leadership?

In an era of unprecedented challenges and disruption, what defines leadership? Thrive #ThriveNZ16, a great event run by EMA, asked the question - and got some great answers from some of the best and brightest in our country: You judge: who gave the best answer to the question? "Leadership is to see with new eyes – it's always the challenge. The core of success is luck, ability, desire, they're always with you. To be a leader you have to have a burning desire to succeed, plus the need to re...

Tom Fishburne's take on metrics:

As ever, Tom Fishburne nails a topic with his cartoon and supporting article - well worth a read:...

Know your blind spots – 5 reasons to conduct a perception audit

Not so long ago, every business assumed that the keys to success were the highest quality product, the best value for the buck, and the best customer service. Now all we hear about is providing the best "customer experience." But how do you really know what your customers are experiencing? For some service industries like hospitality, it can be as easy as getting a mystery diner or shopper, meanwhile for business based around a digital platform, where CX is paramount, metrics are readily avail...

Tips on how to gain maximum exposure with minimal budget

Chloe Swarbrick and the power of social media: Like Malakai Fekitoa, Auckland mayoralty candidate Chloe Swarbrick is full throttle on the gas pedal coming down the centre of these local body elections and it's clear to see why. She knows her audience, she is great at showing that she cares about her publics and she has one almighty social media presence. Not to mention she is a frontrunner in being somewhat successful in engaging the 'unengageables' – a category predominantly made up of mill...

Interviews gone wrong: How to avoid the Ivanka Trump cut-off

By Daniel McCabe...

Tom Fishburne's latest:

Another excellent cartoon and article by Tom Fishburne - well worth a read: The humble newsletter still has its place in the communications world, despite its flashier social brothers and sisters stealing all the limelight. But like a middle child forgotten among more attention-seeking siblings, the newsletter still offers much to those who are prepared to pay attention......

What your reception reveals about your business:

At Clarity we're no interior designers, but we are intensely interested in the messages you give: in person, in your actions, in your words – in everything. We know that the world is obsessed with making a good impression online, but in our race to do so don't forget about that funny old-fashioned thing: the first actual place that many people come into contact with your company: your reception. Experiential marketing has exploded in recent years as organisations come to terms with the co...

Pondering the future of news with Phillip Sherry

Remember Philip Sherry? New Zealand's great white duke of tv news presenting. He was great wasn't he. A dapper chap with excellent elocution. A symbol of an era when the evening news was the place where you got your wrap up of news for the day and you could feel like you were as informed as the next man (or woman) about the world. Nowadays in the digital landscape we live in, by the time you get to the evening, you're already well versed in the majority of the big news of the day and chances are...

Influencers in ‘the age of transparency’

By Brooke Hurndell...

How do you connect with millennials? – Tips from Bernie Sanders…

By Daniel McCabe...

Another great cartoon by Tom Fishburne: POEM

Tom Fishburne again nails it with his digest of Paid, Owned and Earned Media. Check out the article here:...

What really draws us into the Olympics...

By Luke Henshall A comment you may have heard earlier this week whether on talk back radio or general chit chat in the office, "oh this always happens, all the hullaballoo and negative press in the build up to the Olympics will largely get forgotten when the event starts." Yes, ok, thanks for that insightful observation whoever you are. But why is this? What is it about this 16-day festival of sporting prowess that draws us in again and again despite the millions of dollars either squandered...

Rio 2016: the calm before the storm - or the storm before the calm?

By Brooke Hurndell Let's face it, the lead-up to the Olympics this year hasn't exactly been a picture of smoothness, has it? But, come the closing ceremony, will we remember all the disasters leading up to the Olympics or will they be but a blur in amongst the victorious parade of superhuman athletes? The Rio Olympics seem to be in a state of 'everything that could go wrong – did' and aren't we the first to shake our heads? Could it be that the collapsed sailing ramp is a sign of the widespr...

Tips for brands from Dry July:

By George Hulbert, a part-time paragon of abstinence: I'm a fan of Dry July and have been for a few years. Last year I did it properly. I signed up to the Dry July website and abstained from the evils of booze for the full month, gaining sponsorship for this annual 31-day initiative that raises funds to improve the wellbeing of people affected by cancer. Good cause, good activity. (In the spirit of honesty, this year I have done 'Mostly Dry July' and did not sign up to the formal initiati...

What do the IOC and Melania Trump have in common?

The short answer: they are both mangling their message. Let's look at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) first: Following a report by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that concluded that Russia has indulged in active state-sponsored athlete doping on a grand scale and across numerous sports, what sort of signal does the IOC decide to send? A ban on all Russian athletes at the Rio Olympics? A partial ban? No. 'Let's bring in the lawyers' is what they said. That looks weak on a...

Mettle 6 is out

MinterEllisonRuddWatts, a long-time and much-loved client of ours, have released the sixth issue of their business publication, Mettle. We have been involved with Mettle since its inception, and are particularly proud of this issue. With a range of timely and thought-provoking topics including the state of mergers and acquisitions, digital disruption, diversity, governance and Millennials, Mettle is always poignant and pertinent, and never asisine. Head over to the MinterEllison website to re...

Mix and mingle to succeed

At Clarity, we always tell our clients to spend time with the people who are important to them. There can be few more important - or rewarding - activities than spending time with clients, suppliers, stakeholders and friends of your business. After all, if you don't spend time with people, how do you expect to understand what's important to them? By stepping out of the transactional day-to-day pressures of projects and work in progress, you create an opportunity to step out of the here and now...

We love Tom Fishburne cartoons

Tom Fishburne, aka The Marketoonist (TM), always has a funny and interesting perspective on the world of marketing. Well worth checking out, you can link to his site HERE:...

Clarity Challenge winner announced

We're delighted to announce the winner of our inaugural Clarity Challenge, held as part of the CoreNet Global Symposium on June 16th. The challenge was simple: complete any one side of a Rubik's Cube in the shortest time possible, get to the top of the leaders board, and... win a bottle of fizz and a comprehensive strategy workshop to create clarity for your organisation's communications! So, congratulations to Gary Flynn of Brookfield GIS, who took out the top spot on our leaders board! ...

Weave a story (and use every thread)

By Mikela Dennison, Account Manager Weaving a good story is an art form. Weaving a good story in a business context is an art form - and a science. Effective business communications weaves a good story, but it also makes the most out of the individual elements in play. And that is the point at which maximising content through multiple uses comes alive. LinkedIn. Twitter. Website. Blog. Facebook. Events. Do you struggle to maintain all the different channels you know you should be active...

6 blocks on which to build a strong reputation

We love the world of the built environment: the feats of imagination, design, engineering and construction we see around us every day never cease to amaze us. But just as a skyscraper requires foundations, structure and cladding, your reputation needs to be constructed carefully so that it doesn't topple at the first sign of a stiff breeze. In this blog, we showcase six easy, time-efficient ways in which you can build your reputation and positioning in the mind of your clients and wider worl...

Moving on up!

After two fun and highly productive years in Generator's Boiler Room, we've just moved upstairs within Generator to The Penthouse, a huge new workspace where we have room to grow, new people to meet - and an even better view of Britomart! We look forward to showing you our new digs. Come on over for a look! ...

What might an NZME-Fairfax merger mean for your PR?

The media world is ablaze with the news that NZME and Fairfax are discussing a possible merger that could see one organisation publishing a great deal of New Zealand's news. Much of the news focus to date has been on the potentially affected newspaper titles – such as the NZ Herald, Dominion Post, The Press and many others – but as NZME and Fairfax also control many news outlets online and on the airwaves, the impacts of a merger would travel far more widely. Unsurprisingly, the companie...

Sound strategies: Getting mileage out of your content

It's an often-used saying here at Clarity that using a single piece of good content many times is a sound strategy – it's highly effective, and that's why we stand by it. Content is still king - and we're not just talking about words, but about imagery, GIFs, video, infographics, presentations and podcasts. People are hungry for information, and want something that will hold their attention for a few precious minutes and provide them with value. In business communications, this concept ...

One of the 7 deadly sins: our new website

By George Hulbert, who generally tries to avoid deadly sins: Pride is well known as one of the seven deadly sins. But I'm proud: of our new website. It's taken a long time to get here, and at Clarity we're all so happy that it's finally live. We're now finally living a proper modern 2016 life online - but, much more importantly, we're practising what we preach. Good news. Some of the things I like most about the new site - apart from the ease with which we were able to create it thanks to...