Diana Clement recently interviewed Phil Morgan Rees of the Guardian Trust on the subject of gifting to trusts and the recently changed laws surrounding this practice. As pointed out by Morgan Rees, “Gift duty is only one aspect to be considered. [The rule change] just means you don’t have to file a return to the IRD and you won’t be taxed. What hasn’t been changed is more important.” The full article that appeared on the New Zealand Herald website can be found here.

The liquidator for the Blue Chip group of companies, Meltzer Mason Heath, has filed a $40 million claim against the failed property investment group, which banked investors’ funds straight into its own bank accounts instead of into trust accounts.

The statement of claim, lodged in the High Court in Auckland, is against Blue Chip’s former directors and auditors, and on behalf of about 800 investors, says Jeff Meltzer of Meltzer Mason Heath.

Todays announcement featured in a number of key national news outlets including The New Zealand Herald, TVNZ,  Sharechat, National Business Review, Stuff, Interest.co.nz and a number of other news outlets across the country

The company started with humble beginnings, selling their pizzas to students at Victoria University.

Controversy, “cool factor” and great pizza have been key ingredients in the development of the highly successful company who have now successfully entered  Asia – opening stores in Seoul, Korea after already making a significant impact on the New Zealand market.

The International development of the brand has been steady with franchises in India, Ireland and Australia.

The Dominion Post, Nelson Mail and the Manawatu Standard  recently ran a page dominant article on HELL Pizza, talking with the founder Stu McMullin. You can read the online version here of the Dominion Post version.

Ongoing Crisis Communication: Planning, Managing, and Responding By W. Timothy Coombs

I was asked by organisers of the  New Zealand Communication Association to do a key note speach at their 24th Annual conference which was held at the Heritage Hotel in Auckland on 12th & 13th December, 2011.

The theme for the conference was “Convergence”. This lent itself to discuss topics around convergence of of ideas, technology, cutures and nations, academic disciplines and education and industry.

It was a good opportunity to interact with the people who are shaping our university students minds in the area of communications.

Some of the papers discussed at the forum included:

• Josephine Ellis, AUT University. “On-line feedback and the Facebook effect” and  “A research journey by way of the classroom”.
• Dr. Lara Giles, EIT. “Meta-literacy”.
• Dr Kane Hopkins, Massey University. “How New Zealand organisations are using Facebook: A public relations perspective”.
• Jill Clark & Leta Roache, Whitireia.  “Grunting and Snorting on Facebook and Twitter: A Boomer’s Guide to Communicating with Gen Y”.
• Hamish Robertson Dr. Trudy Rosenfeld and Dr. Joanne Travaglia, University of NSW. “Communicating in Ageing Societies: Diversity and Dementia Looking to 2050”.
• Jacqui Hartley-Smith, EIT. “The jigsaw puzzle”.
  Arjan Van der Boon, MIT. “Teaching in your pyjamas? Online Learning with Wimba – The Student Experience”.
• Peter Bruce, Northtec.  “Building Stakeholder Engagement Capability”.
• Nuddy Pillay, MIT.  “To blend or not to blend, that is the question: the perceptions of students on the impact of the face to face and Web Based learning environment on their learning”.
• Susan O’Rourke, AUT.  “Teaching journalism, newspapers, convergence and the Arab Spring: Reflections from Oman”.
• Dr. Rosser Johnson. AUT.  “Cosmopolitanism, commercialism and food television: a case study of Tegal World Kitchen”.
• Debbie Page and Elna Fourie, Wintec. “Leaps and bounds, or a technological divide in the communication classroom”
• Una Wildon, MIT. “Process Based Learning: The Convergence of Teaching and Assessment in Writing courses”.   
• Nippy Paea, MIT student.  Whakarongomai ki taaku nei Reo:
• An Investigation into key factors in the engagement processes between Institute and Iwi
• Saarah Gul, MIT student. Investigating Facebook: The Impact of Facebook usage on the youth in New Zealand
• Manisha Jyoti, MIT student. “Perceptions of homosexuality and homosexuals among different Christian believers”.
• Trish Baker (Wellington Institute of Technology) and Jill Clark (Whitireia New Zealand). An introduction to cooperative learning. 
• Josephine Ellis, AUT University. This workshop to get participants to look at their own areas of teaching practice to identify research questions

My own talk focussed on Convergence and Conversation and how, for better and for worse they are changing how businesses and organisations respond during times of crisis.

I discussed examples of organisations where Convergence (media, technology etc) was beneficial and also where this same concept made lives difficult for company and organisational executives. 

Media Convergence can work against organisations :

• Organisations have less time to respond
• Organisations are global even if they are localy focussed, are forced to consider how their actions are seen beyond country boundaries 
• People (customers, voyears, onlookers) will comment on issues even while not understanding the facts
• There are always opposing viewpoints ready in the wings to be quoted or published online
• Private conversations become public faster and are more available
• Company execs are expected to be available – whenever…wherever.

Media Convergence can work for organisations : 

• Organisations have more media avenues to add to their toolbox
• Everything organisations and companies  do is visible Internationally
• People will go with their gut / brand allegiances / values and this will be demonstrated visually through social media
• Opinions  can be “heard”, published and commented on the minute you want them to be. The power is now with consumers as opposed to with media alone.

We discussed the necessity to have a plan in place for the unexpected and how to achieve outcomes by using the strengths of “Convergence” to our advantage and how to minimise the effects of the negatives. I have attached an example of one of the many and growing texts on the subject for those interested.

The FoodBowl, a new multi-million dollar food manufacturing facility in Auckland, has featured as a cover story in the latest issue of Exporter Magazine.

The article looks at the facility and the positive growth it will bring to small and medium sized food manufacturers. The FoodBowl provides New Zealand food developers with access to cutting edge food and beverage manufacturing technology. Pilot testing is usually reserved for larger food manufacturers due to the high costs involved; however, the new FoodBowl facility makes testing more accessible.

As well as providing leading equipment, FoodBowl has the certifications necessary to export products, opening up a whole new market for many food manufacturers.

The facility was endorsed by the government who are fully behind the company’s goal of growing food manufacturing exports by 270 percent in 2025.

The FoodBowl in Auckland has been set up by the New-Zealand Food Innovation Network and is one of four planned hubs to be set up around New Zealand.

Click here to read the full article as it appeared in Exporter magazine.

In a decidedly hot relationship, HELL Pizza has joined forces with the New Zealand Fire Service to deliver an important fire safety message and new look HELL Pizza box for which they have received positive media attention for the ‘Don’t drink and Fry’ campaign.

New Zealanders have long been aware of the dangers associated with drinking and driving, but most have probably never given a second thought to the dangers of cooking after one too many drinks.The statistics that have surfaced are alarming and the Fire Service has revealed that alcohol is involved in 50% of all fatal house fires.

HELL co-director Stu McMullin says, “We support the ‘don’t drink and fry’ message 666%, and want to communicate it far and wide. The decision to redesign our signature HELL Pizza box after 15 years was not taken lightly, but it’s an ideal way to deliver a simple, life-saving message directly into homes all over the country every single night.”

The message was well received by the media, gaining national coverage in various print publications, on radio airwaves and online. The ‘Don’t drink and fry’ message was seen in Auckland’s Central Leader, Dargaville & Districts News, Marlborough Express, Nelson Mail, Taupo Times and Hawke’s Bay Today among others. It was also give mention by ZM The Morning Crew.

The HELL Pizza Celebrity Fisting campaign also caught the attention of the media.  Alexander Communications  strategically drove interest by engaging media and generating some ‘hell hype’ in the newsroom delivering giant black fists and mis-fortune cookies to selected media. Timed well with the rugby games, the unique foam fist with built in beverage holder proved to be an instant success and conversation starter with the media – many of whom made the association with rugby.

The direct delivery of fists to media achieved an instant mention on the airwaves of Mai FM and subsequent mentions have been secured with Classic Hits Auckland and More FM Christchurch.  Rog from The Rock FM’s Morning Rumble show posted his photo onto the HELL Pizza Facebook page.

The novelty and popularity of the fists continued with a HELL fist appearing on Bernard Hickey’s 90 seconds at 9 am interest.co.nz video on more than one occasion.

Pie Funds has appeared online at Goodreturns.co.nz this month, announcing the launch of a new Australasian Dividend Fund. The announcement has come at a time when investors are more cautious when dealing with the economy.

Pie Funds managing director, Mike Taylor, is not fazed by the current economic climate. He believes it provides investors with a chance to buy equities at favourable valuations.

In keeping with their past funds, the Australasian Dividend Fund will continue to largely invest within small companies in Australia and New Zealand.

Those companies of interest to Pie Funds will have ‘earnings sustainability, solid growth and a sustainable dividend distribution policy’.

Click here to read the full story, or for more information view www.piefunds.co.nz.

ActionStep chief executive, Ted Jordan featured in the ‘Success’ section of The Business Herald where he talks about his computer software system and the growing interest from New Zealand and other international markets.

ActionStep is extending its software to Jack Stern Law, a US firm which specialises in representing Mexicans accused of illegally entering the US. Because public defense law is not well-paid, Stern was keen to cut costs by outsourcing the processing of legal paperwork. ActionStep’s software enabled them to do this by supplying them with a system that allows the law firm to conduct business 24/7 across the globe, via the internet.

Jordan describes his software product as a “complete business system that runs in the cloud and has all the software that you need for business”. It helps to save costs, removes the complexity of running multiple systems, and holds all the business’ data and information in one place. Through the use of the ActionStep software, Stern’s team can enter relevant information into its system, which can then be processed overnight by a team of paralegals in the Philippines.

Click here to read the full article and to find out more about ActionStep.

Be. Institute chief executive, Minnie Baragwanath, features in the latest issue of Next magazine as the ‘Change Maker’ of the month.

Ms Baragwanath sat down with Next magazine to discuss the development and goals of Be. Institute, a new social change enterprise that is making a difference in the lives of disabled Kiwis throughout New Zealand. Be. Institute is a national programme that aims to highlight accessibility issues within New Zealand and inspire and enable a 100% accessible society for all people.

The initiative started to develop after Ms Baragwanath was asked to manage the Rugby World Cup 2011 access programme for Auckland. As a major sporting event, Ms Baragwanath and her team identified the Rugby World Cup as key opportunity to create new conversation about accessibility and to leave an access legacy for the country.

Diagnosed with Stargardt disease, a condition that causes progressive vision loss, Ms Baragwanath who is legally blind, can personally relate to the challenges surrounding accessibility. “Being partially sighted has actually given me vision. It has affected the way I see the world, made me passionate about social change and led me to develop Be. Institute”.

Ms Baragwanath describes starting Be. Institute as a “dream come true”. She says becoming the chief executive of such an amazing organisation and working with an extraordinary is her proudest career moment to date.

Click here to read the full article.

Tamlyn Stewart from Christchurch Press interviewed Ted Jordan about trends around Cloud adoption amongst SME’s.

The survey, commissioned by software firm ActionStep, found nearly half of the 250 businesses surveyed did not even know what cloud computing was.