The Sherson Willis team has seen a lot over the past 10 years. Crafting major stories, announcing some significant changes and giving expert commentary, we took a walk down memory lane to share some of the stories that have shaped the Sherson Willis newsroom.
Precision Seafood Harvesting - the future of commercial fishing
The new trawling technology - billed as "the future of sustainable fishing" - was unveiled to the New Zealand seafood industry at its annual conference in Auckland.
In 2013, New Zealand fishing companies Aotearoa Fisheries, Sanford and Sealord invested $26 million into the commercialisation phase of the technology, called Precision Seafood Harvesting.
- Telecom changing name to Spark
Working closely with Telecom we helped break the major announcement that they were changing their name to Spark in 2014.
Telecom CEO Simon Moutter said “Spark better reflects the company's new direction and the aspirations it has for its place in the life of New Zealanders.”
- Creative queues for Spark customers in the lead up to iPhone launches
From 2014 – 2016, we worked with Spark on the world’s most sought-after device launches, the iPhone. Around the world there’s an eager line of people waiting to get their hands on the newest model.
We developed three creative ideas for Spark to allow customers to queue smarter, by replacing them with objects including emojis, 3D printed figurines and robots.
- 20th Anniversary of the Dishdrawer
Fisher & Paykel tasked us with coming up with a creative way to celebrate the 20thAnniversary of the DishDrawer.
The result was a limited edition, handcrafted 20th-anniversary dinner set, which juxtaposed the two decades of refinement of innovation and design of the Fisher & Paykel Dishdrawer with perfectly imperfect ceramics.
- LIC proposes share restructure to reduce conflicts between farmers, investors
Farmer-owned cooperative Livestock Improvement Corp's board released its plan to merge its two share classes - cooperative control shares and investment shares – which were listed on the NZX Alternative Market (NZAX).
The proposal reclassified all cooperative control shares and investment shares into a single class of ordinary shares.
- Cannes Lions reveals 2015 PR Jury
Our very own Co-Founder and Strategy Director Trish Sherson was selected to be on the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2015 PR jury.
The festival ran from June 21-27th with women making up the majority of the panel, which included 21 participants across countries and regions.
- Comfort Group's $1 billion industrial and affordable housing development to deliver major boost for North Waikato
Earlier this year, the country’s leading bed-maker and home of iconic Kiwi brand Sleepyhead, The Comfort Group, confirmed plans to create a unique manufacturing hub and community in Ohinewai, North Waikato creating 1500 new jobs and 1100 new homes over the next ten years.
The company announced it purchased 176-hectares of land, adjoining the existing Ohinewai Village and 5km’s north of Huntly, which it plans to transform into a mixed-use, planned community of up to 3,000 residents.
- Park Hyatt – Prime Minister Breaks Ground for $200M Luxury Hotel on Auckland’s Waterfront
Beijing-based property developers Fu Wah International Group, began construction of the $200 million five-star Park Hyatt hotel in downtown Auckland in 2016, with Prime Minister John Key turning the sod at the ceremony.
Fu Wah’s investment in the project represented one of the largest foreign investments in New Zealand tourism infrastructure.
- Volvo Ocean Race Comes Home To New Zealand’s Sailing Capital
We worked with the Volvo Ocean race to build a 6-month campaign around the Auckland stopover of the race with the aim of creating public interest in the event and driving attendance.
The event is inextricably linked to New Zealand sailing, with Kiwi sailors on every one of the six internationally sponsored boats.
- Hikurangi Cannabis Company unveils board, global export strategy and name change.
Ahead of New Zealand’s Medicinal Cannabis Scheme becoming operational in early 2020, The Hikurangi Cannabis Company announced its board of directors, global export strategy and name change to Rua Bioscience.
The company’s first horizon will be to grow, manufacture and export high-value pharmaceutical grade products for export to international medicinal cannabis customers.
All in all, we’ve had an action-packed 10 years and we’re looking forward to working with our clients to tell even more exciting stories in the next decade.