• Home
• Magazine
• Blog & Podcast
• Idealog TV
• Directory
• Celsias

• Business Magazine of the Year MPA Awards 2007, 2008 & 2009 Business Website of the Year MPA Awards 2009

Tiki tacky

Welcome to Idealog Weekly, the free email newsletter for New Zealand commercial creatives, entrepreneurs and anyone rich with ideas.

Tiki tacky

Visitors like to bring back home something to remember the place they visited, a simple fact that arguably makes the souvenir industry one of the world’s oldest.

What will they remember from their trip to New Zealand? Amanda Cropp takes a gander at the tiki trade, which is estimated at just under three-quarters of a billion dollars and is coming under the same price pressures as every other manufacturing sector. Could it become yet another victim to mass-produced, imported soullessness? In some areas, it already is—even the greenstone and paua may come from offshore—but there’s another market looking for something truly authentic. Amanda’s story is on our website.

Nike’s New Zealand Free connection

In New Zealand, “it’s a small world, isn’t it?” experiences seem more common than elsewhere, for obvious reasons.

It should be no surprise then that the great running coach Arthur Lydiard, the man who pushed New Zealand and Finnish athletes to remarkable feats, played a part in creating the Nike brand.

As it happens, the very successful University of Oregon coach Bill Bowerman, co-founder of Nike, spent some time in New Zealand with his friend Lydiard in the early sixties.

Out of that encounter, jogging was born and also, Nike shoes. The company now rakes in US$19 billion a year in revenue and is a true global brand.

But did Bowerman learn the right things from Lydiard? He seems to have got the running idea right, but ironically, the entire shoe concept wrong. A paper for the British Journal of Sports Medicine written by Dr Craig Richards at the University of Newcastle, Australia, says there are no studies with evidence that running shoes reduce injuries for athletes.

Cushioned soles, electronics, torsion bars and other gadgets may instead cause more of the injuries that runners are all too familiar with, like knee pain and foot problems. Lydiard and his athletes ran in canvas shoes without injuries.

The more expensive and fancy your running shoes are, the more likely they are to hurt you, Richards’ research suggests.

So what did Nike do? Pack up and exit the running shoe market? You don’t grow into a huge global company by giving up, so Nike’s researchers came up with a simple idea: Run Barefoot.

The product range that resulted from the Run Barefoot concept is the Nike Free shoes, which really are like anti-running shoes. They don’t cradle and support your foot like usual running shoes; they feel flimsy like old-fashioned plimsolls. Nike’s commercials for the Free shoes show athletes training barefoot, to emphasise this is a very different type of shoe.

I’m on my second pair of Nike Frees and for me, they work. I run naturally and with less effort (this is relative of course, because running is still hard work for me) and don’t bang my heel into the ground as with normal running shoes. While I’m still in two minds about the concept and wonder if I shouldn’t just get some el cheapo thin leather shoes, Nike’s creative effort behind the Free concept deserves recognition. The company picked up a difficult problem that threatened to undermine its existence, and ran with it. That’s some real innovation to learn from.

Choice

Unfortunately, Kiwi startup Carbonscape didn’t win the Financial Times Climate Challenge Competition this month; the judges thought they were the most deserving but as the title is awarded to the projects that receive the most votes, there’s plenty of scope for, uh, finding yourself a lot of votes quickly. That’s too bad, but congrats for getting Judges’ Choice anyway—it’s a very worthwhile recognition of Carbonscape’s ideas and efforts.

They still look like zombie brains

Cadbury’s Crème Egg Gooeys Film Festival Winners have been announced. David Gifford’s stop-motion masterpiece, Tinfoil Face, took the Grand Gooey, worth $5,000. Isaac Westenra landed the People’s Choice win with an entirely more lovable entry—at first, anyway—Mummy, Where Do Creme Eggs Come From?.

More entries can be found here.

Job of the Week

Account Director (P0498)

Boutique Agency • Key focus on Brand • Wellington

Our client is a Wellington-based strategic branding agency, with an excellent reputation. Lead by a Director who has a wealth of experience and knowledge and is happy to share this.

They are seeking a great Account Director with agency and or client side experience, who also has a strong knowledge of the local market.

This is a great opportunity and perfect time to join this agency, where you will help to grow and develop the client list. In doing so, you will be well rewarded and become an integral part of this specialist team.

If you feel this is the right next step for you, please send your details to Louise Lawton at Portfolio Recruitment on 09 379-9303, or apply on our website.

In the time of HIV

Our friends Dean Easterbrook and Quijing Wong of Borderless Productions have a film for you. It’s about two grandmothers in Kenya, a country where HIV and AIDS is wiping out entire generations. The grandmothers are left to care for their orphaned grandchildren under reduced and very difficult circumstances.

Easterbrook and Wong’s film has already raised $73,000 for African grandmothers, but with 13 million orphans there, more is needed. You can help by buying a DVD on the website.

Very special surprise

Luke Buda of The Phoenix Foundation, who are touring New Zealand as we write, has copped an mention for his site at the annual Favourite Website Awards.

Buda’s site has been included in the Top 50 FWA sites of 2008, so well done that man. The site, created by Resn, is also a finalist in the One Show Interactive Awards in New York, so touch wood, it’ll go on winning even more. The competition is tough though, with brands like Nike, Diesel, Nokia, Burger King and Nintendo squaring up to fight over the prize.

Totally tumeke

Vote for your favourite Kiwi Musik Klip over at The Film Archive during April and you may win a mystery prize next month. ‘Maxine’ (Sharon O’Neill), ‘The Way I Feel’ (Jan Hellriegel), Tangaroa (Tiki Taane), ‘O’Baby’ (Charlie Ash) and ‘AFFCO’ (The Skeptics) are currently the top five—a perfect example of the diversity of Kiwi music.

May, the musicest month

April wasn’t particularly cruel this year, but we’re looking forward to May, the Music Month. KiwiFM is doing its 31 Bands In A Box this year too, starting with the Charlie Ash on May 1 at 9.10 in the morning. That’ll be a first for the Charlies.

The Wammonator tells me that this time KiwiFM intends to stream live video of the musos playing at KiwiTV as well.

While we wait for this year’s bands, singers and chanteuses to go up on the KiwiFM site, here’s last year’s crowd, in full sound and video glory.

Quote of the week

“To be blunt, I don’t want Chinese stuff in our shop. I don’t want to be selling Chinese [made] back to Chinese [tourists]. I want to be selling Maori culture to the rest of the world.”

—Maori Arts & Crafts Institute chief executive Te Taru White wants some meaning in his merchandise.

More at Idealog online

Read more on our website: web exclusives, opinion, creative directory, Idealog TV, the Idealog blogs and the Idealog podcast. See you at idealog.co.nz.

  Juha Saarinen
  Ideologue, Weekly

Previously in Idealog Weekly …

October 30, 2009: Man of the moment

October 23, 2009: By the numbers

October 16, 2009: Pavlova principles

October 9, 2009: The secret of the songbook

October 2, 2009: Free and easy

September 25, 2009: What the world wants

September 18, 2009: A slice of the pie

September 11, 2009: Walking man

September 6, 2009: A calmer kind of business

August 28, 2009: We have issues

August 21, 2009: Mincing about in waistcoats

August 14, 2009: Wired on pop culture

August 7, 2009: Trust is not a commodity

July 31, 2009: Fuzzy logic

July 24, 2009: Game of life

July 17, 2009: Grape expectations

July 10, 2009: Blade runners

July 3, 2009: Free: another word for nothing left to lose

June 26, 2009: Poorly pleased

June 19, 2009: The giver

June 12, 2009: Buggy on down

June 5, 2009: Brand Cambo

May 29, 2009: When the going gets tough, go proactive

May 22, 2009: Bayerische Wasserstoffmotorenwerke

May 15, 2009: Rugger blogger

May 8, 2009: Get on our cloud

May 1, 2009: Easy Tiger

April 24, 2009: Tiki tacky

April 17, 2009: The not-so-great indoors

April 3, 2009: A site for sore eyes

March 27, 2009: Dual control

March 20, 2009: Worth their Alt

March 13, 2009: Biofuels or bio-fools?

March 6, 2009: It's electrifying

February 27, 2009: Experience-rich and theory-poor

February 20, 2009: It's a hundred-and-fourteen-pager

February 13, 2009: Own your mistakes

February 5, 2009: Rules—made to be broken

January 30, 2009: Money: that's what I want

December 5, 2008: Framed by the thousands

November 28, 2008: Spank-branding novelty next week

November 21, 2008: In the Loop

November 14, 2008: Your good health

November 7, 2008: Misfits of science

October 31, 2008: No absence of colour

October 24, 2008: Plain-speaking Peri

October 17, 2008: Rebels with a cause

October 10, 2008: Seoulipsism

October 3, 2008: Fall seven times and stand up eight

September 26, 2008: Don't label us

September 19, 2008: Bloody Graham

September 19, 2008: Dream proposition

September 5, 2008: Taxi!!!

August 29, 2008: Up-Skilling on Idealog TV

August 22, 2008: 144 pages of pure pleasure, plus politics

August 15, 2008: Wash down that Lovemark with a Steinie

August 8, 2008: Strange journey

August 1, 2008: SMElly and happy

July 25, 2008: What a dive

July 18, 2008: Softly and woolly does it

July 11, 2008: The saviour from Timaru

July 4, 2008: Last laugh

June 27, 2008: King Kev

June 20, 2008: Slow ART

June 13, 2008: Killing two birds with methane

June 6, 2008: A combine harvester

May 30, 2008: Gold paint

May 23, 2008: Rock, out

May 16, 2008: Goodwill hunting

May 9, 2008: No wine jokes please

May 2, 2008: Who's bad?

April 24, 2008: Succession success

April 18, 2008: Out now or thereabouts

April 11, 2008: Paint by numbers

April 4, 2008: Reincarnated good

March 28, 2008: Making it

March 20, 2008: Knock three times

March 14, 2008: The customer is always tight

March 7, 2008: Beautiful words

February 28, 2008: Goodnight, I'm off to work

February 22, 2008: The art issue

February 15, 2008: Straight to the top

February 8, 2008: H for hot

December 13, 2007: Nothing in common? Perfect

December 6, 2007: Who needs a beer?

November 30, 2007: Dirty secret goes public

November 23, 2007: Don't speak

November 16, 2007: Worthy work (and free beer)

November 2, 2007: East meets best

October 25, 2007: Raid the fridge

October 19, 2007: Looking good

October 13, 2007: Can't miss it

October 5, 2007: Fresh meat delivery

September 28, 2007: If the walls had eyes

September 21, 2007: Phoenix rising

September 15, 2007: Can we fix it? Yes we can

September 6, 2007: Feats of social engineering

August 31, 2007: Doesn't bite

August 24, 2007: Telling us where to go

August 16, 2007: Tomorrow time

August 10, 2007: Going West

August 3, 2007: How to ... be your business

July 27, 2007: Freaky food

July 20, 2007: Meet the neighbours

July 12, 2007: Free Hollie

July 6, 2007: Green queen

June 29, 2007: The truth about youth

June 21, 2007: Walk this way

June 14, 2007: Times ten

June 7, 2007: The ape woman needs a label

June 1, 2007: Impossible is something

May 25, 2007: Yeah, we're still here

May 11, 2007: Trophy time

May 3, 2007: Friends with the band

April 23, 2007: Why worry?

April 19, 2007: Done by the big jobs

April 12, 2007: A rockin' good read

April 5, 2007: No fear

March 29, 2007: Out to pasture

March 22, 2007: Hip-hop and The Human Touch

March 15, 2007: Crazy Frog and Billy T

March 10, 2007: The Benadryl edition

March 1, 2007: We can be Xero

February 22, 2007: Back on board

December 15, 2006: Free beer

December 8, 2006: December 8, 2006

December 1, 2006: December 1, 2006

November 24, 2006: November 24, 2006

November 16, 2006: November 16, 2006

November 9, 2006: November 9, 2006

November 3, 2006: November 3, 2006

October 26, 2006: October 26, 2006

October 19, 2006: October 19, 2006

October 12, 2006: October 12, 2006

October 6, 2006: October 6, 2006

September 28, 2006: September 28, 2006

September 21, 2006: September 21, 2006

September 14, 2006: September 14, 2006

September 7, 2006: September 7, 2006

August 31, 2006: August 31, 2006

August 24, 2006: August 24, 2006

August 17, 2006: August 17, 2006

August 11, 2006: August 11, 2006

August 3, 2006: August 3, 2006

July 27, 2006: July 27, 2006

July 21, 2006: July 21, 2006

July 13, 2006: July 13, 2006

July 6, 2006: July 6, 2006

June 29, 2006: June 29, 2006

June 22, 2006: June 22, 2006

June 15, 2006: June 15, 2006

Add your comment

HTML will be removed. Web addresses will be automatically hyperlinked.

Anonymous comments are queued before publishing and may take some time to appear. Or you can create an account and your comment will bypass our bureaucracy.

Your comment Name Email (hidden) Website Security check

Tweeted

Overheard

• steer seo on Bigger, faster, more productive:
  It's got to be good for online retailers selling to the US. They will be able to offer a better multi-media experience.
• Mark on Bigger, faster, more productive:
  Fantastic! Finally some vision in establishing a key infrastructure to support New Zealand's future prosperity and commercial competitiveness. Good work Rod, Sam and Steve - your country thanks you for your patriotism!  …
• Margaret Holmes on NZ Institute thumbs down Key's agenda:
  Unfortunately it is not just red tape - it is also the laid back kiwi attitude, compounded by educators who think achieving national standards is a bad thing.
• Tim Marshall on Smile, you’re in New Zealistan:
  The target of higher GDP per capita is all wrong. Aiming for it encourages more production and consumption, often at the expense of quality of life. We need to construct a Genuine Progress Index (GPI) to guide policy. Fr  …
• Peter McL on New note:
  "You got caught up in events at EMI.." and yet shes STILL with EMI - their local branch is distributing her new album. Wonder why?
  
  I blogged some more of Hollies comments on the details behind the fallout  …
• Phil Wollerman on Smile, you’re in New Zealistan:
  Brilliant, insightful article, VH.
  
  This situation has principally arisen because - simplistically - the world no longer wants what we are intrinsically advantaged in supplying.
  
  And yeah, it doesn't look like our co  …

• Back to top
• Looking for something else? Check the site map
• © 2005–2010 Idealog. All rights reserved. ISSN 1179–3465