Year Book 2021

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BAY OF PLENTY
BUSINESS NEWS
celebrates five years
FOR PUBLISHER ALAN
NEBEN, COMING from
Hamilton to live in
Tauranga in 2018 was like
coming home having
spent much of his early
adult life in the region.
For business director Pete Wales, coming
to the Bay in 2016 was a change of
pace and lifestyle from the fast paced
corporate world that he left behind.
Group editor David Porter on the other
hand, although comfortably ensconced
in the Bay since 2010, had to adapt back
then to a more sedate pace of life in
the Bay of Plenty when he returned to
New Zealand after years as a foreign
correspondent in Hong Kong.
The three have come together to
produce Bay of Plenty Business News
since 2016.
JUNE 2021 VOLUME 5: ISSUE 6
LIFTOUT
Delve into
Tech.
IN THE BAY
investment
Craigs draws a strong
crowd to discuss
investment options.
P3
franchising
Know your master.
P7
credit control
Mind your relationships.
TAURANGA'S PREMIER VENUE - A COMPLETE PACKAGE
P21
ENTERTAINMENT | EXHIBITIONS | CONFERENCES | MEETINGS
• Flexible venues for 10 – 4,400 delegates
• In-house catering and audio visual services
WWW.BOPBUSINESSNEWS.CO.NZ
FACEBOOK.COM/BAYOFPLENTYBUSINESSNEWS
Explore the way
Bay tech firms have
fought back during the
pandemic in our guide to
technology and innovation.
(See pages 9 to 16)
• Professional Conference Organiser (PCO)
• Complete marketing/promotional services
0800 BAYPARK (229 727) www.trustpowerbaypark.co.nz
BUSINESS NEWS THEN AND NOW – SEPTEMBER 2016 (L) AND MORE RECENTLY,
JUNE 2021
Alan launched Bay of Plenty Business
News as a companion to Hamiltonbased
Waikato Business News which he
owned and ran since 1999. “Back in 2015
we found many successful businesses
were opening offices in both Waikato
and the Bay of Plenty.
“They wanted to reach the business-tobusiness
market in both regions. We
launched BOP Business News in 2016,
and we’ve never looked back.”
Alan moved from Hamilton to Tauranga
to focus on Bay of Plenty Business News.
“If I’m to be totally honest, I also
relocated for a lifestyle change –
something I’ve never regretted,” he
reflects. “I decided to ‘come home’
to the Bay in 2018 after several years in
Hamilton. It really was the breath of fresh
air I needed.”
Since then the publication has gone
from strength to strength. “I think
that growth is a reflection of business
development across the region as much
as a reflection of our hard work.”
Business director Pete Wales echoes
those sentiments. “It’s extremely
satisfying to now be recognised: when
I say, “I’m from BOP Business News”,
businesspeople want to talk. That
didn’t just happen – we’ve worked
hard to build a reputation and to be
acknowledged as the voice of BOP
Business,” says Pete.
Covid-19: not for the faint-hearted
The single most significant challenge
to the growth of Bay of Plenty Business
News came in the form of Covid-19 in
March 2020. “We’re proud that in the
face of enormous challenges presented
by Covid, we never missed a beat;
We still met every monthly deadline
and produced every monthly issue
through 2020. That’s not something most
publishers can say.”
During lockdown, in the face of falling
ad revenues resulting from uncertainty in
the economy, the Bay of Plenty Business
Publications team determined they
needed to be unflinching in their focus
and yet more innovative.
The team quickly set revised targets,
launched a new Community Business
Directory feature, revamped BBN’s online
presence and accelerated its digital
marketing suite offering – as a result the
group’s digital subscriber database grew
6 | YEARBOOK 2021