I used to uncover the stories worth telling.
I help New Zealand businesses explain complicated things, show what makes them different and give people a reason to care. Through strategy, video, websites and media advice.
17 years in newsrooms. 12 on your side of the table.
Six problems New Zealand businesses face, from a product that's hard to explain to a story about to go public. The fix might be a video, a website or a media plan. We start with a 20-minute call, and you'll know the price before any work begins.
VideoToo complicated to sell
NZFSG leadership series · Olympia Property Management: Emman's Edge, Five Keys series.
Talk to me about thisWebsitesWebsite underselling you
This site: positioning, copy, design direction and launch, led by me. Tested to WCAG 2.2 AA with zero violations.
Talk to me about thisVideoContent that isn't working
MortgageHQ: 2.2 million YouTube views in 11 months. The previous 9 years managed 2.7 million.
Talk to me about thisMediaNot getting noticed
More than 300 press releases written for Duco Events and the NZ Breakers. Journalists read them. I checked.
Talk to me about thisMediaReputation under threat
Led crisis communications for Duco Events across New Zealand, Australia, Germany, the UK and the US.
If it's live, don't book. Ring 021 746 045.
Talk to me about thisMediaMedia pressure
Nine years at TVNZ asking the questions. 12 years getting people ready to answer them.
Talk to me about thisAdjectives are cheap. Here are the numbers. Attention and results are kept in separate columns, because they are not the same thing.
A mortgage advisory with 9 years of YouTube behind it and 2.7 million views to show for it. I produced and edited the channel and ran an interview series with the chief economists of Westpac, ASB, Kiwibank and BNZ.
Views measure attention, not sales, and include paid promotion I ran. Source: MortgageHQ channel analytics.
Read the case8× the monthly average
Different industries. Different stakes. The same judgement.
Craig plays the ignorant person in the room, then pulls the thread that turns out to be the real story. He'd make us redo things until we were proud of them.
Our leads got cheaper and more consistent, and the content became an asset the new owners wanted when we sold. Is he worth paying more than an editor? He is.
Andrew MalcolmFounder and former owner, MortgageHQLynley Dodd made Hairy Maclary unforgettable. Craig has that same storytelling instinct for complicated issues. He finds the heart of the matter and puts the arrow exactly where it needs to go.
Anyone can make a technical video. Very few can make it land. That's the magic. People finally understand. And the videos provoke. That's the point.
Kirsty MerrimanCo-founder, Subdivision Advocacy NZCraig's videos have raised NZFSG's profile in the broker market. Our existing advisers have responded very positively, and we've received enquiries from prospective new advisers. They've shown people why they'd want to be part of NZFSG.
Bruce PattenCEO, NZFSG and Loan MarketCraig was the lynchpin behind Duco's spectacular promotion of Joseph Parker.
Martin SneddenFormer CEO, Duco Events and the 2011 Rugby World CupI've worked with Don King and all the world's premier boxing promoters and when it comes to media, Craig works to an international standard as high as any I've seen in more than 50 years of boxing.
Col. Bob SheridanCalled Muhammad Ali's Rumble in the Jungle, Thrilla in Manila and Mike Tyson's biggest fights28 films for five clients. Developed, directed and produced by me, and shared privately.
Explore selected workPrivate. Password on request, or call 021 746 045.
Also: MortgageHQ, Business Apprentice, NZ Saver and Business Bridge.
Interest rates, inflation and houses, made worth watching. If I can do that with the OCR, imagine what I could do with the story behind your business.
Same four steps whether it ends in a media plan, a video or a website.
I know, because I was one. Newstalk ZB. talkSPORT in London. Nine years at TVNZ. Six international events in six years: two Olympics, three World Cups and the America's Cup.
I know what a reporter needs by 4pm. What makes them bin a press release. What makes them pick up the phone.
Since 2014 I've used that from the other side. These days mostly for New Zealand businesses: financial firms that wanted the public to understand them, an advocacy group taking on some very large invoices, and a few companies that needed the public to stop misunderstanding them.
Before that, Joseph Parker and the NZ Breakers. Nothing teaches you pressure like a heavyweight press conference.
That's the whole trick. Mostly.
Before the business work: radio, ONE News at two Olympics and three World Cups, Joseph Parker's road to Cardiff and the NZ Breakers. 30 years on the record, in five chapters.
Five chapters, 30 years: on air, ONE News, the fight game, the club and the practice. Read the full story
Sport and events clients: Joseph Parker, Carlos Ulberg, Jeff Horn, Eric Murray, NZ Breakers and Duco Events.
David Beckham, Jason Momoa, Joseph Parker and the All Blacks. Proof I know which end of the microphone to hold.
Book a 20-minute call. Tell me what's going on in your business. I'll tell you what I'd do, and whether you need me at all.