A Month of Fun-Days!

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Andrew Frame

Looks a bit quiet, eh?

Inner-city Napier sadly lacks activity and public events. There is a citywide sale in the slowest, coldest time of the retail year, one day of the year when you’re supposed to be randomly kind to one-another (just one?) and a prolonged picnic on Napier’s Marine Parade, which draws people to the CBD’s periphery, away from the retailers and taking custom away from its own cafes.

Cumulatively it amounts to just over a dozen days of activities, covering less than 5{3919f50c199a8627c147b24d329ff0de8aa05e3a462fa3330e11cd9ea56ed948} of the year.

The CBD marketing association ladies will claim that it costs a lot (of council / retailer funding) to run their organizations and provide the same handful of events each year. But you’ve got to admit, the region’s central city businesses don’t appear to be getting much bang for their buck and our CBD needs both bang and buck urgently!

I get sick of cost being an excuse for inactivity. What about passion, creativity and imagination? Just use Youtube as an example. A couple of people with an idea and a camera can create something for nothing that millions of people around the world can view, enjoy or be inspired by.

Last year I took to Twitter with some ideas for getting action back into Napier’s CBD. We need preferably free (or very cheap) events that both enliven Napier’s city centre and encourage more spending. I tried to think outside the square as much as possible and involve local organizations, schools, groups etc. or develop ideas that involve partnerships with local or national companies giving them event naming rights in return for their logistical or financial input and the subsequent advertising.

The companies I mention below are mentioned merely a guideline – they are ones that I follow or vice versa on Twitter. As is the order of events – I started from a Monday and went from there.

Week 1: Your Brand Here!

#1: More FM Monday: Live broadcasts, sausage sizzles, fun & games with the local radio station!

#2: Hawke’s Bay Today Tuesday: Special feature section on Central Napier: History, Then and Now pictorials, stories etc. in the paper with perhaps a pull-out coupon selection for CDB businesses combined with displays throughout town, public interactivity with editors, reporters etc.!

#3: Whittaker’s Wide & Walk to Work Wednesday: Leave the car at home, ride or walk to work and get rewarded with CHOCOLATE!

#4: TV Thursday: New Zealand TV networks love doing live crosses, so the networks can broadcast their breakfast shows from Napier! Imagine TV One’s Breakfast broadcast from cafés and shops throughout Emerson Street, or TV3’s Firstline being presented from the balcony of ‘The Dome’ with the sun rising over Hawke Bay and Marine Parade behind it!

#5: Thank Grabaseat it’s Friday: Air NZ (who, let’s face it haven’t been the most generous to Hawke’s Bay in terms of flight prices) discounts their airfares to our region; Napier puts on a city-wide party to celebrate, attract and welcome the visitors!

#6: Suzuki Swift Saturday: BMW is launching its latest X5 in Napier next week, which is pretty awesome. So why not other marques? The Suzuki Swift has become the small car of choice in NZ for quick, stylie, around-town commuting. So why not launch their next generation car in a stylie city centre like Napier?

#7: Subway Soundshell Sessions: Free / gold coin donation to see live music at the Soundshell!

Week 2: Community Involvement!

#8: Musical Monday: Buskers & school bands / orchestras play throughout Napier’s CBD! I have had a concept in my head for some time of a combined Napier high schools orchestra / band / choir / variety show at the Municipal Theatre that this could tie in with.

#9: It Takes Two to Tango Tuesday: Cafes & shops open onto the street to music & dancing lessons / demonstrations!

#10: Awareness Wednesday: Napier’s community groups, clubs, etc. stage an outdoor expo along the paved areas of Emerson and Market Street. Raising awareness of what can be done in and for this beautiful city!

#11: Theatrical Thursday: Schools and local theatre groups take to the streets to perform!

#12: Fashion Friday: Napier’s clothing stores host a combined fashion parade and use Emerson Street as the catwalk! EIT fashion / theatre / media students can assist in the production, aiding their studies!

#13: School’s Out Saturday: Activities specials & events for the young ones throughout town!

#14: Sport Hawke’s Bay Sundays: Plenty of green grass along Marine Parade and empty spaces not being used, so let’s use it for interactive sport demonstrations!

Multi-Media Week

#15: Make Some News Monday: Hawke’s Bay Today, the Dominion Post etc. open up to Napier people for them to submit their CBD stories & pics. (Also gives any thin editions a bit more bulk!)

#16: Twitter Tuesday: Encourage the public to utilise the CBD’s free Wifi coverage by sending Tweets, pictures & video broadcasting Napier to the Twitterverse! Get #Napier trending internationally on Twitter!

#17: Wifi Wednesday: Encourage the city’s people and businesses out onto the streets with the CBD’s free Wifi network!

#18: Youtube Thursday: Expose the world-wide interweb to virtual guided tours of Napier people’s favourite places and things? Create some interest and make people want to visit and check them out for themselves!

#19: Facebook Friday: Encourage the public to utilise the CBD’s free Wifi coverage by sending pictures & video broadcasting Napier onto Facebook! Get #Napier trending internationally!

#20: Snapshot Saturday: Post pics of central Napier onto sites such as Flickr, Instagram and Pintrest. Prizes for the most “liked” or creative photos!

#21: Open-air Cinema Sunday: The Soundshell doubles as an outdoor cinema for the evening!

Commercial Week

#22: Makeover Monday: Central Napier’s proliferation of women’s clothing stores, hairdressers, beauty therapists and masseuses take the fore to make Napier people look and feel wonderful!

#23: Tax-free Tuesday: A city-wide 15{3919f50c199a8627c147b24d329ff0de8aa05e3a462fa3330e11cd9ea56ed948} off Sale!

#24: Midweek Market Wednesday: Napier’s Farmers’ Market comes to town a few days early in the evening, while Inner-city shops have stalls outside during the day.

#25: Themed Thursday: City-wide storefront displays and promotions based around an event or a local / visiting national sporting team etc. Public votes on best display, specials on anything black and white (for a Magpies theme)!

#26: Alfresco Feast Friday: For an evening Emerson Street becomes Napier’s biggest outdoor restaurant, as the CBD’s eateries put on an outdoor serving to put the “Great Long Lunch” to shame!

#27: Special Someone Saturday: Treat your special someone to breakfast, shopping & more! Spend $20 or more in a store city-wide to be in the draw to win a night at The Dome / County Hotel etc.!

#28: Slow, Summery Sunday: Take a stroll through town, have a shop, have some lunch at a café and then wander up to the parade for a leisurely walk, or relaxed concert at the Soundshell!

“If All Else Fails” Week

#29: Music Video Monday: Why has Napier never featured in a music video? Let’s make one!
If No bands are forthcoming, then it could become “Manufactured Pop Monday”, evolving into a reality TV series featuring a search for local talent. How could NZ on Air refuse to fund it?

#30: Tug of War Tuesday: With so much rhetoric and spin over the amalgamation debate, let’s settle it the old fashioned way – a NCC vs. HDC / HBRC / WDC / CHBC / A Better Hawke’s Bay tug of war down Emerson Street. Winner takes all (or status quo)!

#31: “Wipe-out” Wednesday: Create a fun, crazy obstacle course in Emerson Street and invite people, individuals, companies and schools to take it on!

There are my ideas. What do you think?
• A month FULL of activities?
• 31 weeks with one event per week?
• Or can central Napier stay alive with the weak pulse and mere 5{3919f50c199a8627c147b24d329ff0de8aa05e3a462fa3330e11cd9ea56ed948} activity it currently exhibits.

Incidentally, the earliest chance of doing all the events, in order, would be September or December 2014, whose 31 days start on a Monday.

But why wait? I love my city and want to see it busy and prosperous.

Let’s get these ideas into fruition NOW!

Hosting a “Tweetup” 101

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Andrew Frame

A Tweet Little Gathering!

To many people Twitter and other social media are viewed as quite a sterile, distant, disconnected form of communication. But they don’t have to be!

One of my favourite aspects of Hawke’s Bay’s large and vibrant Twitter community is the reasonably regular “Tweetups” we have.

A Tweetup is a get-together, or meet-up for local twitterers. It’s great getting to meet in person all the people you have been conversing with across the World Wide Web.

I’ve been to maybe half a dozen #HBTweetups, so while the long winter nights were taking their toll last month, I decided to organise one myself. Below is my step-by-step guide to organising / hosting your own Tweetup!

Step One: Find a Location
Most of the Tweetups I’ve been to have been at restaurants or bars. It makes sense really – they’re relaxed social venues with the added benefit of food and drink, but I’ve also heard of fish and chip Tweetups on the beach and others at bigger venues with themed parties, etc.

Newly opened or refurbished establishments and those just entering the social media world are often on the lookout for ways to get their brand out into the Twittersphere, so they can be quite receptive to hosting such events. A venue that has wifi access is a bonus too, as it allows live tweets from the Tweetup.

From what I’ve experienced the venue will often provide finger food and the first drink on the house. But this varies from place to place and can quite often be offset by getting attendees to stay for dinner, or join a loyalty programme the venue may be doing. It works out pretty win-win either way. You or the hosting venue might even decide to offer spot prizes, or something similar to sweeten the deal for guests.

The hardest part I found of negotiating hosting a Tweetup is you can never be too sure of how many people will come. Sometimes you will get positive responses from 30 people and only 12 will turn up to the event. You can also have 20 people respond and end up with 50 on the day, as word gets around. You may find yourself using the words “ballpark figure” quite a bit.

In my case, I tweeted Grant from Napier’s new Viceroy Hotel and Delmonico’s Bistro & Wine Bar and set up a meeting to discuss the possibility of them hosting a Tweetup. Grant was very positive and we set a date. Around three weeks lead-in gives you enough time to get the word out and RSVPs back and get things organised, while still being close enough to attract and keep interest.

Step Two: Get the Word Out
Prepare to Tweet and #Hashtag like you’ve never Tweeted and #Hashtaged before!

The easiest way to get things started is to Tweet about it. Adding a “#” (Hashtag) with the events name (Hawke’s Bay Tweetups usually use the Hashtag “#HBTweetup”) is a good place to start. You can track people’s comments and responses using Twitter’s search function and typing in your event’s Hashtag name.

Another way is setting up the event through a site like Twitvite, where people can RSVP and see the details of the Tweetup, like we did here.

Now spend the next two weeks sending out general or targeted (@ all the local people you’d like to attend) tweets with links to your Twitvite page, hashtaging and generally promoting the living snot out of your Tweetup. Don’t be surprised if you wake up in the middle of the night screaming “Tweetup!” at some stage during this time, it’s perfectly normal.

Step Three: The Big Day – Enjoy!
You would have confirmed final numbers with the host a day or two before the event for catering purposes and organised any extra bits and pieces that may be required, so all you can do now is sit back and relax! (cigar, slippers and satin smoking jacket optional).

A “Tweet-wall” is a neat feature where those at the Tweetup and those who wish they were can have their tweets displayed usually via a data projector onto a screen. Hawke’s Bay digital wizards Mogul have an application called “Strea.ma” that is set up for just such a purpose. Check it out – it’s very cool and interactive!

Most of all enjoy yourself (and don’t forget to invite me)!

The Colour of Hawke’s Bay

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Andrew Frame

Some New Zealand bays are full of islands,

Others are plentiful.

But no bay has more color than Hawke’s Bay!

It should come as no surprise, from a place whose rugby team wears the opposite spectrums of magpie black and white.

Majestic Hawke Bay ocean hues: turquoise to navy, cold, hard grays to soft, saline foamy whites.

The lush, fruitful Heretaunga Plains – braeburn red and packham green.

Vineyard covered hills, bleached chardonnay by the summer sun, slowly turning pinot noir in the long evening light.
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