Marketing with passion: Lea Worth

Lea Worth came to New Zealand, from Australia, on what was supposed to be a working holiday and fell in love.  With both New Zealand and the man she married – and 36 years later she is still here.
“We have three children two of whom  work in our jewellery manufacturing business with my husband,” Lea tells me with a smile. “Our youngest daughter is at the Broadcasting College in Christchurch.  After 30 years John and I are  empty nesters.”


Lea was working in the St Lukes shopping centre management office, assisting with marketing following the first major redevelopment of the centre, when in 1994 she was appointed acting marketing manager.   From there she was promoted to marketing manager of Glenfield Mall, at the time in the process of gaining resource consent for major redevelopment.


In 1997 when Westfield took over the management of St Lukes Group Lea was again promoted.
“I was made National Events Marketing Manager and was running national promotions across the ten centres in the portfolio.”


Newmarket Business Association(NBA) approached Lea in 2006 and asked her to become Newmarket marketing manager giving her the opportunity to work with (now councillor) Cameron Brewer and A-lister Di Goldsworthy.
“When I took over the role, Newmarket had no marketing strategy and no distinct brand position.  Four years on Newmarket is now known the length of the country as ‘The Fashion Capital of New Zealand’  - a title  I came up with as part of a complete marketing strategy to underpin Newmarket as our  premier shopping centre.”


During her time with the Association, Lea launched the Newmarket Young Designer award.  During the first two years of the award over $300,000 in public relations was generated for NBA  members and sponsors and attracted young designers from throughout the country.    Winners were flown to New York and worked back stage at kiwi designer Karen Walker's New York fashion show.
“They also received a scholarship to Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design and an internship working alongside New Zealand designer Vicki Taylor.”


“Looking back I can proudly say Newmarket benefited from the strong branding and events IImplemented, so now I’m looking for  projects in event marketing with a focus on  fashion and retail.  I’m a confident, professional and proactive person and have the ability to solve problems and use my initiative to meet challenging situations so I’m really looking for something to sink my teeth into.”©2010 Angelique Jurd – All Rights Reserved.

Young and determined: Rachel Rayner

Rachel Rayner is a young woman with conviction.  The chair of the East Coast Bays Labour Electorate Committee is, at just 24, one of  the youngest people  in the country to hold the post.
When I met with Rachel she had just taken over the role and things had been quiet so far – she had only run one or two meetings to date – but being an election year things will soon be getting busier.


“I took the role on for two reasons,” Rachel says. “ For a start, it’s something I believe in – I simply believe we cn do better tha the other guys.  Secondly, it’s fantastic real world experience nobody else is offering.”
The primary role of an electorate committee is to support candidates standing for election – in this case Vivienne Goldsmith – and Rachel is pouring her heart in to getting ‘her’ candidate up the list and into parliament.
“The first thing I organised was a clothing swap – we really needed to do a fundraiser and it seemed like a good way to get things started.”


Part of the attraction, Rachel says, was a clothing swap was a good way to attract people who were not Labour party members along.
Held late last year, Sunnynook Primary School Hall provided an easily found  location for the event and social networking site, Twitter  soon proved to be a formidable marketing platform.
“We had more people from Twitter than from anywhere by far,” Rachel says with a grin.


Ten dollars cash and two items of clothing secured entry to the swap and three chits that could be swapped for three new items of clothing.
Neatly folded and sorted piles of clothes lined the hall and dressing rooms were set up at one end, as was a café.
“I was really  pleased to see people didn’t just come in, find something and leave.  They stayed, had coffee and a good look around.  Most people stayed around an hour – and everyone took at least two articles of clothing away with them.  It was fantastic.”

Although the event raised several hundred dollars, its real value lay in raising the profile of both Ms Goldsmith and the committee.
“It was the wrong time of the year I think for a fundraiser so it wasn’t the most profitable but it was so good in terms of profile.  We had lots of non-members there and it was the easiest fundraiser I’ve ever done.  Everyone just jumped in and helped.  We did have clothes left over – we kept the best for the next event in March and donated the rest to the Child Cancer Foundation.”
Rachel has had  plenty to keep her busy even before the election – which is exactly how Rachel likes it.
“I get asked if I would like to stand but not at this stage –you know there are not a lot of young members and we’re trying to change that so I feel  I can do so much to help at this level, I’m happy doing that.”
©2010 Angelique Jurd – All Rights Reserved.  

Picking her priorities: Susan Wood

While discussing “hooks” at a  non-fiction writing workshop led by Graham Reed, he advised us to pay attention to “what you remember the most. What you notice is what other people will notice”.
The thing I noticed about Susan Wood was how very normal she was – and by normal I don’t mean ordinary.


Ordinary is hardly the word for a successful journalist whose courage is almost as famous as her career.


As well as taking TVNZ to employment court (she won) she quit as general manager for the Takapuna Beach Business Association after only a week in the role because insufficient funding would not allow her to take the village as far as she believed it could go.
Not content with an impressive resume that showed her working alongside Paul Holmes and presenting more than one successful prime-time show, Susan graduated with an MBA from Otago in 2001.


So, I was relieved to discover a down-to-earth woman with a great sense of humour who is more interested in her family-Susan has two sons -and friends than in being a celebrity. What's more, one  who makes a really good cup of tea.
“I did the MBA to show I have a brain,” she explains as she pours the tea.


Even with an MBA and leveraging her extensive media knowledge, it took Susan longer than she anticipated to find her niche once she moved away from mainstream media.
“Because I have had such a public profile, there is a perception around that profile and around what I used to do that is, in fact, incorrect.
“People were making assumptions about what I could do, or would be prepared to do, that just weren’t true.”


The experience gave Susan time to gather herself and decide what was important to her, what she wanted to do and who she wanted to work with.
“You know, if I can’t look someone in the eye I can’t be bothered working with them.”
“I’m not going to validate someone else just for a pay cheque.”
The result is Wood Communications and a group of carefully selected clients, many of whom which are not-for-profit groups.
More than just public relations, Wood Communications offers writing, video, communications and anything else its clients need.
“If it feels right I say yes and figure out how to do it.  I’ve had to learn how to do a lot of new things,” she says with a laugh.


Women, according to Susan, are wired differently so they respond differently – but rather than worrying about it they should simply learn to work with those differences.
“You know there are some brilliant women’s networks out there.  We have to look after each other as much as we can.”


It’s important, she believes to encourage, the next generation of women and share experience and knowledge with them as much as possible.
“I want to see good people who work hard do well.”


The greatest thing about her new lifestyle is the flexibility it affords.  The days of having to be at studios at four for make-up and worrying about missing cues behind her, Susan is free to set her own work schedule and time.
“I can march to the beat of my own drum,” she says with a grin.
“I'm not really a morning person but I do get my best ideas in the shower.  I’m an evening worker though.  I feel like I’m getting my niche sorted, that I’m on the right path – I want to continue with that, continuing to get the balance.”


Balance is the key for Susan who is a devoted mum of two boys in their late teens.  Being present and sharing their lives is a high priority for her as is being there for her friends.
“If people want you near when they’ve got issues it’s something really special. I think that’s pretty cool.”
The keys to success for Susan are simple.
Be true to yourself in every way, she says, and treat others in a way you’d like to be treated.  She also believes it’s important you appreciate what you have and what you have achieved as you go.
She settles her cup down and stands.
“Oh can I add one more?  Make sure there is enough love in your life – that’s what matters."


©2010 Angelique Jurd – All Rights Reserved.  

Lighting the flame: Christine Rankin

Christine Rankin has long been someone I find inspirational.  Back in 2008 for the release of her book Light the Flame (Random House, NZ) she very kindly agreed to an interview with me for business community newspaper Business to Business:

Having built a successful career in public service against the proverbial odds, Christine Rankin found herself at one point in the unenviable position of being one of the most loathed people in our community – at times even being spat on in the street.

“The experience nearly destroyed me and sometimes I wished I could discreetly disappear to live in isolation.  But I chose not to vanish, because I am driven by a desire to make a difference in the lives of others, especially those who experience the disadvantages and vulnerability similar to my own early years.” Christine writes in the opening pages of her book, speaking of her dismissal from public service.

But if you are looking for bitterness – you need to look elsewhere.  For in her book Light the Flame, Christine’s account of her life – including the now famous battle with her superiors – is frank and at times brutal, but bitter it is not.

“I think it was a story that needed to be told,” Christine tells me during a recent interview.  “But when I started to do it, it was too raw.  So I left it for a while, until my son said, “you really need to write that book.”  Then the question became do I want to?  I’m glad I did.”

With son Matt, Christine runs a consultancy and mentorship business called The Rankin Group as well as a media training business Media Wranglers.  In her spare time – if such a thing exists for her – Christine is also chief executive of charitable trust “For the Sake of the Children”.

“Matt and I are passionate about what we do.  We teach people about transformational leadership.  It can be scarey for people to realise that if you want to get the most out of people and business, you have to give of yourself.”

She has also taken on politics again, this time on a regional scale.

“I don’t love politics – I probably fit in local body politics but not really regional.  But I am passionate and I have a lot of integrity.   Besides, we have to have New Zealanders who challenge the status quo.  I want to say what I need to say when I want to say it.”

At nearly six foot tall, Christine is unlikely to ever blend into the scenery but it is more than her height – and her now infamous earrings – that make her stand out from the crowd.  Straightforward and open, Christine is anything but run of the mill in her approach to everything.

“You know, a little man in a crimpolene suit with dandruff told me I was not dressed appropriately.”

The memory brings a laugh – and there is  a tinge of sadness when she continues.

“I’ve experienced the best of our culture and the worst of our culture. Lots of people want to be famous but not many would want to go through what I went through.  Let’s hope nobody has to again.”  There is a momentary pause before she turns to the current state of leadership in New Zealand – and she admits she is desperate for a change of regime.

“Why be miserable together?  Let’s celebrate together.”

Originally published in Business to Business, October 2008. Reprinted with permission.