Author Henry Oliver

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Legalising dope: money maker or social cost?
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Two-thirds of New Zealanders support either legalising or decriminalising marijuana, according to a New Zealand Drug Foundation study released this week, and Labour and New Zealand First have come out in support for a referendum on the matter. Henry Oliver looks at what opportunities could be created for marketing and branding if marijuana is legalised, and what it might mean for New Zealand’s economy.

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Some very particular phones for your very particular needs
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In some ways, smartphones are a strange product. We all use them differently, and have different expectations as to their performance, yet most of us buy one of just a handful of models that all do pretty much exactly the same thing. But what if you want something different? What if you want something distinctly you? Well, here are some phones for particular people that fulfill a particular need.

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Finding stories in the statistics: welcome to the age of data visualisation
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Data is, as they say, big. It’s everywhere. We’re all creating it all the time. And within all the data are stories. Millions and millions of stories. And to help us make sense of those stories, a new breed of data visualisation from the likes of Pitch Interactive’s Wes Grubbs has arisen to deepen and broaden our understanding of the world around us. PLUS: some of our favourite data visualisations.

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Dances with lone wolves: report shows Kiwi tech exporters lagging behind on digital marketing smarts
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It seems like there’s an unending wave of innovative products coming out of the New Zealand tech sector at the moment. We’re making software and hardware for use in everything from nanotechnology to aerospace to kitchens to shops. And we’re not keeping it to ourselves. But, according to the latest Market Measures survey, New Zealand’s technology exporters are well behind their US competitors in using digital marketing techniques to sell themselves and their products.

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The incredible shrinking queue
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Having recently had himself 3D-printed as part of Spark’s promotional push for the release of the iPhone 6, Henry Oliver looks at whether the concept of queuing for readily available items might soon become a thing of the past.

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Selling the ‘super city’: inside ATEED’s search for Auckland’s essence
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Auckland’s been the City of Sails and the Big Little City. Aucklanders have been JAFAs and (long before that) Rangitoto Yanks. But none of these holdovers from the good ol’ days of the share market boom, the America’s Cup or the John Banks mayoralties work for the diverse ‘super city’ of 1.5 million people that Auckland is becoming. And after a comprehensive review of Auckland’s economic development strategy, Auckland Council’s economic growth agency Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) is undertaking Global Auckland, a rebranding project chaired by NZME’s chief executive Jane Hastings.