Mark Pickering’s Post

NZ Events Association's Awards are NOW OPEN!! A wide range of categories and trophies are up for grabs so check out the info here: https://www.nzea.co/awards See you at the Gala Dinner in Palmy on the 27th of August! #eventindustry #awards

How do we save our industry? When a global mega-event such as the Coachella Festival is struggling to sell tickets, you know the music festival and wider events industry having issues. With huge festivals such as Australia's massive Splendour in the Grass having to shut down and festivals such as Splore in NZ taking a year out, it is clear the ballooning post-covid costs for artists and production, combined with a lack of sponsorship, cost of living crisis and an overabundance of music content is affecting the industry. What can we do? #eventindustry #musicindustry #musicfestivals #festivals #eventprofessionals

I've been helping out Maria Tyrrell and her amazing team at BNZ Northern Kāhu Women's basketball team on some commercial strategy recently, and this week the Taihui Basketball Aotearoa League has announced some major news! The league will now be offering pay parity with the men's players in the competition, and will also be allowing more overseas talent to play, lifting the standards of players and the league significantly. There are also ongoing conversations to bring international teams into the league, so these are exciting times for the fastest-growing sport in New Zealand! Having recently signed Bank of New Zealand as a naming rights partner, BNZ Northern Kāhu are on the look out for more sponsors to join their stable for the upcoming season, so give me a nudge and I'll happily do an intro! #basketball #womenssport

It was great to be part of last year’s NZ Events Association Eventing The Future Conference, supporting Aotearoa’s events industry. Tickets are on sale for this year’s edition in Palmerston North and am really looking forward to this year’s programme. Tickets available now and hope to see you there! https://lnkd.in/gfS2nirw #eventsindustry #events #conference

Very excited to be competing this weekend at a new participation-based major event - The Rainbow Games Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland 2024! I'll be taking on the world in 10-pin bowling alongside my colleagues Natalie Allan and Connie Miller 🎳 Tātaki Auckland Unlimited's Major Events team are supporting this event to bring it to the calendar and support the LGBTQ+ community and their allies - celebrating the diversity and inclusivity of Tamaki Makaurau Auckland. It's been great to watch Tom Leonard, Angus McDougall and the rest of their board and team bring this event to life, and I can't wait to participate. #rainbowgames #lgbtq+ #majorevents #inclusivity #diversity #ally #bowling

Very lucky to have been front and centre at SailGP Lyttleton and the city and port put on a spectacular show. Bringing in more than $5m to the local economy and showing off the spectacular harbour and surrounds in stunning sunshine, the event was a huge success. Christchurch also hosted NRL game of the week so it was great to see the city buzzing with energy as both the One NZ Warriors and New Zealand SailGP Team came away as winners. Well done to the Major Events team at ChristchurchNZ for all their hard mahi! Wonderful to share a drink and work stories with Loren Aberhart (Heaphy) and Michael Kelly too! I’ll be back to this beautiful part of the world again soon! #majorevents #sportevents #sailgp #nrl #destinationevents

SXSW is one of my favourite events and look forward to attending again next year, but this move seems like a massive case of not reading the room or audience. How does an event that champions creativity and alternative thinking sign such conservative sponsors as the US Army and Raytheon without consulting their key stakeholders and attendees?? Brain fart of the year for me!! #sxsw2024 #sponsorship #sponsorshipmarketing #eventsponsorship #usarmy

Ooooh Kaaaay!! **TAKES DEEP BREATH** Here we go! One final weekend of work on Tātaki Auckland Unlimited’s incredible season of produced major events, this weekend at Moana Auckland Festival! 🌊🦀🐟 Last weekend, I was fortunate to DJ and play some tunes at the Moana Auckland festival hub at the Viaduct. 🕺🏻💃🎧🎵 It was great to play some tunes as the swimmers from the Ocean Swim Series landed, and I came back on stage later to MC and stage-manage some of the wonderful DJs and artists we have had this past month at the festival.🎤🎸 Only two more days to wrap up what has been a hectic but rewarding couple of months in the field, and I hope to see you at Te Wero Island for some fun and shenanigans on Saint Paddy‘s day Sunday at the hub. 🍀🍻 You can also drop in to the Boat Show, the Runa Project and enjoy the Food Truck Collective grub while you’re there!⚓️🛶🚤⛵️🍔🥗 Props to the festival team and all those who have mucked in to help! ❤️🙏 Nick Crabtree Rosalin Mackenzie Wai Murrell Bayon Kim Cheyne Stevens Natalie Allan Jep Savali Ally and co… And thanks to our sponsors - Tip Top Ice Cream and Skinnies Sunscreen 🙏 #festival2024 #festivals #eventmanagement #eventproduction #eventmarketing #eventsponsorship

Climate change has had a huge impact on events in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland with last summer's cyclones wreaking havoc on our industry. Tātaki Auckland Unlimited's Major Event Production and Operations teams have been progressing well with our journey to make all of our produced events more sustainable and to lead the city and Aotearoa in this field. With support from our amazing internal Climate Change and Sustainability Team (props to Parin Rafiei (PhD), Isabel Emerson, and Alex Norman), we have been hard at work developing processes and systems to help us reach our goals. Here's a great article talking about some of the festivals in the UK leading the way in this area. #sustainableevents #eventproduction #majorevents #climatechange

This coming weekend will see Tamaki Makaurau Auckland buzzing with major events - from the first NRL game at home for the One NZ Warriors through to the huge P!nk concert, alongside the World Manu Champs at Moana Auckland Festival; the city will be alive with people soaking up the experiences we have to offer. My pick for the weekend (and where I and the Tātaki Auckland Unlimited Major Events team will mostly be focused) is Auckland's Pasifika Festival! So much food, music, and dance to excite the senses at Western Springs, and a new set of exciting performances, with roots, reggae, and contemporary dance on show for our visitors. With the sun set to shine, we are expecting another bumper crowd! See you there! #pasifikafestival #pasifika #pacificislands #majorevents #culturalevents #eventmanagement #eventmarketing #eventsponsorship