The votes are in and the verdict is out on Whangarei’s favourite t-shirt design.

After a fierce voting battle that took place on Facebook, in local retail stores and via text through the Northern Advocate, Tuhulu ‘Isileli-Fo’ou has been named the winning designer of the new range of Whangarei: Love it Here! t-shirts.

Tuhulu’s design is entitled ‘The Legend’ and features two Karearea (Sparrow Hawks). The Karearea plays a pivotal role in the story of Reipae and Reitu – two daughters of a Waikato chief who fall in love with the northern Chief Ueoneone.

According to the legend, they long for him until one day a Karearea carries the rivalling sisters north. Reipae climbs off at Onerahi and marries Tahuhu-Potiki, while Reitu goes on to marry Ueoneone. United in the end, Reipae and Reitu bring two tribes together on the shores of Whangarei.

“The Karearea is what connected Reipae and Reitu with Chief Ueoneone, it’s what connected Waikato with Whangarei and it’s what connected Whangarei with home, and with me. So my design is an acknowledgement to the Karearea for that,” says Tuhulu.

The aim of Tuhulu’s design was to attract a wide audience to pass on the knowledge of the beginning of Whangarei – the place we all call home.

Chloe Alderton took second place with her Pohutukawa design, inspired by her vision of Whangarei as the city of trees, and symbolising the roots that tie us to home no matter where we go in life.

A tough battle was had for third place, with the deciding votes calling a tie between ‘Jandals’ by Sara King, and ‘The Big Decision’ by Scott Simpson.  This result means that four shirts will go into production, adding freshness and variety to the existing Love it Here! range.

The winning shirts were put through a tough selection process – first being chosen as a ‘top 10’ design from over 250 entries before going to a public vote, which ultimately determined the winners.

As the top designer, Tuhulu will receive an Apple iPad, sponsored by 100% Barrell’s, Chloe will receive a ‘Discover Scuba’ package from Dive! Tutukaka and Sara and Scott will each receive a $50 voucher, donated by Paper Plus.

The new designs will be available for purchase prior to Christmas at Tuatara, Inferno, Megasurf, Dive! Tutukaka, Kiwi North, the Whangarei i-SITE Visitor Centre or Te Manawa The Hub at the Town Basin.

This was unveiled at the official launch of the brand at the ITM World Triathlon Championships in Auckland, where Kiwis for kiwi was proud to be the official charity. This included the unveiling of the new Kiwis for kiwi mascot as well as the Kiwi Cafe, set up in the Cloud in downtown Auckland to raise awareness about the new brand and the plight of kiwi.

Born and raised in Whangarei, Cassi journeyed off to Auckland to complete her Bachelor of Communications degree, where she discovered her flair for all things marketing. Majoring in Advertising Creativity, Cassi got real taste for the industry through a mix of live briefs and work experience, throwing herself into all projects that came her way and culminating in the creation of a first class portfolio.
Suffering withdrawals from the salty air of home, Cassi returned to the Rei where she has now dived headfirst into the Big Fish tank, bringing lots of smiles and energy to the team. Taking on the role of Marketing Assistant/Junior Account Manager, Cassi is stoked to be learning from the best and doing what she loves.

RHJ wanted to strengthen their online presence by giving their existing website a makeover and changing the way building projects are displayed. After thoughtful design and development, the new website offers a stylish presentation of RHJ’s completed projects, as well as information on the building process and services that RHJ Builders offer.

Telling the story of Northland rugby from a community perspective, the video features Northland legends such as Sid Going, David Holwell and Justin ‘Gus’ Collins. The ‘I am Northland Rugby’ message instills a sense of pride and promotes a strong team spirit, allowing the whole community to not only support the team, but be a part of it too.

Currently playing in over 20 local businesses across Northland, the video has been described as ‘stunning’ and ‘hugely successful’. Northland Rugby Union is extremely happy with the result and Big Fish Creative wishes the boys all the best in their battle for the ITM Cup.

Construction has started at the old Winstone Quarry in Wiri, Auckland, with the site being developed to become the Maintenance and Stabling Depot for Auckland’s new electric train fleet.

Auckland Transport has engaged Big Fish Creative to document the large scale project, from the breaking of ground through to completion. To do this, we have set up several time-lapse cameras to capture construction of the 7650 sqm building, including its seven maintenance berths, under floor lifts, jacking systems and even the automatic train wash.

Completion of the electric train depot is expected in June 2013 and Big Fish Creative is looking forward to capturing progress as the $40 million project takes shape.

If you’re from Whangarei and you love the place, here’s your chance to show the city how much you Love it Here! After the huge success of the 2010 t-shirt competition, the event is being repeated to add a further three designs to the Whangarei Love it Here! t-shirt range.

The competition is open to anyone who has called Whangarei home and entrants are being asked to create a design representing why they love Whangarei. The top three designs will then be printed onto t-shirts which will go on sale prior to Christmas.

The competition follows the success of the Whangarei Love it Here: Billboard competition launched earlier this year, which attracted hundreds of photographs submitted by members of the community to portray what they loved about Whangarei. The winning billboards were printed and have since taken pride of place around Whangarei.

The competition is part of the long term Whangarei: Love it Here strategy which seeks to raise the profile of Whangarei as a great place to live, work and play. It is one of many Whangarei: Love it Here initiatives that have actively engaged the community to take a lead role in promoting our city, ensuring ideas and events reflect the heart and soul of Whangarei people.

WDC Economic Development Manager Pete Gleeson says the Whangarei Love it Here strategy is just what the city needs.

“When you’re looking at a promotional campaign such as this, you need to take a longer term approach. It’s about shifting perceptions of Whangarei – including what residents think and say, as well as what tourists see and hear. The events we’ve held to date have already had a positive impact.

“The most important element in the success of this strategy is the involvement of the community. We want the community to champion this cause, because we all love it here, so why not start talking about it more openly?”

Gleeson says the strategy came about following submissions to the WDC’s 2009 Annual Plan, with a wide range of community groups asking the council to take the lead in positively branding or promoting the city.

The t-shirt competition closes on 7th September, after which judges will narrow the field down to the top 10 best designs. These top 10 will be displayed in local retailers, online at the Whangarei: Love it Here Facebook page and in the Northern Advocate. The community can then vote for their favourite design. The top three designs will go to print and will be available for purchase in local retailers before Christmas.

Competition details can be downloaded from the www.whangareinz.com website. Entries for the competition can be emailed to competition@whangareinz.com or posted to Big Fish Creative, 51A Norfolk St, Whangarei.

Dogs are a big problem for Kiwi, especially for adult birds. To help raise awareness, BNZ Save the Kiwi and the Department of Conservation called upon Big Fish Creative to help develop a campaign to educate dog owners on how to minimise their impact on our Kiwi population. Teaming up with Blue Orb Charitable Trust, our local kiwi experts, we were delighted with the end result, which is a powerful campaign incorporating signage, marketing material and a telling documentary that shows the true impact of dogs on Kiwi.

Big Fish Creative were delighted to be involved in such a valuable project – it has been a pleasure continuing our ongoing relationship with BNZ Save the Kiwi.

Oncore has produced some of the most powerful contractor management software available today, and needed support to ensure the front end user interface was both intuitive and easy to use for the thousands of contractors that access it across the globe. The Big Fish Creative team were glad to assist with mapping, design and usability of the software.

Oncore offers services across the globe so the company’s website is a key tool for sales and brand awareness. Big Fish Creative developed Oncore’s first website and we are currently working on an updated version to expand on the existing platform and provide specific information to Oncore’s key target markets.

Big Fish Creative has enjoyed working with the Oncore Sales Team to develop a range of brochures and trade fair sales tools that are both an informative and attractive. These sales tool are for use in both one on one meetings as well as at trade stands and conferences.

As part of their recruitment strategy, the Northland District Health Board (NDHB) worked with Big Fish Creative to create a slate of web videos which take viewers on a journey through the lives of eight NDHB employees. The production took the Big Fish Creative team all over Northland to interview and film eight medical practitioners, both at work and outside of work. The intention of the films is to encourage prospective employees to choose Northland as their region of choice when considering career paths.

To help raise awareness, BNZ Save the Kiwi and the Department of Conservation called upon Big Fish Creative to help develop an informative <a href=”http://www.bigfishcreative.co.nz/services/moving-image/” title=”find out more about moving image”>video</a> to educate dog owners on how to minimise their impact on our kiwi population.

ABMV Chartered Accountants were keen to refresh and update the brand, which is being supported by a new look website and marketing collateral. Big Fish Creative enjoyed making the most of the time difference to fast track projects for this prestigious UK accounting firm.

Big Fish Creative was delighted to provide our creative services to international business advisory and accountancy firm ABMV Chartered Accountants, based in London.

ABMV were keen to refresh and update the company brand and then flow it through to the company’s marketing collateral as well as develop a new look website.

Big Fish Creative enjoyed making the most of the time difference to fast track projects for this prestigious UK accounting firm.

As part of its recruitment strategy, the Northland District Health Board (NDHB) worked with Big Fish Creative to create a slate of web videos which take viewers on a journey through the lives of eight NDHB employees. The production took the Big Fish Creative team all over Northland to interview and film eight medical practitioners both at work and outside of work. The films are a recruitment tool, encouraging prospective employees to choose Northland as their region of choice when considering career paths.

Big Fish Creative also designed a YouTube platform to launch the videos from.

Enko Group are specialists in quality kitchen fittings. Big Fish Creative developed a brand package which compliments Enko Group’s commitment to a quality finish and professional service.

Big Fish Creative worked with BNZ Save the Kiwi to produce a quarterly newsletter filled with the latest from the world of kiwi and kiwi advocacy.

NorthTec were looking to engage with students on an interactive level at their student road shows. This Careers Game designed and developed by Big Fish Creative, allows users to find out what career path they might like to take and how NorthTec can assist in getting them there.

The NDHB sought the help of Big Fish Creative to pull together a Facebook campaign, to reach the right age group at a community level, as quickly as possible when a Meningococcal-C outbreak hit Northland.

As part of their online marketing strategy, IC Motor Group decided to use an electronic newsletter to connect with their customer base.  Big Fish Creative have a hand in designing and writing the newsletter each month and sending it on to IC Motor Group’s ever growing data base.

The threatening rain wasn’t enough to deter cricket fans from Cobham Oval on Waitangi weekend as International Cricket made its debut in Whangarei in front of a capacity crowd.

Big Fish Creative was on the scene to capture the Black Caps as they batted their way to their third highest one-day score of 372 for 6 with an impressive 146 against Zimbabwe in the National Bank Series.

Those who weren’t able to watch the game live got to see a preview of Big Fish Creative’s timelapse showcasing Whangarei during the intermission on Sky Sport.

To see the crowds and highlights of the match, check out this video we filmed on behalf of the Northland Cricket Association.

This year’s ‘Whangarei: Love it Here’ Billboard competition has received an overwhelming response for the second year running, with over 370 entries from throughout the district showing why people love it here in Whangarei.

After a gruelling selection process with so much great local talent to choose from, the judging panel narrowed it down to six finalists whose images capture the essence of summer in Whangarei.

The six finalists are:

• ‘Skaters’ by Dakota Stewart
• ‘Whangaumu Bay’ by Ivonne Willcocks
• ‘Whangarei Falls’ by Kristi Henare
• ‘Langs Beach’ by Sarah Warrington
• ‘Whangarei Heads’ by Sam Cotterill-Craig
• ‘Surf at Ocean Beach’ by Amanda Walker

The billboards are now on display on the grassy area between Victoria Bridge and the Town Basin in central Whangarei.

One of the finalists will receive prizes from A Perfect Day cruises, Schnappa Rock Cafe and Oceans Resort and Hotel at Tutukaka. To have your say on which finalist should receive the prize, ‘like’ the photo on the Whangarei: Love it Here facebook page, or text ‘NAD’ and the photographer’s name to 021 241 4568.

Big Fish Creative has loved being involved in this competition for the second year running and it’s great to see more people entering and more feedback from the community. Make sure you nominate your favourite before voting closes on 24th February, when the lucky winner will be announced!