Leading Bay of Plenty agency WAVE Creative Communications Agency was recognised for its commitment to the community with the Corporate Sponsorship Award at the awards.
WAVE said the Air New Zealand-sponsored award was a testament to the hard work, creativity and dedication of its team to both WAVE and the wider community.
“For a number of years our team has been committed to maintaining a community-focused culture and staying on purpose ‘to inspire change through the power of creativity’, within the business and the Bay of Plenty region” said WAVE director Glenn Dougal.
“We believe the biggest impact we can make is through the gifting of time and knowledge to help foster a better community and a business-friendly environment.”
– Glenn Dougal
WAVE was established in Mount Maunganui 25 years ago and has been pushing the creative boundaries ever since.
Brendan Herring, creative strategist and director, said that WAVE was focused on using its expertise and knowledge to build the creative reputation of the wider Bay of Plenty, through both clients and the local groups and organisations it supported, facilitated and sponsored.
“This, in turn, enables WAVE to build its own creative reputation,” said Herring.
“We’re passionate about sharing our experience and creativity in marketing, advertising and design with local organisations to help the community grow and thrive.”
On average, each WAVE staff member spends two weeks each year giving back to the community. This involves anything from serving in governance roles to developing students at Toi-Ohomai and Waikato University.
“We believe the biggest impact we can make is through the gifting of time and knowledge to help foster a better community and a business-friendly environment,” said Dougal, who chaired the Tauranga Arts Festival Trust for 10 years ,and assisted in raising more than $5 million in funding, grants and ticket sales for the Festival. WAVE is also an ongoing sponsor.
Other organisations WAVE has supported include the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce, Tarnished Frocks and Divas, CIB charity lunch, Business Women’s Conference and the design of a charity rugby jersey for a Homes of Hope Charity event.
The agency has also been active in sitting on the NZQA advisory, sponsoring awards and mentoring students at Toi-Ohomai Institute of Technology, as well as hosting interns from the NZ School of Radio.
The creative team provides design thinking coaching expertise to Groundswell Festival of Innovation, and facilitates design thinking meet-ups. WAVE founded MoPed (Marketing Professionals Bay Of Plenty) and sponsors numerous other community initiatives and activities.
“By connecting to our wider community we each find our place in the world and create impact beyond what we’re paid to do,” said Dougal.
“This leads to more satisfying work and life and a happier, more engaged team. We are blessed to live in a great community and have great companies that surround us.”
The Westpac Awards also acknowledged two of WAVE’s clients – EastPack picked up four awards including Tauranga Business of the Year, and Trustpower was a finalist for the Corporate Sponsorship award.
