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  • Fading Brand Impact Even Stars Fade Eventually In the ever-evolving landscape of business, your brand is your compass. It guides your audience, sets expectations, and defines your unique identity and how you carry out your business. But what happens when your brand starts to fade...

  • If you have Google Analytics connected to your website you’ve probably received, almost daily, confusing reminders to switch to GA4… and it’s likely you’ve trashed most of those emails, believe me you are not alone. In this blog we’ll demystify what all the fuss is...

  • Risograph renaissance Risograph printing has been around for a long time, making comebacks every now and then – most notably the 80’s and 90’s. Described as digital screen printing, the process is similar providing vivid colours and unique textures. The Riso printing technique is transposed...

  • You’ve worked hard to build your business, your customers trust you with their private information and you know that its kept safe within your website database… right, it is right? Cybersecurity is a must have for website owners today to protect the private information that...

  • We have always been proud supporters of Scouts NZ, and this year we had the great opportunity to help with organising their venturers event: ignite’23 by providing event promotion and design solutions. ignite’23 took place at the start of this year in Mayfield, New Zealand,...

  • As part of our marketing services we are often called upon to help people name or rename their new business, brand or product. Learn about the process we go through and get some tips if you’re ever faced with this challenge yourself. The brief As...

  • So, you’ve got some budget put aside for advertising, but no idea how or where to start! Where do you advertise, how often should you advertise and should you say the same thing on every channel?  Discover how common advertising channels stack up against one...

  • Billboards have long been used as a key component in the advertising mix as they are such a cost-effective way of reaching a large audience. Find out the benefits of billboard advertising, key design considerations and when you should choose to use one. The benefits...

  • Saying thanks and connecting with clients to stay top of mind, helps build loyalty and encourages repeat business are just a few of the reasons we give presents to clients at Christmas. Read our tips for what to think about when it comes to corporate...

  • We’ve made a couple of small changes in our meeting spaces, emails and on our website. The changes are so subtle that most people won’t even register, but the people who will pick up on the changes will notice and will hopefully know that TGM...

  • There’s a lot of chat about having a strong online presence and everyone says you need to use Google Ads, but what is a Google Ad and how do you get them? Read our introduction to Google Ads and see if they are right for...

  • Signage may be functional, but there’s no reason it has to be boring. Signs have come a long way since the corflute rectangle with sticky dots on the back of a white sign with a centred logo. Read about the latest signage materials, new products...

  • For those of us who can’t draw a straight line it can be mind boggling how designers continually come up with a fresh, new take on each project they work on. We asked one of our designers Mae where she gets her ideas from and...

  • With more than three million apps on Google Play Store alone and one billion plus websites, finding tried and true online tools can be tough. Here are some of our favourites for work, play and home. Mailchimp We love EDMs (electronic direct mail) and can’t...

  • Overhearing a Millennial throwing their metaphoric hands in the air over not being able to understand people from Gen Z made us laugh. Not only are millennials old enough to have another generation to worry about, the cycle of not understanding the next generation continues!...

  • We’ve got one easy answer to how to reduce business waste – join the NPDC Resource Wise Business Programme! The free council run programme is designed to help businesses reduce waste to landfill over a four-year period. It involves annual waste audits and a detailed...

  • We really enjoy face-to-face meetings with our clients, but like you we need to keep our people safe and ensure everyone feels comfortable in meetings. We have two team members who are immunocompromised, and one who is recovering from surgery, so keeping on top of...

  • We’re big fans of customer research – both to discover what we don’t know about customers and to confirm what we suspect to be true. Research makes marketing planning easier, marketing spend more targeted and ultimately saves time. Find out more about the what, why...

  • Superheroes made them cool, coronavirus has made them compulsory. Learn the ins and outs of reusable mask purchase and use and how you can inject a bit of personality into mask wearing. The facts A mask is required for most people to enter public spaces...

  • If you are one of those people who likes to understand the how and know the why, then read on. Learn more than you ever thought you needed to know about the ins and outs of RGB and CMYK and how colour actually works when...

  • Coming up to Christmas many clients like to say thanks to their customers and staff with branded gifts and promotional products. There’s as much choice in products as there is in how to add your logo or key message. Learn about the pros and cons...

  • At our online team hui this morning there was a strong sense of calm. It was a clear feeling of ‘we’re been here before, we know what to do and we’ll get through it’. Like the rest of Aotearoa, we’re well versed with the ins...

  • Most often we’re in the business of helping clients sell or promote goods or services but when it comes time to work with our not-for-profit clients we often become social marketers and the product we’re marketing is human behaviour. It’s when we help clients get...

  • It was a challenge that we were up for. Could we write an entire blog about hashtags? You might be surprised to find out that there was a lot to say about the humble hashtag and we have managed to write more than we initially...

  • Check out some of these statistics and see what they mean for your business and your marketing planning. Some figures are New Zealand only, some are worldwide. Don’t get too hung up on the actual numbers as they will be out of date in a...

  • No one writes a blog, email or social media post to be ignored, but how do you write to be read? Read our fail-proof plan to ensure what you write gets read, by the right people, at the right time. Who’s your audience? First up...

  • The Client Vicki from Quirky Fox has built a successful boutique gallery and framing business in South Taranaki. Quirky Fox has a good online presence with a website, popular Instagram page and five-weekly e-newsletters. Vicki has dabbled in traditional media but struggled with not being...

  • Promoting your website online So you’ve built a new website with all the bells and whistles but customers aren’t calling or filling their online carts with purchase after purchase. Launching a new website without any thought to promoting it is like building a shop with...

  • Client: The Promo Room The Promo Room sells branded promotional items and corporate giftware. They have a focus on sourcing New Zealand made and eco-friendly products to complement their range of popular promo items. Challenge: Raise awareness locally and lower North Island Based in New...

  • The client – Kiwi Hire Group Kiwi Hire Group is an equipment hire company based in Waiwhakaiho Valley. They have a loyal customer base of industrial clients but had a feeling new customers and weekend DIY enthusiasts were probably looking online and were unaware of...

  • Change takes effort and we understand exactly why it is easier to stick to the same old, same old. Change takes research, trial and effort. When it comes to sustainable marketing options we’ve taken the hard work out of the process and have the following...

  • If you’re like us and you are starting to cast your green magnifying glass over more and more products and processes to suss out how environmentally friendly they are, rest assured your printing is in safe hands with tgm. Our printing credentials are certified Gold...

  • Lockdowns, social distancing and more time at home has meant people have become more experienced shopping online. If you want to create an online version of your bricks and mortar shop, what are your options and what do you need to think about? Marketplaces There...

  • So, you want to run a Facebook competition to grow your social audience and get your product or service seen by some new people. A competition seems fun, easy and foolproof, right? Find out if a Facebook competition really is the best way to meet...

  • We’re all trying to look for savings at the moment, but before you slash budget lines, consider trying these cost-effective and free ideas to keep your brand top of mind with customers and clients. Sponsorship We can’t all afford to be naming rights sponsors for...

  • It felt like the world reignited its love affair with e-newsletters during lockdown, but how do you ensure your carefully managed audience don’t delete your newsletter without reading it or worse still hit unsubscribe? Strategy A good newsletter starts with a good plan. What’s the...

  • So you’ve got three website quotes in your hot hands, do you just go with the most expensive as that will probably be the best or do you take a punt on one of the others? Read on and let us share what makes up...

  • We are thrilled to be back in the office working together once again at Level 2. Like the rest of the country ‘back at work’ looks a bit different from how it did a few months ago. We have spaced out our desks, staggered our...

  • We’re excited to be working at Level 3. The majority of our team will continue to work from home with just three of us in the office – albeit on different levels and opposing ends of the building! Printing and branded promotional products are now...

  • Update 24 March 2020 If you need us we’re still working. Our team members are set up to work remotely and we’re available for electronic design work, marketing and strategic planning. Please call Andrea on 0274 776 912 if you’d like to chat. COVID-19 Response...

  • It might feel like the year has just started, but it’s already time to think about getting Fieldays ready. This year the Fieldays at Mystery Creek runs from 10-13 June. It’s the place to be if you want to reach 125,000 plus people with an...

  • No, we’re not talking the composition of colours, although we can talk about colours for hours! We want to talk sustainability. We’ve embarked on a journey to become more sustainable in how we run tgm, our processes, products we use and the types of promotional...

  • It’s not every day that members of a graphic design company get to collect and deliver a baby kiwi to its new home but that’s what happened last week when tgm’s Andrea Leadbetter and David Reilly along with their two children, James and Catherine, drove...

  • It can be tough verbalising your vision to a designer, so here’s some tips on how to ‘speak designer’ to make sure you get what you are after first time. In fancy marketing terms it’s called a brief when you explain your requirements to a...

  • Celebrities flogging products, brand ambassadors and sponsorship agreements are nothing new in the world of marketing but seemingly ‘ordinary’ people sharing their latest finds and favourite products on blogs and social media is now a thing. Yup, welcome to the world of influencer marketing. What...

  • So your son or daughter wants to be a graphic designer and it’s got you wondering what do designers actually do? At tgm Here at tgm our six graphic designers work flat tack creating designs to meet client briefs – this can be anything from...

  • Of course grammar and spelling matters. It shows we care about the details and it ensures we get the right meaning across. The English language has some tricky rules and conventions so we’ve applied our love of good design to some of the commonly made...

  • In October New Plymouth based boutique creative agency tgm celebrates 30 years in business. tgm was founded in 1989 by Andrea Leadbetter, who, after studying and working for a number of years in the industry in Wellington, decided she wanted to follow her passion of...

  • Promotional products can be a key tool in your marketing plan – they are tactile expressions of your brand, they help keep your brand visible when you are not around and they make you look generous. On a practical level, promotional products help you stand...

  • What’s in a font? We’ve come a long way since comic sans dominated newsletters and party invites, but why do we have 300,000+ different fonts, who uses them all and how do you choose what font to use? Fonts have the ability to draw attention,...

  • Print’s dead they say, everyone’s online! Feeling pressured to go digital when your heart is saying print? Don’t be. Print hasn’t died, it’s just how we do it that’s changed. Gone are the long print runs, set weekly print ads and printing boxes and boxes...

  • If you have a workmate who loves to drop the latest buzzword into conversation or talks in acronyms, get a head start on them with the latest marketing jargon. Advertainment The advertising-entertainment double act.  We want to be amused while being convinced to buy! Big...

  • It was definitely a case of three heads being better than one when it came to Brooklands Zoo’s water education signage explaining the zoo’s new rainwater collection system and how the zoo team is using the water. “Between the zoo staff, Chloe from tgm and...

  • The TGM team is celebrating after picking up two gold and two silver awards at the 2019 Redshift Design Awards on Saturday night in Wellington for work they did with Aotea Utanganui – Museum of South Taranaki, New Plymouth District Council‘s Resource Recovery team and...

  • We zhushed our brand recently to stay relevant, be more appealing and better reflect what we think is important – inviting conversation with our clients and being flexible, innovative and professional. Here are five signs that your brand may need a facelift. You’re doing the...

  • Experts say we need to be as approachable, accessible and friendly online as we are offline – but how do you do it? Read our tips to help your online presence better reflect you and your brand. Be present – If questions or comments are...

  • We’re a generous bunch in Taranaki. We say yes a lot when we’re asked to ‘sponsor’ a cause, but is it true sponsorship or just a donation? Sponsorship is a two-way street, you give and you get certain rights and benefits – perhaps brand recognition,...

  • Recently we showcased our latest expo range for clients at the tgm XPO. There was a lot of interest in the range of cool fabric stands, and the eco range of promotion products got people talking too. Check out our collection of pics from the...

  • Let us help you stand out from the crowd at your next event, expo or trade show with our top expo tips. Marketing Use social media to build up anticipation and follow up post show. Set up a Facebook event to let people know where...

  • Let’s do a digital health check for your business. This blog will help identify areas of digital marketing your business could be doing – or doing better at. Take a look at the questions and lists below see how many you can tick off the...

  • Benefits of expos Taranaki has a range of expo’s coming up this year, from the Taranaki Weddings Show to Lifestyle, Careers, Business Expo’s and more! Take a look at some of the key benefits of bringing your business to an expo in 2019.   Face-to-face...

  • If you’re looking to get on top of your marketing in 2019 then we can help. And with the added value of being a NZTE certified training provider, your business may be eligible for a 50% subsidy on the work we do with you. In...

  • Tgm has grown and evolved over almost 30 years in business. With the exponential growth of the Internet, the digital age and onset of social media, we have had to expand our knowledge, products and services. And in doing so, the brand has evolved with...

  • We love spreading the Christmas joy around at tgm and wanted to share some of our creative spirit with you. We have created some beautiful desktop wallpapers that you might like to download and display for the most wonderful time of the year. Heres how:...

  • The TSB Taranaki Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards 2018 was an absolutely fantastic evening. With many laughs to be had thanks to MC Paul Ego (one of the highlights of the awards), businesses shone across the board as winners and highly commended were awarded...

  • Now’s the time to order promotional products in time for the holiday season. Promo products are a great way to brand products that your clients will love to receive and love to use. There’s a wide range of items available and we can help pick...

  • Merchandise can be a memorable and effective way for your business to reach customers. Plus it’s a great way to leave a lasting impression – especially during the upcoming festive season! So we’ve asked our designers to pick their favourite choice of merchandise collateral to...

  • Having a website, and importantly having an effective website can be an invaluable part of any business. Investing in a website is an excellent way to promote your products or services, and potentially open up previously untapped revenue streams. It helps you connect with your...

  • TGM had an amazing evening at this year’s Chamber of Commerce Business Showcase. Andrea, David and Hana were on the stand meeting local businesses and making sure everyone entered our TGM competition! This year we decided to ask the people of Taranaki what they thought...

  • We’re excited to announce the launch of makeupbyannalee.com. We’ve been working with makeup artist and social media influencer Annalee Muggeridge for the past few months to create a simple, beautiful and functional website. We sat down with Annalee to talk a little bit about her...

  • Taylor is joining us this year as part of the Accelerator Programme. The Accelerator Programme helps local students make connections with the business community, giving each student insight into their potential career path. As a student of Inglewood High, Taylor has a busy schedule with...

  • A few weeks ago a few members of our TGM Team went along to the Taranaki Technologies seminar on UX Design. We found it so valuable we thought we would write a blog about what we learned. If you’re unfamiliar with UX Design, the definition...

  • 8 Steps to writing a ‘good’ blog We get lots of clients telling us they’re writing blogs –which we love! But often they’re unsure if they’re doing it ‘right’. So we’ve put down 8 steps that help make a ‘good’ blog so you know if you’re on the...

  • First it’s important to know what I mean when I refer to the ‘Facebook Algorithm’. The algorithm refers to how Facebook is pretty much a robot trying to learn as much about you as possible, to then sell this information to advertisers. Everything that you...

  • Step away minimalism, white space and sans serifs. 2018 is the year of boldness, risk and pushing boundaries. With bright colours, bespoke illustration and typography, the rise of GIFS and cinemagraphs, brands are becoming more adventurous and designers are eager to break out and play...

  • As the year starts wrapping up it’s a time to celebrate, reflect and rest. While you enjoy the summer and festivities, it’s also a great time to think about your goals for the New Year. Taranaki has had great success in 2017 with the naming...

  • The conscious consumer are shoppers who are increasingly choosing to make conscious buying decisions, by purchasing local, ethical and environmentally friendly products. They are more frequently choosing which companies to shop with based on how environmentally or socially conscious they are. Or at

  • Meet Danika our design intern from WITT. Danika has been working with us for the past few weeks getting to know the team and what it’s like working in the industry. She has always had a flair for art and design, excelling in her creative...

  • It’s never good timing when that notification pops up saying ‘your phone is due for a software update’. You constantly click ‘install later’ hoping it will go away until you find the right time to update the new software. Usually you start to notice –...

  • How do you choose out of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat the best space for your business? Should you be on more than one platform and what do you use them for? We’ve put together a small guide that will help you decide where best...

  • Staying inspired is a difficult task, especially when being creative is literally your job. Mental blocks aren’t uncommon with the stress of everyday things getting the best of us all sometime. That’s why having a few places to go to make your mind smile is...

  • Every Monday for the past few weeks, a new face has been popping up around the TGM Creative office. Cory Eliason, a 17-year-old Inglewood high school Student with a passion for animation and the arts has been spending time getting to know the ins-and-outs of...

  • Bad Navigation Nothing frustrates a web visitor more than not being able to find the content that they want to view. Complex or inconsistent navigation can cause confusion and push viewers away. You only have about a 5 second window to grab your audiences’ attention....

  • Our account manager Jessie keeps the ball rolling across all of our TGM projects. She loves lists, good briefs, a budget, and a plan of action. This month Jessie has combined all these things into an easy to understand list, providing insights into how to...

  • The digital space is forever growing, generating fresh new ideas every single day. But with all of the online development does that mean print becomes obsolete? Here at TGM we think there will always be a place for print as the world turns to screen...

  • TGM run regular workshops to help businesses get started with social media. Here is a snippet from one of our sessions, giving you some insights and inspiration to keep your posts engaging.   Social Media can be a great platform for businesses – if used...

  • The TGM Team knows how important it is to create meaningful content for your business. And as your local brand and marketing experts we thought we’d share some insights into where marketing and brand trends are heading this year. Influencer Influencer marketing is the act...

  • With the hastening approach of the holiday and summer seasons it’s easy to picture endless days at the beach and sipping on a cold beverage while the kids entertain themselves. While it seems everyone is more than ready for this crazy and surprising year to...

  • From Tradition to Technology. Many grooms and brides-to-be will be finalising wedding details for the upcoming summer season, the busiest wedding season of the year. Along with traditional aspects of planning a wedding, technology is demanding more attention and begs the question ‘How are we...

  • Merchandise can be a memorable and effective way for your business to reach customers and it’s a great way to leave a lasting impression especially during this upcoming festive season. So this month we’ve asked our designers to pick their favourite choice of merchandise collateral:...

  • The Key to Successful Sign Design: There are many factors to consider during the design process to ensure that your signage will have the most impact. Some of these key considerations include how you plan to use the signage and who it is aimed at....

  • A website can be a valuable asset for many businesses and organisations hoping to expand their online presence. But choosing a web designer to create your website can be daunting. This decision can make all the difference to whether the experience is enjoyable and easy,...

  • Most people will be able to instantly identify the golden arches, the apple with the bite out of it and the ‘swoosh’ tick without seeing the name that accompanies it. A successful corporate logo should: Create your image Create consumer loyalty Be a powerful marketing...

  • What does customer service mean to you? For some it’s the little things like speaking to a real person when you call a business, for others it’s someone understanding the challenges you face in your role and adding value. At TGM Creative we’re proud of...

  • Let pictures tell your business story. Pictures are king in today’s media saturated world. With only seconds to grab someone’s attention imagery plays a key role in telling your story. Strong and effective photos can make a big difference to a company’s image and ability...

  • Say less for success   While we’re confronted by over a thousand marketing messages a day, recent studies have found that it only takes 13 milliseconds for the human eye to process an image. That means when it comes to design and marketing your business,...

  • How to match a colour in print Matching colours in print with what you have designed on your screen is not always straightforward. How come the colour on your screen is not necessarily the colour recreated in your printed material? We explain how to improve...

  • Web design is an ever changing space and there are many trends that come and go. Here is our pick of six website design trends that we feel have gained traction over 2015 and we will likely see more of in 2016. Hero videos High...

  • Communicating to your target audience can be difficult at the best of times, but when you are in a cold economic climate with lots of competitors attempting to shout above each other, it’s important to do it properly. This is why it’s crucial to talk with...

  • No matter what the size or type of your business, everyone knows that having an online presence is crucial in this day and age. However many Taranaki businesses are still not doing it, or at least not doing it properly! Social media has made it...

  • Just as people are judged instantly by what they wear, so too is your business. Customers take seconds to judge how professional your organisation is by the way your marketing and communications look. WARNING, If you’ve not updated your brand since it first began many...

  • Having a website is pretty crucial these days and fairly straight forward to set up and update, but getting people to it and being found in a search result is another thing completely. This is why SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is as important as having...

  • If you’re wondering whether social media marketing is right for your business, the verdict is in…social media is a great way to drive repeat business and to attract new customers. 92% of consumers trust word-of-mouth above all other forms of advertising and 70% chose online...

  • If you’re fortunate enough to attend an event where you can hand out branded promotional material to the masses, or want to impress your customers with a branded gift, you will probably be pricing up a big stash of pens or notepads. This isn’t a...

  • Just like that favourite 90’s hairdo, business branding can become dated and stale.  Many businesses have not rebranded from the day they launched, and the market has evolved, leaving their brand behind. Take some time to review your business presence in the market.  We can help you see the...

  • Marketing is such a crucial part of business success…   …but it doesn’t have to cost the earth to achieve. There are some basic principles that you can follow to get in front of your target audience, it just requires a little time. Here are...

  • Despite striving for high levels of customer service here at TGM and producing top quality stuff that our clients love…our aim is also to support the community as much as we possibly can. Using our skills and experience, we’ve been able to help with the...

  • Our services have expanded throughout the years, in order to cater to our client’s requests and now they are enjoying having one point of contact for all of their design, print, web and marketing requirements. However, some of our customers were unaware of the full...

  • We are experiencing exciting times within the design and print industry, and technology is certainly playing a big part in this. Being able to offer clients the ability to manage all their printing and promotional needs themselves, online on their own secure micro-site has been...

  • We caught up with our Digital Strategist to get some words of wisdom to share with you.  Leanne helps clients to plan their website and develop online marketing strategies to support their business.  She is able to offer various services to TGM clients including website...

  • Business cards are a great marketing tool to leave a lasting impression of your business following a meeting or networking event, or to send out with letters or promotions as a way of introducing yourself to a potential client. Unlike flyers, they are usually kept...

  • Once you have awesome promotional material designed to showcase your business, it’s important to display them in the right way. Think about where you want to display the promotion to be sure it is seen by the right people. Whether it’s something you want customers...

  • TGM Design is a full service studio that also offers print solutions through our business arm Printing.com and through our experience in the industry, we know what is required to ensure franchise networks are getting the right product for the right price, while importantly, preserving...

  • We’re proud to be involved in the New Plymouth District Council’s Let’s Go Programme on their mission to reduce the impact New Plymouth has on the environment. In order for us to make a difference we decided to create a personalised TGM Design bike to...

  • We’re always looking for ways to help clients save money and get the most out of their printing and design. This month we were able to help Kim, Editor of The TOM Magazine to change the way she prints not only to save money but...

  • Another great attendance for our social media seminar this month; Ken and Anna from More FM, Nichola from MediaWorks Taranaki, the girls from New Plymouth Event Venues and Sam from Interdrill Ltd. The training seminar was held at the TGM Design head office in New...

  • When creating a brand, it’s important to think about the colours you use and what they represent. A recent project which involved the branding of child behaviour consultants, Two Steps Ahead NZ, is a great example of this (click here to see client branding). We...

  • We try to support the local community in any way we can and recently we’ve had great success sponsoring a number of different schools and organisations, offering advice and design work for various galas and events such as the Oakura New Year’s Day Carnival.  ...

  • Linkedin isn’t your typical social media platform where pretty much anything goes; it is designed specifically for business professionals who don’t have time to be ‘social’. Corporates use Linkedin to build valuable relationships, access valuable content and provide valuable information, all designe

  • We hosted our first training seminar in Wanganui yesterday which was a great success. Attended by Black Pine Architects, Whanganui Girls’College, IDEAction, Waverley Glass Art Studio, Artists Open Studios and Sand Hill Studio Gallery. “The seminar was excellent and the information provid

  • When promoting your business at an event it’s important to stand out from the crowd but remember you’re also creating an image of your brand. Think about the words,  images and colours when deciding on the best approach for your promotional material.   Here are...

  • This month’s Social Media Seminar was attended by MediaWorks, Two Steps Ahead NZ and Taranaki Orthodontics. “This was a great refresher on how to use social media effectively and I really liked the personal data on our business that was done before the event. It...

  • By Rebecca Maxim, Social Media and Communications @ TGM Design Surprisingly, a lot of businesses don’t have a website and would rather spend their money on advertising but there are many benefits to having a website that you don’t gain from the radio or print...

get in touch

whakapā mai

Join us for a free one-hour, no-strings-attached consultation where we sit down over a coffee and talk about your organisation, your challenges and your goals. Whether you’ve got a plan or need some ideas, we’re keen to help. Kōrero mai.