Insights & Yarns | Big On Writing

Creating a Content Hub: From Strategy to Storytelling

All of a sudden, marketers are expected to be lean, mean content marketing machines, churning out content strategy and copywriting articles like a pro. You've got this: Chunk it down to a step-by-step process.

April 23, 2025

10 Content Trends Already Defining 2025

Discover the top 10 content and copywriting trends shaping 2025, from AI and SEO to tone of voice and personalisation. Get ahead of the curve.

February 22, 2025

Websites get boost from 20% Tax Deduction. A content coup!

Tractors aren't the only winners in the NZ Budget's Investment Boost Tax Deduction. It's also good news for content managers, copywriters, and corporates.

June 13, 2025

PowerPoint Copywriting Tips: Write Slides That Stick

On average marketers create 55 presentations a year. Here are eight easy content and copywriting tips to help you get your PowerPoint proposal over the line.

February 21, 2025

Ten tips to get your team using Tone of Voice guidelines

So you've overhauled your Tone of Voice guidelines. Great job! Now, how are you going to get staff to use them?

November 10, 2024

The Plain Language Bill in Plain English

The Plain Language Bill has passed into law in New Zealand, a formalised intention to make the language in official documents and websites more accessible. But the Bill itself is not in Plain English! Oh, dear. We gave the Plain Language Bill a plain English brush-over.

October 30, 2022

The term ‘revolutionary technology’ just got real for the humble valve

There’s nothing like a technical website writing to sharpen the mind. In what was “the most challenging technical project we’ve ever done,” we’ve just completed a fascinating web-writing project for Joyce & Howse and their client, Hammerforce to explain revolutionary valve and actuation IP.

October 23, 2022

10 rules for exceptional web copy (by writers who do it all the time)

Rule No.1: cut the fluff! Here are the other nine rules...

January 21, 2024

A UX writer and copywriter go head-to-head. Who wins?

Lil is a UX writer, and Sue is a copywriter. One day, we both wrote a version of the same brief...

March 27, 2024

Digital Website Audit: A kick-arse guide.

Designing a new website? Here’s a 10-step content audit plan to help you pull together an awesome content strategy.

January 9, 2024

Meet Scott Robertson, I think he has something to do with rugby

Scott Robertson walks onto the plane and every male is thinking,“Sit by me. Sit by me.” Instead, he sits in a window seat beside the only person who doesn’t know his name, what team he coaches, or even how the season is going for him...me.

May 12, 2022

5 expert tips for overhauling your website content

Every website needs constant maintenance and optimisation. Occasionally a big overhaul is needed to keep it looking modern or moved to a new technology platform so it can deliver features that users are looking for. Here are some tips gleaned from Talan Chen, formerly Westpac's Digital Lead.

May 10, 2022

How content provides a proof layer for brand campaigns

82% of people want companies to prove what they say. Here's a case story on how Westpac Business's content hub supported "Together Greater."

October 10, 2023

Clever Content Slides National Party to Victory

Novel digital interactive sliders helped slide the National Party to victory in the recent New Zealand election, with 38.99% of the vote. Have a play ...

October 29, 2022

Meet Sarah Davies, a walking advertisement for St Cuths

When asked to write for St Cuth's College, content strategist Sarah Davies said, "Oh, pick me! I'm an Old Girl!" And suddenly everything made sense. Here's a story about her colourful past!

October 29, 2022

Southern Cross, shoot and tell

When the client starts crying in the middle of a shoot is that a good thing? Here’s Steve Girdlestone’s story about a recent content video we filmed for Southern Cross.

October 23, 2022

My AI Journey: De-jargoning the mother of all security surveys

The higher you go in business, the curlier the tasks get (hence Sue's hair). Faced with a turgid 113-question security review, Sue Worthington pulled off a slick AI trick to translate it into Plain English.

March 31, 2024

'How to' create 'How to' videos

Anyone owning a business knows there's no driving manual for success. Here’s a story about financial literacy and how to make videos where the experts are badass, not boffins.

October 5, 2022

Meet Ben. He’s the new CEO of BOW and he’s not very keen on bears.

We’re delighted to appoint Ben as CEO of BOW... even though he's leaving us again soon. He’s off on a 1,000-mile kayak race in the Yukon where even a scrawny ginger won’t deter a hungry bear.

May 19, 2022

How AI will become your business’ creative partner in 2024

As a copy agency, we’re already working with generative AI tools like ChatGPT. Our conclusion? More than a blunt creative tool, they’re a fantastic ‘creative partner’ to bounce ideas off.

November 30, 2023

BOW content team wins with kayak, cycle, run and shoot!

Our content team were MIA over the weekend, completing the Challenge Wanaka Triathlon. They won by 2.5 minutes which is lucky as the runners-up team name was, “Destroy Ben, Duncan and Malcolm.’

November 3, 2023

My AI journey: A copywriter that paints pictures with prompts.

This week copywriter Steve Girdlestone walks us through how he uses word prompts in Adobe's Firefly to create drawings for presentations (much to his art director's guffaws).

March 31, 2024

My AI Journey: Hop-growing writer toasts AI

Writer Lyn McNamee lives in Garston, grows locally famous hops, and sits down over a cold beer at night to experiment with Chat GPT. Here are her seven top tips.

April 22, 2024

What books to read this summer: we’ve got literary buffs sorted

Many of our talented copywriters have successful careers as acclaimed published authors too. We asked the incomparable Alie Benge, Lil Cameron and Bethany Rogers to handpick their ultimate page-turners.

December 6, 2023

Your pre-xmas checklist

The last day of work for 2023 is fast approaching. Here's a checklist to clear the decks in your business so you can hit the egg noggin on Christmas Day and head into next year knowing you've got this!

December 7, 2023

Rolling Stones rocks Stace the Ace

A shout out to Stacey Roper, senior art director, who recently went global in a Rolling Stones feature about “The Weirdo Art of Pinstriper Stace the Ace”.

September 28, 2022

Turf Wars. The world's top golf clubs take on Titirangi (and Gazza)

At BOW the outdoors is so much part of our DNA that Helen and Gary Norris put their hand up to help organise one of the biggest club-based golfing events on the NZ calendar, the Mackenzie Society Annual. We snatched them for five minutes to answer a few curly questions!

October 23, 2022

A cat and horse tail

This is a yarn involving a well-loved actor and a daring stuntman. The actor is Max, a kitten who grew up on the streets and ended up at SPCA. Not shy about coming forward, he immediately stood out from the other cat candidates and was selected by a boy named Mitch.

May 12, 2022

Yarns

Creating a Content Hub: From Strategy to Storytelling

10 Content Trends Already Defining 2025

Websites get boost from 20% Tax Deduction. A content coup!

PowerPoint Copywriting Tips: Write Slides That Stick

Ten tips to get your team using Tone of Voice guidelines

The Plain Language Bill in Plain English

The term ‘revolutionary technology’ just got real for the humble valve

10 rules for exceptional web copy (by writers who do it all the time)

A UX writer and copywriter go head-to-head. Who wins?

Digital Website Audit: A kick-arse guide.

Meet Scott Robertson, I think he has something to do with rugby

5 expert tips for overhauling your website content

How content provides a proof layer for brand campaigns

Clever Content Slides National Party to Victory

Meet Sarah Davies, a walking advertisement for St Cuths

Southern Cross, shoot and tell

My AI Journey: De-jargoning the mother of all security surveys

'How to' create 'How to' videos

Meet Ben. He’s the new CEO of BOW and he’s not very keen on bears.

How AI will become your business’ creative partner in 2024

BOW content team wins with kayak, cycle, run and shoot!

My AI journey: A copywriter that paints pictures with prompts.

My AI Journey: Hop-growing writer toasts AI

What books to read this summer: we’ve got literary buffs sorted

Your pre-xmas checklist

Rolling Stones rocks Stace the Ace

Turf Wars. The world's top golf clubs take on Titirangi (and Gazza)

A cat and horse tail

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