I’m a curious character. People fascinate me. We are predictably irrational. How to influence perceptions and behaviours is an intriguing space. A topic that occupies a lot of my thinking.

I’m an award-winning marketer, I’ve run the insights function for NZ’s largest industry body, I’ve been a general manager, brand manager, product manager, marketing manager, sales manager, ski holiday ops manager, shepherd, tractor driver, presser in a shearing gang, and a fencer (among other things).

In short, I’ve collected a lot of experiences to make sense of our weird world. I’ve found what works in unearthing insights that help businesses understand their customers. I’ve interviewed many farmers on why they buy, what influences purchase decisions, what their priority stack looks like, what barriers to adoption are, and how innovations spread.

Businesses want to increase adoption in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Brands want to be noticed, but it’s becoming harder to stand out.

You need to know how. What farmers say and what they do are not always the same. Insights are not always in plain sight. They are often buried.

I help agribusinesses dig them up. Couple those insights with my understanding of farmer purchasing psychology, and you get a plan that works with the dynamics of farmer buying behaviour (not against them).

Don’t be left defending out-of-date assumptions. Derisk decisions and increase your chance of winning.

Discover more.

Back from researching how mountain bikes, gravity, and questionable judgement interact.

Find how I've helped others unearth actionable insights
Find how I've helped others unearth actionable insights

If you’re curious to learn more about me - head on over to this website.

  • First in class

    Andrew was consistently first in his class. The first to be out the door when the bell rang. The first to get the ruler over the knuckles for not paying attention. And he was very good at letting his lack of achievement go unnoticed, so we were surprised he left the school with any literacy at all. He found work and has not become destitute so we concluded he must have been a very late developer. In hindsight, we should have held him back. By about a decade.

    Mr Sheedy, Halcombe School Principal

  • Not Willy

    I was in Andrew’s team for a number of years. We used to call him Not Willy Wonka - because he didn’t sugarcoat shit. We liked that about him. None of this “that’s nice” when you really mean “that’s a little bit arse”. What you see is what you get with him. You also get a lot of ideas. Every. Day. Status quo was not his jam. Nor was following dumb procedures. These traits didn’t equip him to go far in the corporate world. We were surprised he lasted as long as he did.

    David Gisborne

  • General Mangler

    Andrew got the job of general manager at a fertiliser company I founded - Foremost Fertilisers. I’d moved on by then. He took the reps off commission and put them on salary. Sent them off to Massey to do some course on nutrient management. What a waste of money. Started to do trials on new products when we all knew what we had was bloody good. Nothing to learn there. Then the drongo rebranded it to TerraCare. What a stupid name. Don’t let that man near your business.

    Ed Curmudgeon

  • Bronze medal

    We never had high expectations for Andrew, and he didn’t disappoint. He can’t hold a candle to his clever sisters. So we are immensely proud that he has managed to hold down gainful employment for most of his career. He’s a lovely boy. He brings me wine and chocolate. He’s far better company than any of the other nearly dead residents in my dementia care unit, although I can’t remember when I saw him last.

    Andrew’s Mum

  • Chicken Sh*t

    I owned the land that Andrew ran some trials on to try and turn broiler chicken shed litter into compost. He made this great big drum which sat on rollers to compost the litter. Every few days he would turn up in his company car, wind a rope around the drum, hook it up to his towbar, and drive off to spin the drum. Aerating it he said. Novel idea, but it turned out to be a complete failure. Although I take my hat off for him giving it a crack. It could’ve come off, a bit like Japan could’ve won the Rugby World Cup.

    George Farmer

  • Ouch!

    I see Andrew quite often despite him being a very healthy individual. This is because he and poor judgment are very well acquainted when it comes to personal safety. I have no idea if this special ability translates into anything useful in the workplace. He is good at rehab, which I put down to the amount of practice he’s had. Just don’t employ him as a stuntman, you’ll never get any work out of him.

    Dr Russell

  • Woof

    I love Andrw. I love Andew. I love Andrew. But I’m not sure he lovez me. I broke 4 of his ribz when he didn’t get outta my way when I was chasing a rabit. Oops. But he stil takes me for runz.

    Gabby, Andrew’s wife’s dog.