A lasting legacy: 20 YEARS OF UNO

Two decades strong, UNO has been the Bay's voice, shining a light on the best of the region’s creatives, business minds, leaders, philanthropists and influencers. Now, after 20 years, it’s time for UNO to celebrate its own influence. Hayley Barnett sits down with the publication’s owners and two previous publishers to discuss how the magazine came to be, and where it’s headed.

photo ALAN GIBSON

The UNO team from left: Nicky Adams, Michele Griffin, Rebecca Meyer, Hayley Barnett and Stephanie Taylor.

As the media landscape continues to transform both here in Aotearoa and around the world, celebrating 20 years as a regional print publication seems almost unbelievable.

Looking back on two decades of storytelling, art and community, for the team at UNO, with all their years of experience in magazines, newspapers and radio, it’s obvious why this unique publication has gone the distance. Having always focused on positive stories of inspirational locals, there has been and always will be a need for connection.

Part of its success is testament to founder Andy Martin’s vision. Casting his mind back 20 years ago, Andy recalls jumping in head first.

“To be honest, I had no idea what I was doing,” he laughs.

“I was winging it from the get-go.”

More a risk-taking entrepreneur than media mogul, Andy had spent much of his career in sales and marketing, in industries from farming to oil. It was when he started up a business in building project management that he delved into media, launching a magazine called The Homepage.

“I always liked Urbis, a consumer homes magazine, and wanted to do something big scale like that, which drew me to the idea of starting a quality regional magazine,” explains Andy. “I probably wouldn’t have done it unless my father had retired at that stage.”

Charles Martin was a sports broadcaster, and wrote for publications like The Listener, as well as scripts for Close to Home, a TV series in the ’70s and ’80s.

“Dad became the editor and I did the sales, and we cobbled it together from there,” says Andy.

The main idea, he adds, was to celebrate the local people in the region.

“Dad’s big thing was all about not being topical,” he says. “The beauty of it was that you could still pick one up years later and it’s still relevant. That was quite important.”

When Charles sadly passed away 10 years ago, Andy felt his own passion for publishing fading with him. That, he said, and he’d “gone too big too soon”. Around that time he’d started printing a Waikato version and opened an office in Wellington, with the intention to publish a magazine for the city.

“Wellington wasn’t a good move,” he admits. The project collapsed shortly after it started and Andy decided to sell the entire brand instead.

From there, Jenny Rudd and Mat Tomlinson picked up UNO and, in Andy’s words, gave it a good “shake up”.

“It needed some new energy and that’s exactly what Jenny had – good energy.”

Over the next six years, UNO transformed in style and tone, taking on more of a business bent, something Jenny was passionate about.

“We attracted some amazing talent to join us, and added two more titles to our fold,” tells Jenny. “It was a magical six years!”

When the current publishers, Michele Griffin and Rebecca Meyer, came on the scene, they brought with them over 35 years of media sales experience, having been at the Bay of Plenty Times (now under the NZME umbrella) for much of their working lives. For Michele, it was her first job out of high school.

The pair had watched UNO evolve over the years and had a vision to bring it back similar to its original format, with more story telling, while continuing to shine a light on the incredible breadth of creative talent the region has to offer.

For Michele and Rebecca, it was an obvious fit.

“We saw UNO as this sophisticated, beautiful brand,” explains Rebecca. “We always admired it, and because we had clients at NZME who respected the magazine, we had an understanding of how the community viewed it.”

Neither see print disappearing any time soon, and Andy agrees. “People spend so much time on their phones these days,” he says. “To sit down and pick up a hard copy is a luxury. There will definitely always be a place for it.”

When asked about where they see UNO headed in the future, there’s no talk of moving fully online or cutting back on print quality.

“We’re lucky this region is growing,” says Michele. “One piece of advice that has always stuck with me was, ‘Stick to your knitting’. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. We’re always listening to what the market wants, evolving where it matters – like maintaining a strong online and social media presence – but at our core, the magazine remains the heart of what we do.”

Adds Rebecca: “Ultimately, people will read it if it looks good and delivers quality content that is relevant to them.

Get that right, and everything else will follow.”