29th October 2026 @ 7:00am - 9:00am
Overview
How do you stand out when everyone is competing for attention online?
Join us for an engaging conversation with former New Plymouth Mayor Neil Holdom and digital marketing specialist Shawn Thomas as they explore how the digital communications landscape has evolved and what it means for communications and marketing professionals today.
Drawing on his experience as an early adopter of social media in campaigning and public engagement, Neil – a former communications professional – will reflect on the changing role of digital communications and share insights from his time in community leadership.
Shawn will bring a marketing and analytics lens to the discussion, examining the evolution of social media, how organisations can cut through the noise, and what the data is telling us about effective digital engagement.
This breakfast session is designed for communications, marketing, engagement and public relations professionals looking to understand emerging trends, digital data and connect with others working in the sector across the region.
Venue: Toi Foundation, 121 Gill St, New Plymouth
Cost: $20 for PRINZ members, $30 for non-PRINZ members. Includes beverages and light breakfast.
Your presenter is..
Shawn Thomas is a marketing lecturer and educator with a track record across content, paid media, and brand building. He works in marketing and communications at MAST Academy and teaches digital marketing at NZIE (now known as the Digital Marketing School, covering content creation and paid advertising. He has grown a personal audience of more than 130,000 followers across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, turning content strategy into real-world results, and he brings that hands-on experience straight into the classroom.
Neil Holdom is a washed up local body politician notorious for infuriating groups on both the far left and far right for initiatives including trying to sell off half of the public land at New Plymouth’s Fitzroy Golf Course to start a land development company, staunchly advocating for Taranaki’s oil and gas sector and industry, supporting cogovernance with mana whenua and jacking up rates to fund environmental initiatives, walkways, transport, water and sporting infrastructure as well as economic development and the occasional cycle lane. While in politics, the thing that irked Holdom’s detractors most was his habit of winning elections, serving three terms as Mayor of New Plymouth, having come into local government with no previous experience.
Married to Melissa, Neil originally trained as a journalist at Wellington Polytechnic’s School of Language and Communications in the nineties, before that earning a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Political Science and Communications at Victoria University of Wellington.
Neil worked in media both as a journalist and community newspaper editor before switching to the dark side in 2003, joining energy utility Powerco, where he earned his accreditation in public relations from PRINZ and went on to study general and strategic management at Macquarie Graduate Management School in Sydney.
Retiring from politics (of his own accord) in 2025, Neil is currently completing a 12 month contract as Establishment Chief Executive for Wai Hononga Water Services Limited, the New Plymouth District Council’s new water services entity and he also runs TX1 Insight, a boutique management consulting business assisting businesses with strategy, communications and complex challenges.
Neil is living proof you don’t have to be particularly bright or interesting to get things done in the world, you simply need to build high trust relationships, pay attention to detail, pick trends, be optimistic and not be too worried about what people think about you.
