Tēnā koutou e te whanau and welcome to Anthem’s December newsletter!
As we look towards the end of another eventful year, it is a great opportunity to step back and appreciate all that has been achieved.
November was an eventful month for Anthem, our clients, and friends.
The latest edition of our Fair Enough? research series, in collaboration with Talbot Mills Research, was released. This edition saw us ask and answer: Is it fair enough to expect employees to turn up at their workplace when their employer requires them to do so? Is it fair enough that employers should adapt their business models to accommodate remote working? What do you think is fair enough?
The Spinoff partnered with Education New Zealand to share the importance of international student exchange programmes and the benefits they bring beyond classrooms.
Our client DOE Donuts shared pop-ups and pickle donuts in November, and is looking forward to an even more “jam”-packed silly season.
Pfizer provided Kiwis with top tips for COVID-19 going into the summer season.
New Zealand Story launched a podcast featuring the tales of successful Kiwi businesses that are proudly helping expand New Zealand’s global reputation. We also helped Qrious share the incredible news of its $1 million paid internship programme for women, Māori, and Pasifika.
The annual Cure Kids Gala Dinner, celebrating over 50 years, helped raise much needed funds for health research to improve the lives of our tamariki.
Exsurgo founder and CEO Richard Little provided insights into his life as a health tech entrepreneur in a feature with NZBusiness Magazine.
Spark and Toitū Tahua reported the important role the finance and digital technology sectors have in reducing New Zealand’s carbon emissions.
Fullers360 announced an exciting partnership with Seachange to bring a premium zero-emission vessel to the Hauraki Gulf from September 2023.
In Anthem Life for November, we had our biannual team offsite to make a plan for the remainder of the financial year, we celebrated International Men’s Day, and we welcomed some new Anthemites to the fold.
Kia pai to rā Best wishes from the Anthem team
HOW FLEXIBLE AND REMOTE WORKING POLICIES ARE SHAPING ORGANISATION’S REPUTATIONS
Our research series Fair Enough?, in partnership with public opinion research company Talbot Mills, is aimed at analysing organisational reputation through a fairness lens. Our latest edition saw us ask and answer the questions: Is it fair enough to expect employees to turn up at their workplace when their employer requires them to do so? Is it fair enough that employers should adapt their business models to accommodate remote working? With the war for talent New Zealand is amid, emerging flexible and remote working options make companies and organisations desirable places to work. As communications specialists, we know that organisations need to be communicating this in their employee value proposition in order to attract the talent they need. To learn more about the results of our research and its implications for organisations thinking about their remote and flexible working policies (hint: every organisation should be!) we’ve compiled our key takeaways below.
- The Fair Enough? podcast brought together industry leaders to discuss what organisations should be considering when creating flexible working policies
- The Listener’s Sarah Catherall discusses our research and its implications for the post-Covid working norm
- BusinessDesk’s Pattrick Smellie shares his main takeaways from the research in On The Money
- For the data-lovers out there, read the full research findings on the Anthem blog
THE SPINOFF TALKS EDUCATION EXCHANGES
Education New Zealand partnered with The Spinoff to share the surprising benefits that international exchange programmes bring to students and to New Zealand.
The article comes after New Zealand’s ESOL sector experienced a 92% increase in enrolments between August and September.
The article shares thoughts from sector leaders and international students on their views and lived experiences with international exchange programmes, how these benefitted them, and how it brings positive contributions to New Zealand.
DOE-NUT MISS OUT ON THE CHRISTMAS CHEER!
Our client DOE Donuts had a bumper November, starting with a sold-out pop-up at Commercial Bay. CBD workers enjoyed delicious flavours like Biscoff Cream and Dark Chocolate Tiramisu… so much so that the DOE team sold out within three hours across three days!
The creativity didn’t stop, as DOE celebrated International Pickle Week with a tantalising collab with McClure’s pickles. The ‘Dickle’ – the perfect combination of sweet dough and glaze alongside savoury pickles and feta – was a hit across media and social, with some radio hosts even getting in on the fun and trying the donut on air.
Now with its focus on the silly season, DOE has launched its limited-edition MistleDOE boxes, packed with festive flavours like fruity pavlova, spiced gingerbread, and creamy eggnog. With a range of different box sizes available from 1st to 23rd December, there are variations to satisfy all Christmas needs this holiday season. We encourage you to join the festive fun and try DOE’s creations for yourself!
PFIZER SHARES COVID CONCERNS AHEAD OF SUMMER
Anthem’s client Pfizer released new research in November which examined how Kiwis are feeling about the pandemic as COVID-19 cases continue to rise ahead of summer.
It found that more than half of New Zealanders remain fearful of contracting COVID-19, and only 14% feel their life is back to normal post pandemic.
The research findings and the implications they have on Kiwi summer have been published across a range of media, including TodayFM, Radio NZ, and Stuff.
NZ STORY FLYING THE FERN PODCAST
The Government’s nation branding agency, New Zealand Story, has launched a podcast featuring the tales of successful Kiwi businesses who are proudly flying their national symbol to help expand New Zealand’s global reputation.
Hosted by CEO David Downs, Flying the Fern features 24 exporters and FernMark Licensees who have achieved international sales success, with a focus on storytelling that embraces country of origin and provenance values. Business profiles include Ecostore, Ārepa, Book Me Bob, Hybrid Bikes, FarmIQ and Trust Codes.
“We hope that by sharing the raw, behind-the-scenes stories of how these Kiwi businesses used their ‘New Zealandness’ to break into offshore markets, other companies can take inspiration in the way they brand their own products and services,” says Downs.
QRIOUS LAUNCHES DATA ACADEMY
A $1 million paid internship for women, Māori, and Pasifika has received significant interest since its recent launch by Qrious, Spark Business Group’s AI and data analytics specialist.
The Qrious Data Academy is a talent pathway initiative that includes $1 million of paid internships to facilitate a pipeline of local talent into high-demand technology careers in the artificial intelligence and data analytics industry.
The programme has been welcomed by the local technology industry and advocates for tackling the skills shortage problem through dedicated career pathways for underrepresented communities.
“We know that the technology sector – particularly artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics – is set for exponential growth over the next few years, and we want to play our part through an industry-leading programme that encourages, nurtures, mentors and upskills the next generation of New Zealanders,” says Evan Wilson, Qrious Head of Data Innovation.
The launch has generated strong demand for applications, with the majority of placements already filled for the 2023 programme.
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS WITH CURE KIDS
Members of the Anthem team put on their best dancing shoes to join Cure Kids at its annual Gala Dinner. This year’s edition was a special milestone as the non-for-profit celebrated 50 years of ground-breaking child health research.
The gala, MC’d by The Lady Killers’ Jackie Clarke, helped raise over $100k to fund vital research to help our tamariki.
One of the highlights of the night was a one-of-kind bespoke pearl necklace designed by Dame Trelise Cooper, which fetched $20,000 in a live auction.
INSIGHTS INTO THE MIND OF A HEALTH TECH ENTREPRENEUR
Our client Exsurgo’s founder and CEO Richard Little sat down with NZ Business magazine to shed some insights of his life as a health tech entrepreneur.
Richard gives a peek of his journey from chance encounters in airport lounges to pioneering the largest clinical trial of its kind. We learn about his two biggest inventions to date – the Rex Bionics exoskeleton and the Axon chronic pain headset – and the stories that inspired their creation.
Anthem clients Spark and Toitū Tahua, the Centre for Sustainable Finance, both released reports on their industry approach to climate challenges and progress on sustainability goals in November.
In its report, Toitū Tahua voiced the need for a tool to define what constitutes sustainable economic activities in New Zealand.
Anthem is proud to be supporting our clients on their meaningful and sustainable goals through strategic communication.
FULLERS360 ANNOUNCES FIRST ZERO-EMISSION TOURISM OFFERING FOR THE HAURAKI GULF
This week, Fullers360 announced it has partnered with Auckland-based sustainable boating designers, Seachange, to bring a premium 10-seater zero-emission hydrofoiling F8 vessel to the Hauraki Gulf from September 2023. We are proud to support this significant milestone in the business’s decarbonisation journey, which will mark a new era in high-end tourism for Aotearoa New Zealand.
In November, the Anthem team had our biannual team offsite, with the goal of acknowledging what we’ve achieved in the past six months, whilst attaining some ideas and insights for achieving a ‘Best Place to Work’.
We split into four teams, each tackling a particular topic around fostering a better work environment and culture. The event proved to be both motivating and productive, giving everyone a chance to showcase their ideas which could in turn be implemented to foster an optimal place of work that enables everyone to thrive.
Acknowledging the men of Anthem
Caro and Jane took the men of the office out for lunch of their choice to celebrate International Men’s Day last month. Somewhat predictably, they chose a pub as their choice of venue!
In an industry traditionally full of women, it is always a pleasure working alongside the men of the industry who share their talents and passion to help Anthem and our clients find their most powerful voice.
November saw us welcome three new members into the Anthem team.
Ben Mabon joined us as a Senior Account Director, bringing a wealth of creative and strategic communications experience. Ben has more than 20 years’ experience in internal and external communications and corporate affairs with companies in sectors including financial services, entertainment, primary industry, and local government.
We also welcomed a new Finance and Operations Assistant, Tamara McGill. Tamara, who has a proven background in diverse professional accounting roles, brings over 10 years’ financial experience to support Anthem’s growth.
Lorenzo Veaila, our second TupuToa intern, also joined us. Lorenzo will be a full-time Anthemite over his summer university break, giving him the opportunity to gain real-life integrated communications experience to complement his studies. Lorenzo is already stuck into some exciting client work, and we cannot wait to see all that he achieves with us.
We’re delighted to have new Anthemites on board and are recruiting for new talented colleagues to join our growing team – check out our socials and website for more details!
That’s our wrap for the month!
Kia pai to rā Miri Kirihimete and happy holidays from the Anthem Team
