Anthem October Newsletter

Tēnā koutou e te whānau and welcome to Anthem’s October newsletter! September featured some outstanding milestones for our clients and friends, saw the arrival of some new Anthemites, and even took the team back to the classroom to learn about te reo Māori and taking care of our mental health.

As official Communications Partner for Chapter Zero New Zealand, Anthem Chair Jane Sweeney had the honour of facilitating their webinar ‘Communicating for climate’ where she shared practical advice for the director community on how to communicate their climate story. Anthem developed The Climate Lexicon – a practical resource for directors to support their sustainability communications.

Anthem supported the Centres of Asia Pacific Excellence (CAPEs) as they held their first ever summit to discuss unlocking profitability, sustainability, and inclusivity for Kiwis in business across the Asia Pacific. The team secured an opinion piece in NZ Herald by Dr Jason Mika, expert on Māori entrepreneurship.

A campaign the Anthem team loved last month was from specialist healthcare communications agency Essence, who won big for their playful ‘Bunnies’ campaign at the global Creative Floor Awards in London.

Rounding out the month with a bit of #AnthemLife, the team welcomed two new Anthemites, Jay Louisson as an Executive Director and Kirsten Beggs as Head of People.

Kia pai to rā Best wishes from the Anthem team

COMMUNICATING FOR CLIMATE WITH CHAPTER ZERO

Anthem’s Executive Chair and Co-Founder Jane Sweeney facilitated Chapter Zero New Zealand‘s ‘Communicating for climate’ webinar on 23 September providing practical advice for directors and management about effectively communicating their organisation’s climate story. Jane discussed how evolving reporting standards provide New Zealand companies the opportunity to tell the full story about their organisation’s climate impacts and achievements. She outlined how those who are true to their purpose, measure progress against environment, sustainability and governance metrics, and articulate a clear strategy can build respect and long-term, sustainable value. You can watch the webinar here.

To support communicating for climate change, Anthem developed the Climate Lexicon – a resource for directors and others who want to better communicate their contribution to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Lexicon explains some of the key terminology around climate, sustainability, international reporting frameworks and New Zealand’s climate change agenda.

CAPE UNLOCKS POTENTIAL AT ASIA PACIFIC SUMMIT

The Centres of Asia Pacific Excellence (CAPEs) recently held its first ever summit, aimed at bringing the country’s academic and business community together to equip Kiwi businesses with the tools to thrive in new markets, setting a course for a sustainable, inclusive, and profitable future.   Led by an impressive line-up of business leaders and top academic researchers, the Asia Pacific Summit included a strong emphasis on how Māori and indigenous business can venture into international markets in ways that reinforce their own identities and values, while also acknowledging the Asia-Pacific cultures they are working with.   Anthem was excited to be called upon to help raise awareness of the summit, by securing an opinion piece by conference keynote speaker and expert on Māori entrepreneurship, Dr Jason Mika, in NZ Herald. Dr Mika’s op-ed highlighted why the Māori economy must look towards APAC for sustained growth, and how indigenous entrepreneurial ecosystems are supporting businesses in the Asia Pacific.

Read the op-ed

ESSENCE WINS BIG IN GLOBAL AWARDS

Specialist healthcare communications agency Essence was recognised last month at the global Creative Floor Awards held in London for an astounding campaign for its client Viatris.

Essence received the top award in the Campaign (Poster) category for their playful ‘Bunnies’ campaign that spotlights erectile dysfunction treatment CILATIL, and pushes the healthcare industry’s traditionally conservative boundaries.

We’re a huge admirer of Essence and the shift they underwent during Covid to reset their brand positioning. Essence’s award win serves as a testament to their incredible hard work and drive to ensure perfectly simple ideas are ignited with creativity.

Learn more about Essence’s award-winning campaign

ANTHEM WELCOMES JAY & KIRSTEN

The team is delighted to welcome two new Anthemites to the fold this month. Jay Louisson has now joined the team full time as an Executive Director, and Kirsten Beggs has stepped into a newly created role, Head of People.

With a vibrant range of communications experience in New Zealand, Bangkok, New York and London, as well as running her own public relations consultancy, Jay brings an abundance of wit, humour, knowledge, calm and logical thinking to the team.

Kirsten has a passion for enabling people to bring their best selves to work and a wealth of experience in Learning and Development, Human Resources, Diversity and Inclusion and People and Culture, which has seen her step seamlessly into her new role bringing new ideas and initiatives to life.

Anthem are proud to boast Jay and Kirsten as part of our team.

TE WIKI O TE REO MĀORI

To celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori this year, the Anthem team participated in a session to support integrating more te reo Māori into our day-to-day work. In a session led by Kirsten, Anthem’s new Head of People, the team practised the correct pronunciation of vowels, learned greetings and learned a karakia.

Building our understanding of te ao Māori and te reo Māori is something Anthem is committed to and we are grateful that Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori reminds us of the importance of doing so.

WALKING THE TALK FOR MENTAL HEALTH

This September Anthemites partook in a special project to mark Mental Health Awareness Week.

Treated to a session with Outdoorsy’s Michelle Morpeth, Anthemites discussed ways to reconnect with nature and integrate more outdoor time into our days for the benefit of our mental and physical health. Recognising the challenges faced when trying to incorporate nature into our day, the team came up with simple ways to get outside each day, week, month, and year.

Walking the talk, Anthem has embarked on a 21-day step challenge with has seen the team racing around the office and taking meetings to the streets. Place your bets now on who will be Anthem’s step champion!

To keep entertained on our daily walks we’ve been listening to The Nutters Club who recently dedicated an episode to the connection between chronic pain and mental health, featuring a discussion with Exsurgo’s CEO Richard Little.

That’s our wrap for the month! Ngā mihi maioha

Team Anthem