Māori Language Week may have come to an end, but DDB Group New Zealand has picked up the Aotearoa Oha challenge and is committed to joining Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.
It will now be known as DDB Group Aotearoa.
This applies across the group of agencies, encompassing DDB Aotearoa, TRACK Aotearoa, Mango Aotearoa and Tribal Aotearoa.
The Aotearoa Oha (gift) initiative encourages businesses and individuals to embrace Te Ao Māori by incorporating reo and tikanga in tangible ways in their lives and business.
Vodafone New Zealand also recently changed its network carrier banner to Vodafone Aotearoa.
DDB Group Aotearoa CEO, Justin Mowday, says the agency is on a journey and this gesture is an important step in the haerenga.
“When we moved into our new DDB whare early last year, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei kaumatua honoured us by blessing the building and giving us a real sense of context and grounding on this whenua.
“It was a good reset for us and galvanised our resolve to not just be passengers on the journey to creating an Aotearoa more embracing of Te Ao Māori – we want to be actively involved in making it a reality, sooner.”
Head of Culture and External Relations at Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Rawa, Anahera Rawiri, says she’s thrilled to have DDB Group Aotearoa’s support.
“It’s really meaningful to have a business like DDB Group Aotearoa tautoko what we are doing. Agencies like DDB play a key role in shaping the kōrero that determines how we as people of Aotearoa see ourselves.
“It’s exciting to see businesses like this embrace our Reo and our Tikanga and embed it both in their organisations and in the messages they put out to the public.”
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