Whānau Ora and Southsides drive Census with Rep Your Suburb via Motion Sickness & MBM

AUCKLAND, Wednesday: Motion Sickness, MBM, and Whānau Ora, in collaboration with *Southsides, has launched a campaign aiming to increase Census completion numbers from underrepresented communities in Tāmaki Makaurau.

In just three weeks, they’ve received over 8500 finished Census forms – over 85% of their projected goal. The campaign still has another 10 days to run.

They say the results are a testament to the effectiveness of a ‘by Māori, for Māori’ approach, which they’ve been consistent in pushing for alongside their partners.

Motion Sickness was given just three weeks from briefing to being live in market due to mounting census pressure.

Census completion numbers are down, particularly with Māori and Pasifika Whānau.

To prioritise community and to use a ground up approach into the census numbers, this campaign embraces area codes, which have long been emblematic of local identity in Tāmaki Makaurau.

The campaign transforms community symbols, such as area codes, into tangible merchandise that gives back to the community.

Across June, a Whānau Ora pop-up shop roamed suburbs with area-coded merchandise and census assistance directly to the people. Completed census forms could be exchanged for an item from the shop.

Whanau Ora director of health reforms Lance Norman said: “The pop-up shop is a unique activation that’s curated to feature high quality custom merchandise as well as rare novelty items.

“It evokes streetwear community hype to challenge the sterile functionality of the census. 

“Te iwi Māori commitment and involvement have yielded exceptional results. Māori providers have made significant strides, providing strong support for their communities. Their participation in the Census conversation has brought about positive change, shifting.

“Motion Sickness partnered with MBM, who promoted the campaign via radio, and OOH, with social channels posting live updates on the shop’s whereabouts.”

“The Rep Your Suburb campaign has been producing remarkable results that will have lasting impacts in Māori communities.

“The campaign centres community engagement and presence, with Whānau ora kaimahi accompanying the pop-up store. For communities that often feel overlooked, kanohi ki te kanohi kōrero is crucial.

Human element
“The Whānau Ora team on the ground furthers the human element and can engage with the community in a way that the government isn’t able to – with trust and understanding. By Maori, for Maori.

Rep Your Suburb delivers the key message that the census helps track what resources communities need and therefore doing the census puts communities first. We can’t be represented if we aren’t counted”.

To further capture community spirit, they’re also collaborating with *SouthSides (Geoffery Matautia), a local creative known for authentic community portraits. He’s cultivated a following by spotlighting everyday people in his work.

Matautia believes that face to face engagement with underrepresented communities is vital, and was firm in wanting their voices to be heard.

He says SouthSides’ knack for capturing authenticity within Auckland identity is key in both merchandising and photography for the campaign, and he joins Waipareira staff on the ground to hear people’s voices about their communities.

Motion Sickness partnered with MBM, who’ve helped them promote the campaign via radio, OOH media, and social media, with social channels posting live updates on the shop’s whereabouts. A webpage on the Waipareira site also chronicles planned drops and street visits.

Grassroots
“This has been all about motivating Aucklanders at a grassroots level,” says Will Tran of MBM. “We’ve activated through placements that sit at the heart of the community, whether this be the local shops, libraries or leisure centres.”

“We recognise the importance the Census holds for all New Zealanders and are grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside Whānau Ora and Motion Sickness in bringing this to life.”

CREDITS

Whānau Ora team: Lance Norman, Danielle Cuthers, Brad Norman,Awerangi Tamihere, Renee Solomon-Tauhinu
Kaitaunaki Māori (Head of Māori Culture): Kātene Durie-Doherty
Agency: Motion Sickness
Executive Creative Director: Sam Stuchbury
Creative Director: Jordan Stent
Head of Production: Joseph McAlpine
Head of Strategy: Hilary Ngan Kee
Senior Creative: Melina Fiolitakis
Senior Designer: Raphael Roake
Account Director: Joe Fraei
Creative: Schumacher Leona
Media Partner: MBM
Client Service Director: Will Tran
Digital Director: Denise Tan
Set Art Director: Dion Boothby
Photography: Finn Cochran
Photography Assistant: Taylor Prichard
Prop-buyer: Tash Hopkins
Sound Recording: BigPop Studio

• southsides.studio
• motionsickness.co.nz
• mbm.net.nz
• waipareira.com/census