Client

Ministry for the Environment

Work

Communication Consultancy, Social Media Strategy, Digital Design and Communications, Animation, Illustration, Digital Marketing, Communication Campaign, Video

Brief
Smack in the middle of the COVID19 lockdown, the Ministry for the Environment had major freshwater policy changes it had to convey.
Key requirements were:
  • Target rural communities, councils and businesses.
  • Don’t polarise or patronise.
  • Explain the complex.
  • Be sensitive but without watering down the changes.
  • Capture the Te O Māori concept of Te Mana o te Wai.
They asked Wonderlab to consult on the communication messaging mix and devise their campaign launch material.

 

 

Illustration of people standing by a river, part of a public engagement campaign by Wonderlab
Illustration of people standing by a river, part of a public engagement campaign by Wonderlab
Illustration of bird by a river, part of a public engagement campaign by Wonderlab
Illustration of pukeko by a river, part of a public engagement campaign by Wonderlab
Illustration of fish in a river, part of a public engagement campaign by Wonderlab
Illustration of people standing by a mountain part of an animated public engagement campaign by Wonderlab
Illustration of people, part of an animated public engagement campaign by Wonderlab
Illustration of people standing by a river, part of a public engagement campaign by Wonderlab
Illustration of people standing by a river, part of a public engagement campaign by Wonderlab
Mobile phone with stills taken from an animation by communication strategists, Wonderlab
Mobile phone with a social media post by communication strategists, Wonderlab
The objectives

A communication campaign for cut-through and clarity

Resonate with the audience

Ensure the work reflects the people as well as the mana of the water. Using the Māori framework for freshwater resources ‘Te Mana o te Wai’ (mountains to the sea) as our guide.

Win eyeballs

Make sure the material is visually engaging to cut through the clutter online and in the press.

Be clear, don’t patronise

While impossible to cover all the policy changes, key ideas and goals must be clearly stated in plain English.

Outcome

Beautiful work with clarity and heart

Beautifully engaging communication

By clearly defining ‘how’ the work would achieve engagement (animation) we could focus on making sure the visuals did their job of supporting key messages.

Clear message and outcomes

Focusing on just a few of the policy changes, meant we could be concise while maintaining a strong narrative that was easy to follow eg. Te Mana o te Wai.

Strike a cord

Policy changes don’t happen in a vacuum. The ministry needed people to respond and give feedback, both good and bad. We ensured the work had strong concepts that would clearly strike a cord with the end audiences — ultimately driving them to discuss or respond to the changes.