Local strategic communications consultancy The Shine Collective recently took home gold at the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) Awards for its work with Te Arawa COVID Response Hub, supporting the trial of a COVID contact tracing card.  

We asked The Shine Collective Communications Director Meg Jones to share a behind-the-scenes look at the work that went into their award-winning entry, as well as top tips for local business owners to have award-winning communications in their business.

Some of the greatest minds in history have been quoted saying, in their own eloquent ways, that collaboration is the key to success.

Alexander Graham Bell said, “Great discoveries and improvements invariably involve the co-operation of many minds”, while one of Helen Keller’s most memorable quotes reinforces the same theme: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”.

In more recent times, one of Microsoft’s Steve Jobs’ mantra’s was “great things in business are never done by one person”.

While the team at The Shine Collective don’t deign to consider themselves in the same league as Jobs, Keller and Bell, we wholeheartedly agree that it takes many minds to build something great.

At the recent New Zealand Public Relations (PRINZ) Awards, our campaign – Stamping out COVID with a digital handshake – won the top spot in the Community Relations and Engagement category.

With its short deadlines and a long list of challenges, the campaign was a real labour of love and one that was only achieved through the hard work and dedication of many people.

So how did it all start?

New Zealand’s ongoing success at combatting COVID-19 – and ultimately saving lives – has relied on identifying and isolating close contacts quickly and efficiently.

While mainstream use of the NZ COVID Tracer app was gradually increasing at the height of the pandemic, there were disparities among vulnerable communities, including Māori.

In order to fill the gaps and develop a more equitable solution, Te Arawa COVID-19 Response Hub partnered with the Ministry of Health to trial a contact tracing card in Ngongotahā, Rotorua.

Working with Eruera Keepa, we designed and delivered a successful community engagement strategy that led to a trial that exceeded all expectations.

The philosophy behind our communications strategy was simple: Authentic two-way engagement, with the principles of tikanga Māori at its heart, for both Māori and non-Māori audiences.

Not only is Shine immensely proud of this kaupapa for the impact it had on the community, but it also reinforced how essential good communications are for projects, big and small.

In the case of ‘Stamping out COVID with a digital handshake’, communication was the key success factor and has resulted in the development of a new community-led engagement framework.

This is a significant development and one that has the potential to drive greater health outcomes for Māori and vulnerable communities across Aotearoa.

In business, honest and effective communication with the community and your key stakeholders can yield equally positive effects.

Regardless of messages or goals, a business’ ability to build trust and remain transparent is vital to a successful communications campaign – and, equally, in creating a sustainable, profitable business.

Identifying your audience is an obvious prerequisite, but understanding how they want to be communicated with, and using all the tools at your disposal to do this, will drive engagement, loyalty and reach.

Having a trusting and loyal following will ensure that when you have something to say, even if it’s not good news, you’ll take your audience with you. Sure, there will always be detractors but on the whole, those loyal ‘promoters’ will be your greatest asset – and we’ve seen it many times where these promoters step in to defend brands when they’re under fire.

In the end, if you believe in your business, your people and your message, your communications will reflect that.

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