ColensoBBDO
Categories
Cultural Strategy
Client
BNZ, Spark
Project
BNZ Let's Find A Way: Mahutonga, Let's Ako Platform. Spark Ko Te Pae Anamata, Whakaua. Hello Tomorrow: Te Korowai Tupu, Kupu, Spark Health, ALL In, 5G Street Museum.
Services
Creative Direction Art Direction Copy Writing Cultural Consultancy
Year
2020 - 2024
As Practice Lead, I worked within agile teams across Spark and BNZ — embedding cultural and strategic alignment into the way ideas were developed, not just how they were executed.
This meant working beyond marketing functions, bringing internal operations, product, and Māori staff into the earliest stages of ideation and concept development. The work was structured through a kaupapa-led framework:
Mā te rongo ka mōhio
Mā te mōhio ka mārama
Mā te mārama ka mātau
This became an internal phasing model — guiding how teams listened, understood, and moved toward clarity together — ensuring cultural intelligence and organisational alignment were built into the process from the outset.
Alongside client work, I worked internally across Colenso to strengthen cultural capability and staff wellbeing — supporting the Head of Experience and People to embed kaupapa Māori into the day-to-day life of the agency. This included developing Kaputī as a shared cultural framework, introducing regular rongoā-informed interventions to support staff wellbeing, and establishing waiata practice as a way to build collective confidence and connection. I also helped strengthen pathways with Tītahi Ki Tua (AUT Māori Students Association), creating more intentional recruitment relationships and access points for emerging Māori talent. In parallel, I supported the Design Director through mātauranga-led research and guidance — ensuring that cultural narratives, visual language, and design thinking were grounded, informed, and applied with integrity across the studio.
As Practice Lead, I worked within agile teams across Spark and BNZ — embedding cultural and strategic alignment into the way ideas were developed, not just how they were executed.
This meant working beyond marketing functions, bringing internal operations, product, and Māori staff into the earliest stages of ideation and concept development. The work was structured through a kaupapa-led framework:
Mā te rongo ka mōhio
Mā te mōhio ka mārama
Mā te mārama ka mātau
This became an internal phasing model — guiding how teams listened, understood, and moved toward clarity together — ensuring cultural intelligence and organisational alignment were built into the process from the outset.
Alongside client work, I worked internally across Colenso to strengthen cultural capability and staff wellbeing — supporting the Head of Experience and People to embed kaupapa Māori into the day-to-day life of the agency. This included developing Kaputī as a shared cultural framework, introducing regular rongoā-informed interventions to support staff wellbeing, and establishing waiata practice as a way to build collective confidence and connection. I also helped strengthen pathways with Tītahi Ki Tua (AUT Māori Students Association), creating more intentional recruitment relationships and access points for emerging Māori talent. In parallel, I supported the Design Director through mātauranga-led research and guidance — ensuring that cultural narratives, visual language, and design thinking were grounded, informed, and applied with integrity across the studio.
BNZ
At BNZ, the work supported brand and product evolution through a similar lens — ensuring cultural grounding sat alongside commercial clarity.
This included:
Contributing to design exploration and rollout across Aurora and Let’s Find a Way, helping shape how the brand expressed itself across systems and customer experience
Supporting Let’s Ako — enabling banking experiences and communications in te reo Māori, expanding accessibility and cultural relevance
Developing Matariki radio and campaign work, embedding te ao Māori within seasonal storytelling and national media
Across both organisations, the role was less about campaign output alone, and more about shifting how work was made — building internal alignment, cultural capability, and shared ownership across teams.
The result was work that moved across platforms and disciplines, but remained grounded in a consistent approach:
listen first, build collectively, and ensure the outcome reflects the people it is for.
BNZ
At BNZ, the work supported brand and product evolution through a similar lens — ensuring cultural grounding sat alongside commercial clarity.
This included:
Contributing to design exploration and rollout across Aurora and Let’s Find a Way, helping shape how the brand expressed itself across systems and customer experience
Supporting Let’s Ako — enabling banking experiences and communications in te reo Māori, expanding accessibility and cultural relevance
Developing Matariki radio and campaign work, embedding te ao Māori within seasonal storytelling and national media
Across both organisations, the role was less about campaign output alone, and more about shifting how work was made — building internal alignment, cultural capability, and shared ownership across teams.
The result was work that moved across platforms and disciplines, but remained grounded in a consistent approach:
listen first, build collectively, and ensure the outcome reflects the people it is for.
Spark
At Spark, this approach supported a series of nationally recognised initiatives that explored the intersection of technology, culture, and storytelling — while also strengthening internal cultural practice and relationships.
Alongside the continued amplification of Kupu and the development of Te Korowai Tupu design systems and campaign assets, the work extended into deeper cultural engagement across the organisation.
This included the development of Ko te Pae Anamata, Whakamaua a guiding cultural kīwaha within Spark’s kaupapa — ensuring that future-focused innovation remained grounded in te ao Māori values and long-term thinking.
Working alongside Matua Dean Mahuta, a leading reo Māori expert, we developed a unique kīwaha to support internal language adoption and expression — creating something that was distinctly Spark’s, while still anchored in linguistic integrity. This was complemented by the gifting of a bespoke karakia by Ems Hayley Walker, embedding cultural practice into key moments across the organisation.
The work also extended into Spark Health, where I supported engagement with local iwi, ensuring relationships were built with care and reciprocity. This included participation in raranga (weaving) wānanga alongside partners and clients — grounding the launch of new products in shared cultural experience rather than transactional engagement.
These kaupapa sat alongside major public-facing initiatives such as:
ALL IN (Digital Equity) — working with rangatahi and partners to reshape how Spark understood access, participation, and storytelling in a digital world
Matariki campaigns — embedding cultural moments meaningfully across both internal culture and public-facing communications
5G Street Museum — a nationwide augmented reality experience showcasing Aotearoa artists and demonstrating the creative potential of 5G
Across this work, the focus was on shifting technology from infrastructure to experience — and ensuring that both internal culture and external expression were aligned, grounded, and built to last for Māori working in the business and Māori customers.
Spark
At Spark, this approach supported a series of nationally recognised initiatives that explored the intersection of technology, culture, and storytelling — while also strengthening internal cultural practice and relationships.
Alongside the continued amplification of Kupu and the development of Te Korowai Tupu design systems and campaign assets, the work extended into deeper cultural engagement across the organisation.
This included the development of Ko te Pae Anamata, Whakamaua a guiding cultural kīwaha within Spark’s kaupapa — ensuring that future-focused innovation remained grounded in te ao Māori values and long-term thinking.
Working alongside Matua Dean Mahuta, a leading reo Māori expert, we developed a unique kīwaha to support internal language adoption and expression — creating something that was distinctly Spark’s, while still anchored in linguistic integrity. This was complemented by the gifting of a bespoke karakia by Ems Hayley Walker, embedding cultural practice into key moments across the organisation.
The work also extended into Spark Health, where I supported engagement with local iwi, ensuring relationships were built with care and reciprocity. This included participation in raranga (weaving) wānanga alongside partners and clients — grounding the launch of new products in shared cultural experience rather than transactional engagement.
These kaupapa sat alongside major public-facing initiatives such as:
ALL IN (Digital Equity) — working with rangatahi and partners to reshape how Spark understood access, participation, and storytelling in a digital world
Matariki campaigns — embedding cultural moments meaningfully across both internal culture and public-facing communications
5G Street Museum — a nationwide augmented reality experience showcasing Aotearoa artists and demonstrating the creative potential of 5G
Across this work, the focus was on shifting technology from infrastructure to experience — and ensuring that both internal culture and external expression were aligned, grounded, and built to last for Māori working in the business and Māori customers.
