Every day, over 2 million New Zealanders turn to TVNZ for information and entertainment. Whether it’s catching up on Shortland Street, ending the day with Seven Sharp or settling in for an episode of Country Calendar.
TVNZ content strategy director Simone Hollows says this habitual relationship creates a unique opportunity for brands and more should be considering content partnerships as part of their advertising mix.
“TVNZ has been part of Kiwi lives for more than 60 years. People know our shows, trust our faces and invite us into their homes every day. When brands become part of that in a meaningful and genuine way, they get something an ad on its own just can’t.”
Over the past year, brands have been getting closer than ever to the content New Zealanders love. One example is Meadow Fresh‘s ‘Fantasy herd’, which transformed the global phenomenon of Super Bowl into something unmistakably Kiwi. During the halftime broadcast, TVNZ and its partners tapped into New Zealand’s love of sport, community and friendly competition by creating a live draft event with real cows from an Otago dairy farm.
For Ikea’s arrival in New Zealand, TVNZ helped solve a different challenge: how to connect with audiences who couldn’t easily visit the retailer’s first store in Auckland. The answer was ‘The Swede as road trip’, an ambitious integration that saw the iconic Seven Sharp couch hit the road in a nationwide campaign. By using trusted presenters and a programme audiences already welcomed into their homes each night, Ikea was able to turn curiosity into engagement.
Help brands stay top of mind
Hollows says: “Every integration starts with what we know best: our audiences. That trusted connection, which we’ve built over years, allows us to connect brands with people in ways that feel natural and engaging. With support of our in-house creative team, Blacksand, and their tailored production expertise, we can bring ideas to life across broadcast, social and live integrations.”
‘Love creep’ powerfully demonstrated this cross-platform approach.
Designed to raise awareness of coercive control among young New Zealanders, the campaign unfolded through a six-week Shortland Street storyline showing how unhealthy behaviours can gradually emerge within a relationship. Extending across on-screen storytelling, social content and digital channels, it sparked national conversation while directing audiences to practical support and information.
Hollows says: “Research shows that brands achieve their strongest results when they are seamlessly woven into content that audiences already know and love. Compared with standalone TVCs or billboards, fully integrated sponsorships deliver higher campaign message agreement, stronger brand uplift and they help brands stay top of mind when it matters most.”
Every TVNZ campaign is built around programmes and personalities audiences already know and trust. That means for brands, partnering with TVNZ doesn’t just increase visibility, it creates meaningful connections that resonate long after the campaign ends.
The post Beyond the ad break: TVNZ partnerships bring brands closer to Kiwi appeared first on stoppress.co.nz.
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