Hemisphere has won Health New Zealand’s Minimising Gambling Harm account, taking on the Safer Gambling Aotearoa platform for the next three years.
The brief covers strategy, creative, media and research for one of the country’s hardest behaviour change challenges – reaching the communities most affected by gambling harm, where stigma keeps people from seeking help, says Hemisphere.
The agency will run the work as a single integrated programme rather than a series of disconnected campaigns.
Built on deep expertise
Hemisphere managing director Dr Tim Antric says: “This is pure social marketing, and it’s the mahi we love.
“We get to bring our Tiriti-dynamic framework to life with and for the people who carry the greatest burden of gambling harm. We’re not walking in like it’s year one – we’ve worked in this space for a long time, and we’re ready to build on what communities have already started.”
The agency’s earlier work for Te Hiringa Hauora drove the highest number of New Zealanders to check their gambling at the time, lifting use of self-help tools by 88% and contributing to an estimated $13 million reduction in social harm costs.
Antric adds that what sets the agency apart is its partnership with 100% Māori-owned Big River Creative, led by Pae Ārahi Te Awanui Reeder.
Cultural leadership shapes the work from the first conversation, not as a final check, he says. He and Reeder co-authored a framework for Tiriti-dynamic social marketing, published in the Journal of Social Marketing, which now underpins how Hemisphere designs programmes for Māori, Pacific, Asian and rangatahi communities.
The win has driven agency growth, says Antric, with Hemisphere making a series of appointments and promotions to resource the programme and strengthen its media, digital and creative teams.
