Brook Sanctuary – Bringing Kiwi Home

The campaign aimed to raise awareness and excitement for the release of 40 kiwi into the sanctuary in May 2025, an event that marked 20 years of incredible work by staff and volunteers.

Key aspects of the campaign include:

Timeline and Budget: Elevate was briefed 7 weeks before the release date of the kiwi so the timescales were incredibly tight! Within 2-3 weeks we had created the team, the strategy, the brand and launched with a multi-party press release & media interviews, launch video and social media campaign. The main campaign ran from April 9 to 7 May 23, 2025.

Slogan & Graphics: 

The “Bringing Kiwi Home” concept was developed with a black and white design for strong visual impact and to cut through noise in crowded environments.

Release Day Event (May 7, 2025): 

Over 200 people attended, including local iwi, sponsors, and dignitaries. 20 kiwi were released, with another 20 translocated on May 11.

Media Coverage: 

The campaign secured 21 pieces of media coverage, including front-page, national broadcast, app, radio, and online coverage. Key media dates were the announcement on April 9 and the event on May 7. We invited media to the landing of the planes at Nelson Airport (see picture), undertook multiple media interviews and secured a coveted spot on the 1News 6pm program. 

Merchandise:

Kiwi-specific merchandise, such as t-shirts, water bottles, and stationery, was created for sale. We worked with an artist and local traditional letterpress printing studio to create luxury art prints and notecards, which is the start of a new line of products to sell. 

Competitions:

A “Kids Kiwi Release Competition” received 320 entries, with winners getting a chance to take part in the May 11 release. As the release wasn’t open to the public, this was a highly after prize. All entrants subscribed to the sanctuary’s email database, increasing the possibility for future engagement. A “Library Colouring Competition” in partnership with Nelson Libraries received 187 entries across three age categories and they kindly created displays of all their favourite kiwi books in each of the three Nelson Libraries.

Community Awareness: 

Stickers with the campaign graphic and QR codes were placed in nearly 100 local businesses, resulting in over 200 QR code scans.

Airport Partnership: 

Nelson Airport provided high-value exposure through allowing us to apply kiwi feet across the floor and windows, shop displays, kiwi cookies, social posts, video advertising, and a virtual reality experience in the terminal. The VR experience was co-funded by Nelson Airport and led by Elevate Consultancy. It included new 360-degree filming at key points in the Sanctuary to provide an immersive experience as well as a nighttime animated kiwi experience with educational facts and real audio. We also partnered with the airport on the 7 May release date – inducting media and stakeholders so we could be airside on the tarmac to capture the landing and transfer of kiwi into our branded van.