TLDR Hemisphere has been chosen to run Health New Zealand’s Safer Gambling Aotearoa platform for three years. The agency will partner with Big River Creative, a Māori-owned agency led by Te Awanui Reeder. The programme targets Māori, Pacific, Asian, and youth communities most affected by gambling harm. Hemisphere made new hires and promotions across media, digital, and creative teams for the rollout. Past work by Hemisphere reportedly raised use of gambling self-assessment tools by 88 percent.
Health New Zealand has picked Hemisphere to lead its Safer Gambling Aotearoa platform. The deal follows a competitive tender process and runs for three years.
The programme is a nationwide public health campaign. It focuses on gambling harm and how communities can get help.
Hemisphere will work alongside Big River Creative on this project. Big River Creative is a Māori-owned agency led by Te Awanui Reeder.
An Indigenous-Led Approach
The two agencies plan to use what they call a Tiriti-dynamic approach to behavior change. This method is meant to guide campaigns for specific groups.
Those groups include Māori, Pacific, Asian, and rangatahi, or youth, communities. The goal is to shape outreach around the people most affected by gambling harm.
Hemisphere managing director Tim Antric spoke about the contract. He called it social marketing work that the agency values highly.
Antric said the team will apply its framework directly with the communities carrying the heaviest burden from gambling harm. He said this work is not new territory for the agency.
According to Antric, Hemisphere has worked in this field for some time already. He said the agency can build on progress that communities have already made.
Staffing Changes and Programme Goals
Hemisphere confirmed it has made new hires and promotions to prepare for the contract. These changes span the media, digital, and