MediaWorks has launched a new brand position and campaign, with the focus firmly back on audio.
The new tag, “New Zealand listens to us”, captures the brand’s position as the country’s biggest audio broadcaster, and the influence its content and advertising has on millions of listeners every week.
MediaWorks today consists of 10 radio stations including More FM, The Rock, Breeze and The Edge, and podcasts via rova Studios, including Kiwi Yarns, DSPN, Editor in Chief, Not for Radio and Let Her Finish. At one stage the stable also included television (TV3) and, up until recently, out-of-home, which has now spun off as QMS. That last change has enabled the business to refocus.
“Audio is in our DNA, and refocusing on our core expertise is already proving to be the right move for our people and our partners,” says Wendy Palmer, CEO. “It allows us to double down on what we do best.”
“It’s back to our roots,” says Leon Wratt, Director of Content, with the wry smile of a man who’s been there to see it all. “Audio is what we’ve always been bloody good at. New Zealanders listen to us because we’ve always entertained them and kept them up to date with what’s happening. We’re like a trusted friend.”
The 2.36 million listeners tuning in every week, and a 58.6% share* of the valuable 25-54 yr-old listening audience, are evidence of MediaWorks’ dominance in audio. The latest business results have also been very impressive.
In April, MediaWorks announced a post-tax profit of $3.8 million, a turnaround of $22 million from the $18.2 million loss reported in FY24.
Brand and Communications Director Mark Kelliher saw the need to reflect that renewed focus with a fresh brand position.
“Our people are talking to New Zealand businesses every day about advertising, and they needed a much sharper story to tell. And there are a lot of businesses out there who know our stations, but aren’t so familiar with MediaWorks – let alone what we do.”
After many conversations across the business and beyond, and some interesting research into how the brain remembers things, Kelliher and his brand team decided to double down on the power of sound.
“We needed businesses of all sizes, all across the country to hear our name and remember it, and to know that audio advertising can do the same for their brand.”
This led to a “practice what you preach” strategy, featuring an entertaining radio campaign complete with a catchy MediaWorks “sonic tag” at the end.
Each ad in the new campaign starts with a MediaWorks employee cheerfully answering the phone, “MediaWorks complaints, how can I help?” The caller goes on to complain about the sounds of various ads becoming unforgettably lodged in brains. Which is, of course, the point.
Brand and Creative consultant for the project, David (DT) Thomason, believes too many advertisers have forgotten, or perhaps never learnt, the power of repeated audio to drive advertising effectiveness.
The best place to put your brand is inside the customer’s brain. And the things people remember most easily are the things they’ve heard repeatedly. You need to make your brand sound good.
If New Zealand businesses and agencies are listening to Marketing guru Mark Ritson, then radio advertising might be in for a resurgence. Not that it ever went away.
Audio marketing and sonic branding boosts effectiveness so considerably, Ritson said at a February conference, because sound builds memories more easily.
We’re obsessed with visual cues and logos and colours… they’re actually the long way around to memory.
The MediaWorks campaign is live now, and includes radio, outdoor and a distinctively bolder approach to business presentations, including loud graphics and entertaining video.
* GFK COMMERCIAL RAM S3/2025, Total NZ CUME, AP10+, M-S 12mn-12mn.
Credits:
Mark Kelliher - MediaWorks Brand lead
David (DT) Thomason - Brand & Creative Consultant
Musonda Katongo - Design
Alastair Barren - Audio production
Likeminds - Video production
Sophie Kiddey - Mandy from MediaWorks
Angela Forward, Jess Lim, Kayla Fraser - Brand & Communications rollout
Joel Berryman - Design rollout
Paul Taylor - Creative