Nurse Maude PR, The June Moment

For 130 years, Nurse Maude has cared for the people of Canterbury. In June 2026 the community returned the favour, opening the doors on a state-of-the-art hospice they funded themselves: purpose-built paediatric care, whānau able to stay close, and a cultural narrative woven through the building itself.

The insight, named: New Zealanders rally behind “we did this ourselves”. A strong regional story out of Christchurch cuts through where another Auckland announcement would blend in.

So we told it as a community story, not a charity appeal, with the cultural context and affinity layer doing what it always does for us: making the story belong to the people in it. Trusted local voices, genuine urgency around a one-time public open day, and the timing read right: the story rode in alongside the Government's paediatric palliative care funding announcement, drawing a clear line between what a community built and what a country funds. Regional heart, national relevance, and a quiet shift in behaviour too: a million more New Zealanders who now know hospice care is something a community can own.

WHAT HAPPENED

Nine pieces of coverage in a single fortnight, reaching more than a million New Zealanders, every story positive. And not just anywhere: 1News at Six, RNZ and Newstalk ZB, the platforms hardest to earn and most trusted. Average coverage quality of 91 out of 100, with every core message landing in full. Earned value came in at more than 18 times the campaign investment.

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