Regan Savage is Head of Marketing for Southern Cross Health Society, NZ’s largest health insurer and a not-for-profit Friendly Society with 940,000 members. In recent years Regan has led marketing and communications functions at Unite Against COVID-19, Trade Me and Kiwibank, as well serving as a board member of the Marketing Association from 2018 – 2022. He is currently a trustee and board member of Ngā Manu Nature Reserve, a sanctuary in Kāpiti focussed on education, conservation and preservation of NZ’s native flora and fauna.

After almost 99 years, Four Square was suffering from latent brand love with modern consumers.  Four Square needed to ‘up its game’ to stay relevant.  Putting the customer at the centre, the aim becomes to get Kiwis to do more of their shopping missions closer to home (again) and remove stress from their lives by being dependably convenient.  Find out how the team worked a small budget to drive big change through store format reinvigoration, media, and marketing strategy, and a new brand visual identity to improve our shopping experience and get customers to fall back in love with them and their beloved Mr. Four Square.

About Diane

As the Head of Marketing and CX for Four Square at Foodstuffs NZ, Diane has been leading brand, marketing and media strategy for the brand. Spending the last couple of years revitalising Four Square - she’s been focused on breathing life into the almost 100-year-old brand by addressing low salience, a tired creative system and resetting the retail playbook. 

Having been at Foodstuffs for over three years across Four Square and New World - she’s been pivotal in shifting marketing to be seen as profit centre that adds value back into the business rather than just a cost centre.  

Diane’s experience across more than 18 years span categories including retail, banking, beauty and grocery - both here and abroad – which all started back at the Marketing Association some many, many years ago. 

Antipodes founder and CEO Elizabeth Barbalich was searching for natural skincare that offered the same benefits as conventional skincare – but using pure New Zealand ingredients that were scientifically validated. Launched in 2006, the Antipodes brand is a Wellington success story that’s continuing to evolve and innovate.

We have invited Elizabeth to share the story and the values behind the brand which is now stocked in more than 40 markets and on global beauty ecommerce platforms such as Sephora and Tmall. Join us as Elizabeth touches on key milestones in the Antipodes journey such as:

• The importance of having Wellington as the base for our team and our brand
• The science and sustainability principles supporting the Antipodes brand
• Challenges and successes along the way
  What the move to ecommerce and global partners meant for our business and brand
• What’s next for Antipodes?

About Elizabeth

Elizabeth studied science and business at tertiary level before spending eight years in a sales role for a US surgical corporation that pioneered technology for keyhole surgery. Raising her children led to an interest in creating a non-toxic household. She studied natural health, then scoured the world for natural skincare that performed as well as the conventional brands she used. Finding none, she decided to make her own, and founded Antipodes in 2004.

It’s been a crazy journey for Wellington FinTech brand Hnry since they launched their world-leading online tax and financial admin service just six years ago. The success of their app - designed especially for the unique needs of freelancers, contractors, and the self-employed – has seen the rapidly growing business recognised with numerous awards, $60m in investments, and a solid footing in the Australian market.

Brandon Palmer, Hnry’s Marketing Manager, has been with the company since the early stages of its journey. In his role, he’s helped define Hnry’s place in a crowded tax and accounting market. He joins us to share:

• The story behind the brand: why and how Hnry began
• The Hnry ethos: remembering who we’re working for (the self-employed)
• How marketing fits into the disruptor's toolkit
• How we are relentlessly refining our messaging and being nimble with creative
• What’s next for Hnry: new products, services and brand stories

About Brandon

Brandon has been with Hnry since the early stages of its journey. With more than a decade of experience in marketing and customer acquisition, he has shaped Hnry's growth for the past 4 years and helped the business define its own category in a crowded tax and accounting market.