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Event
Monthly Marketing Meetup | March
Join us at the MA for an evening of networking and discussion!
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Event
Brainy Breakfast 2025 / Wellington
AI-Driven Disruption: How Search and Content Creation is Changing in 2025
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Event
Monthly Marketing Meetup | April
Join us at the MA for an evening of networking and discussion!
Learn moreSpeakers
Rachel Turner
Head of Brand, Kowtow Clothing
Aligning Marketing with Conscious Consumerism: The Kowtow Clothing Story
Julia Jack
Chief Purpose and Brand Officer, Kiwibank
How Kiwibank is Weaving Purpose, Brand and Culture Together
Rhys Musson
Meridian Marketing Lead, Meridian Energy
Panellist
Panel: When Brands Take a Stand: Purpose, Tokenism, and Boycotts
Bethany Omeri
Head of Strategy, Special Wellington
Panellist
Panel: When Brands Take a Stand: Purpose, Tokenism, and Boycotts
Nick Farland
Director, Marc Etting
Panellist
Panel: When Brands Take a Stand: Purpose, Tokenism, and Boycotts
Regan Savage
Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Southern Cross Health Insurance
Panel Moderator
Panel: When Brands Take a Stand: Purpose, Tokenism, and Boycotts
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Rachel Turner
Head of Brand, Kowtow Clothing
Aligning Marketing with Conscious Consumerism: The Kowtow Clothing Story
Julia Jack
Chief Purpose and Brand Officer, Kiwibank
How Kiwibank is Weaving Purpose, Brand and Culture Together
Rhys Musson
Meridian Marketing Lead, Meridian Energy
Panellist
Panel: When Brands Take a Stand: Purpose, Tokenism, and Boycotts
Bethany Omeri
Head of Strategy, Special Wellington
Panellist
Panel: When Brands Take a Stand: Purpose, Tokenism, and Boycotts
Nick Farland
Director, Marc Etting
Panellist
Panel: When Brands Take a Stand: Purpose, Tokenism, and Boycotts
Regan Savage
Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Southern Cross Health Insurance
Panel Moderator
Panel: When Brands Take a Stand: Purpose, Tokenism, and Boycotts
Rachel Turner
Head of Brand, Kowtow Clothing
Aligning Marketing with Conscious Consumerism: The Kowtow Clothing Story
Wellington-based Kowtow Clothing shows us how a brand can stay true to its roots and lead a conversation around sustainability, responsible production, and thoughtful design in New Zealand and beyond. Kowtow Head of Brand, Rachel Turner, will share how the brand promotes a message of conscious consumerism and uses storytelling to highlight the human and environmental impact of each collection.
In particular, she will share lessons of what it took to go plastic free and what it meant from a marketing perspective and give us a sneak peek at Kowtow’s new circular economy-focused loyalty programme.
Drawing on her background at ClemengerBBDO, Rachel will reveal how she leverages her experience to tell the Kowtow story authentically and consistently across channels. Attendees will gain insights into how Kowtow weaves its values into every customer interaction, using clear, honest communication to build trust and drive loyalty. This talk is a must for marketers seeking to integrate a genuine, mission-driven approach into their brand’s identity and customer messaging.
- Starting with purpose and building customer trust through transparency
- How we are telling the story of our social and environmental initiatives
- Taking responsibility for what we are making with a circular offering
- Building a strong following as a brand in an industry often criticised for its environmental impact
Julia Jack
Chief Purpose and Brand Officer, Kiwibank
How Kiwibank is Weaving Purpose, Brand and Culture Together
Over the last 20 years, Kiwibank has become one of the most loved, trusted and recognised brands in Aotearoa. It has a strong brand story built around a strong purpose and a visual identity to reflect what they stand for and what they care about.
From supporting diversity to providing microfinance loans, getting B Corp certified and Living Wage accredited, Kiwibank has implemented a wide range of initiatives of the past few years to nurture Ka tīmata i a tātou - Kiwibank as a place to belong.
Julia Jack is the bank’s Chief Purpose and Brand Officer, a strategic shift of the CMO role to reflect and elevate the importance of purpose-led discussions and decisions within the bank. Julia joins us to discuss what it takes to deliver on purpose internally and externally.
- Considering the impact our decisions have on our people, customers, communities and the environment.
- Getting the team onboard.
- Integrating te ao Māori into our everyday at Kiwibank.
- How purpose is reflected in our customer communication, CX and products.
- What it has meant for customer and team engagement.
About Julia
Julia (JJ) joined Kiwibank in May 2023. She has more than 25 years’ experience in NZ and the UK in marketing, customer experience and commercial roles and now leads the Purpose and Brand function for Kiwibank as Pou Aronga te Waitohu Matua/Chief Purpose and Brand Officer. Comprising Brand and Marketing, CX/UX, Corporate Affairs, Māori Advisory, Purpose, and Sustainability, together this team is focused on supporting Kiwibank to deliver a winning performance through purpose. Prior to Kiwibank JJ was Chief Marketing Officer at Mercury and held several different roles at Vodafone in NZ and London.
Rhys Musson
Meridian Marketing Lead, Meridian Energy
Panellist
Panel: When Brands Take a Stand: Purpose, Tokenism, and Boycotts
The digital world has supercharged innovation, but it has also supercharged judgement and criticism. Marketers have never faced a more unforgiving environment for their communications.
Consumers want brands to take a stand on social causes, but marketers and brands are increasingly finding themselves exposed if they do so. The 2022 Bud Light brand crisis showed the volatility of brand boycotts and even some New Zealand organisations have found themselves in the firing line.
Anything from LGBTIQA+ rights to climate change, and the use of te reo can polarise your customers and you’re just one social media post away from alienating one group, or both!
If this hasn’t already happened to you, then assume it will and you need to be prepared for it. It’s time to have those uncomfortable internal conversations on what your organisation truly stands for when push comes to shove, and which social conversations you do (or do not) want and need to be part of.
Our panellists have all been in the thick of it and understand the critical issues brands face. Don’t miss this honest and open discussion with lots of practical advice and examples.
- What feels authentic for your organisation?
- Does your organisation have the social license to join the debate?
- Balancing the tension between cultural expression and commercial drivers.
- Committing to being in that cultural space long-term.
- How to handle a social media backlash and why you don’t want to backpaddle.
- Is it sometimes better to say nothing?
About Rhys
Rhys is an experienced marketing leader, driven by generating and delivering outcomes that make a meaningful and sustained difference to both customers and organisations. With over 15 years of marketing experience in both large corporates and small business, he has expertise in a wide range of disciplines – from strategy development through to execution – and in leadership across strategy and people. He’s passionate about people and thrives on helping individuals achieve what they’re capable of.
Bethany Omeri
Head of Strategy, Special Wellington
Panellist
Panel: When Brands Take a Stand: Purpose, Tokenism, and Boycotts
The digital world has supercharged innovation, but it has also supercharged judgement and criticism. Marketers have never faced a more unforgiving environment for their communications.
Consumers want brands to take a stand on social causes, but marketers and brands are increasingly finding themselves exposed if they do so. The 2022 Bud Light brand crisis showed the volatility of brand boycotts and even some New Zealand organisations have found themselves in the firing line.
Anything from LGBTIQA+ rights to climate change, and the use of te reo can polarise your customers and you’re just one social media post away from alienating one group, or both!
If this hasn’t already happened to you, then assume it will and you need to be prepared for it. It’s time to have those uncomfortable internal conversations on what your organisation truly stands for when push comes to shove, and which social conversations you do (or do not) want and need to be part of.
Our panellists have all been in the thick of it and understand the critical issues brands face. Don’t miss this honest and open discussion with lots of practical advice and examples.
- What feels authentic for your organisation?
- Does your organisation have the social license to join the debate?
- Balancing the tension between cultural expression and commercial drivers.
- Committing to being in that cultural space long-term.
- How to handle a social media backlash and why you don’t want to backpaddle.
- Is it sometimes better to say nothing?
About Bethany
Nick Farland
Director, Marc Etting
Panellist
Panel: When Brands Take a Stand: Purpose, Tokenism, and Boycotts
The digital world has supercharged innovation, but it has also supercharged judgement and criticism. Marketers have never faced a more unforgiving environment for their communications.
Consumers want brands to take a stand on social causes, but marketers and brands are increasingly finding themselves exposed if they do so. The 2022 Bud Light brand crisis showed the volatility of brand boycotts and even some New Zealand organisations have found themselves in the firing line.
Anything from LGBTIQA+ rights to climate change, and the use of te reo can polarise your customers and you’re just one social media post away from alienating one group, or both!
If this hasn’t already happened to you, then assume it will and you need to be prepared for it. It’s time to have those uncomfortable internal conversations on what your organisation truly stands for when push comes to shove, and which social conversations you do (or do not) want and need to be part of.
Our panellists have all been in the thick of it and understand the critical issues brands face. Don’t miss this honest and open discussion with lots of practical advice and examples.
- What feels authentic for your organisation?
- Does your organisation have the social license to join the debate?
- Balancing the tension between cultural expression and commercial drivers.
- Committing to being in that cultural space long-term.
- How to handle a social media backlash and why you don’t want to backpaddle.
- Is it sometimes better to say nothing?
About Nick
Regan Savage
Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Southern Cross Health Insurance
Panel Moderator
Panel: When Brands Take a Stand: Purpose, Tokenism, and Boycotts
The digital world has supercharged innovation, but it has also supercharged judgement and criticism. Marketers have never faced a more unforgiving environment for their communications.
Consumers want brands to take a stand on social causes, but marketers and brands are increasingly finding themselves exposed if they do so. The 2022 Bud Light brand crisis showed the volatility of brand boycotts and even some New Zealand organisations have found themselves in the firing line.
Anything from LGBTIQA+ rights to climate change, and the use of te reo can polarise your customers and you’re just one social media post away from alienating one group, or both!
If this hasn’t already happened to you, then assume it will and you need to be prepared for it. It’s time to have those uncomfortable internal conversations on what your organisation truly stands for when push comes to shove, and which social conversations you do (or do not) want and need to be part of.
Our panellists have all been in the thick of it and understand the critical issues brands face. Don’t miss this honest and open discussion with lots of practical advice and examples.
- What feels authentic for your organisation?
- Does your organisation have the social license to join the debate?
- Balancing the tension between cultural expression and commercial drivers.
- Committing to being in that cultural space long-term.
- How to handle a social media backlash and why you don’t want to backpaddle.
- Is it sometimes better to say nothing?
About Regan
Regan Savage is the Chief Sales, Marketing & Customer Experience Officer at Southern Cross Health Society, overseeing marketing, sales, product, CX, and channels. Southern Cross Health Society is NZ’s health insurer and a not-for-profit Friendly Society with a 60% market share and over 950,000 customers. Prior to joining Southern Cross Regan led marketing and communications functions.
Lindsey Horne
Behavioural Insights Director, TRA
Your Host & MC
About Lindsey
With a background in neuroscience and applied behavioural science, Lindsey works across complex behaviour change challenges with a passion for transport, energy and climate change. Her approach to behaviour change is holistic, from broader cultural and social change through to behavioural economics and nudges.
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