For the opening event of the New Zealand Festival 2018, 3,000 years of Pacific voyaging kaupapa collided with the arts at dusk in a one-off theatre piece staged on the waters of the Wellington harbour. Our digital content campaign built expectation and invited audiences to “come on board” in the lead up to A Waka Odyssey.
We held a content creation sprint to create a 23-day programme of unique videos, interviews, profiles and creative content. We organised all the national and international media coverage.
On opening night the waterfront was filled to capacity with an audience of over 30,000 people.
Double Denim understood the kaupapa of A Waka Odyssey from the start. Their Creative Content Sprint was a clever solution to make the budget go further while ensuring that a wide range of voices were represented across a multi-channel digital journey. The public were invited to participate and we were impressed by the results. The digital journey invited New Zealand and international audiences to come on board. This was matched by international and national media coverage set up by Double Denim which exceeded expectations. They are original thinkers who go the extra mile.
Meg Williams, Executive Director, New Zealand Festival
Selected Press
New Zealand festival: 'We all belong. We’re all part of one big canoe' (The Guardian)
Sailing Maori Journey, New Zealanders Rekindle Indigenous Pride (The New York Times)
Thousands gather for Waka Odyssey and the opening of the New Zealand Festival (The Dominion Post)
Kupe Composer Warren Maxwell - 'it’s going to be big' (Radio New Zealand)
Te Waka Haunui, He Mātauranga Māori (VICE)
Kaupapa On The Couch: Get on the waka! (The Spinoff)
Waka culture rides crest of wave (NZ Herald)