The issue.
Set to be the biggest ever event New Zealand had ever held, Covid saw APEC 2021 become an entirely virtual event for the first time. APEC is a membership of the 21 economies bordering the Pacific Ocean, representing 47% of global trade. Every 20 years, New Zealand gets to host APEC. We were tasked with developing the narrative and key materials of the event.
The insight.
With a backdrop of Covid this APEC took on greater importance as economies deal with the damage done and the need to rebuild differently. At this time, one of the critical themes New Zealand wanted to communicate was the importance of collaboration and working together to recover and rebuild from Covid. At a time where many parts of the world are becoming more insular, for APEC it’s more important than ever that we work together.
The solution.
The key theme in the narrative was ‘Join, Work, Grow. Together’ connected with the idea ‘Haumi ē, Hui ē, Taiki ē’. We developed various video pieces that gave a virtual welcome to New Zealand – warm, friendly, genuine – in a context that tends to be high pressured and formal.