Aroā Whakarongo
Nau mai, haere mai | Welcome
We are a kaupapa Māori lead public relations agency working for clients nationwide. We specialise in communication for diversity and inclusion. We operate values-lead communication frameworks to work alongside the changemakers aiming for a better tomorrow. Our name reflects the emphasis we place on listening and the important role it plays in communicating. Aroā Whakarongo are well experienced in Tiriti dynamic approaches that put whānau at the centre through a business model designed to create more opportunities for Māori to be involved in strategic and tactical solution design.
Our values
- Mana Tūpuna/Whakapapa – Respect for tikanga of mana whenua and authoriy of whānau in their takiwā.
- Kotahitanga – Encouraging unity
- Wairuatanga – To work in a way that nourishes and nurtures wairua
- Maramatanga – To work in a way that is whānau centred.
- Manaakitanga – Treat each other with respect Tiro atu ki te pae, mauria atu tō korowai | Look forward into the horizon and prepare.
RaNae helped our COVID-19 Vaccination and Immunisation Programme Disability team at Ministry of Health to amplify the voices of tāngata whaikaha, disabled people, and their whānau throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Tāngata whaikaha, disabled people, their whānau, and the disabled community were involved in tactical and solution design. This meant our communications were relatable, culturally appropriate, accessible in a format they could use and allowed for a better reach to disabled people.
Rāwā Karetai Wood-Bodley, COVID-19 Vaccination and Immunisation Programme Manager
Under the korowai of mana whenua iwi Te Pataka O Wairau Māori Night Market promotes whanau enterprise. RaNae has teamed up with Iwi Comms Managers to work in a whānau-centred way – utilising everyones skills and expertise to promote the event through their wide networks and channels.
Jodie Palatchie, Communications Manager
RaNae is a leader in the specialist field of kaupapa Māori communications. She is a skilled and versatile communications expert with her feet firmly planted in te ao Māori. She brings great energy, nous and empathy to all of her work. It’s been a great privilege to have worked with her.
Hinerangi Barr, Communications Consultant
RaNae has worked with us for a couple of years to provide professional communications support and to project manage our annual report. We can rely on RaNae to meet the needs of our whānau audiences because she has a great understanding of our landscape and our tikanga and she knows our busy environment. We have confidence that she listens and gets what we need to be done as part of a team.
Zealan Simpkins, Operations Manager
RaNae has provided strategic communications support for Te Kotahi o Te Tauihu Charitable Trust which was set up in February 2021 by the eight iwi of Te Tauihu o Te Waka-a-Māui (top of the South Island) to advance health and wellbeing, alleviate poverty, ensure adequate food and housing is available and promote education and skills in Te Tauihu (the top of the South Island). RaNae was innovative in her approach, we experienced wider audience reach, simply, she got the job done!
Dr Lorraine Eade, Pouwhakahaere
Communication is the foundation of my business and I often engage RaNae for her experience and unique skillset in this area. Aroā Whakarongo is a reliable business partner who I can consistently turn to for trusted, efficient services.
Keelan Walker, Creative Director, Loud Noise Media
Our Work
Our goal is to help ensure you meet the needs of your diverse audiences through lived experience and ensure the work we do with disabled whānau is understood more deeply from an indigenous perspective. We can advise on best practice accessibility knowledge as well as unlock your key stakeholder networks in disabled and neuro-diverse spaces to help maximise diversity and inclusion.
We help our clients communicate effectively with individuals who speak another language, or who rely on different means to reach a common goal. We do that through a range of strategic communications and engagement.
We will work with you and your team to decide on the best strategy to meet those objectives and craft clear and concise messages in a unique and refreshing way and help you implement a range of tools and tactics.
Digital & Print Content and Design
Social Media Copywriting
Media
Blogging
Film and websites
Proofreading
technical accuracy, and readability.
Annual Reports
Internal Communication
Strategic Planning
Strategic COmms
Communications planning establishes clear goals and objectives linked to specific programs and services. It also ensures your communication efforts are in support of a larger organisational goal. We can help develop clear and concise messaging that communicates to your audience what you do and how you do it in simple, easily digestible copy.
A plan includes strategies and ground-level tactics to support goals and identifies Measures of Evaluation – How will we know if we are successful?
We can also help you to identify potential risks or hazards so that you can manage them in a proactive way leading to better outcomes for all parties affected.
Risk Communications – What might happen?
Crisis Communications – What just happened or is still happening?
Precautionary Advocacy – Proactively dealing with potential hazards
We can help you manage any communications project from planning, branding through to web development, general promotional campaigns. Our creatives can provide innovative design solutions from conception to completion.
Meaningful Engagement
We use targeted research and networks to help you develop engagement plans and tools that will work for your organisation and your audiences.
Types of engagement include:
Public Meetings
Wānanga and Open Houses
Polling
Social Media Sites
Surveys
Workshops
Advisory Committees
Let’s Kōrero
COntact Us today!
We are Southland based working across Aotearoa, New Zealand. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to send us a message.
We aim to reply within 24 hours.
Ranae Niven
Tel: (+64) 22-314-1262
Aotearoa – New Zealand