Tim Antric – Kaiarataki Managing Director – Hemisphere
May 15, 2025
Social marketing — a term that's more than 50 years old yet still remains misunderstood across our sector and the world around us. At Hemisphere, our journey into this approach to behaviour change began over two decades ago working with our long-time client, the Health Sponsorship Council, and a commitment to explore and lead this practice.
Our early experiences quickly taught us that effective social marketing in Aotearoa New Zealand requires going beyond Pākehā norms and perspectives. Our journey has been one of continuous learning and evolution — sometimes challenging, often humbling, but always enriching.
Our Social Marketing Impact
The Hemisphere team has applied our evolving approach across diverse issues from breastfeeding (He wāhi haumaru) to outdoor safety (Stay safer) to sustainability (If you fish) to sexual health (No Rubba No Hubba Hubba) to smoking cessation (Stop before you start). Our work has been featured in literature countless times and in case studies by the UK's National Social Marketing Centre, including:
We're really proud of the behaviour change we've achieved in partnership with our clients, whānau and communities. Much of our work has significantly impacted outcomes, particularly for Māori and Pasifika communities. Equity has always been a focus for us.
From Hierarchy to Convergence: The Influence of Indigenous Thinking
For years, we worked with established social marketing models — we visualised these as concentric circles with core principles at the centre, surrounded by concepts and techniques. While valuable, these models presented a Western-centric view suggesting hierarchy.
Everything changed when we encountered the work of Indigenous social marketing expert Professor Maria Raciti (Kalkadoon-Thaniquith-Bwgcolman). Her insight that Indigenous thinking represents the original systems thinking was revolutionary for us.
As Maria explains, "Relationality is the connective tissue that tethers Indigenous ontology, epistemology and methodologies... comprising multiple realities... through sets of intertwining relationships that are embodied and from which we are inseparable." (Unmuted: An Indigenist Truth-Telling Provocation). This perspective helped us realise social marketing isn't about hierarchy — it's about convergence.
Led by our cultural experts, Te Awanui Reeder and Ivan Yeo, our team has embraced a new approach inspired by He Awa Whiria, the braided river. We now see social marketing as multiple knowledge streams flowing alongside each other as equals:
At points of convergence, these knowledge streams meet, creating deeper understanding and more effective approaches. Instead of a centralised value creation, we see integration of diverse perspectives emerging where and when they can add the greatest potential.
Te Ao Māori and the Three Streams of Influence
Our team has reconceptualised social marketing's three streams (upstream, midstream, downstream) through concepts that reflect Māori worldviews:
These concepts reflect the interconnected layers of influence in society and provide a more culturally grounded framework for our multi-level approach to social marketing.
Decolonising Social Marketing
Drawing on the critical work of scholars like Dr Riri Ellis (Ngai Te Rangi), our team has recognised the need to decolonise social marketing. As Raciti argues, "It is time for market research to embrace pluralism and reject generalisability in Indigenist/Indigenous research as it leads to findings that are flawed and harmful."
True decolonisation means:
Community-led Solutions
Today, our approach prioritises community ownership and leadership. Rather than imposing external solutions, we build capacity within communities to identify and address their own challenges. This is evident in our work with the KŌ Kollective, Poutiri Trust, Asian Family Services, My Life My Voice and Pacific Health Services, where we support creating opportunities for communities to gather and share stories, design messages and build capacity at a community level.
As Professor Raciti notes, "Reciprocity is more than reciprocation—it is the honouring of the relationship, respecting the person and valuing the gift of the knowledge that has been shared." This principle guides our team's approach to knowledge exchange and community engagement.
We believe in creating opportunities for rangatahi and others to gather and use the tools of our trade—growing skills and job opportunities in communities across Aotearoa. This commitment to community-led solutions is fundamental to our decolonised approach to social marketing.
Learning from Success and Failure
There are valuable lessons in both what works and what doesn't. As Associate Professor Sameer Deshpande notes in Celebrating Lessons Learned from "Unsuccessful" Social Marketing Interventions, we must be willing to examine our failures as closely as our successes.
The future of social marketing in Aotearoa New Zealand lies in an evolved, inclusive approach — one that builds on the lessons and mistakes of yesterday, honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi, embraces the diverse worldviews of New Zealanders, and creates social change that benefits everyone.
Get in Touch
Want to learn more about our inclusive approach to social marketing? Ask us how we can help your organisation create meaningful behaviour change that respects and integrates diverse cultural perspectives.
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