Outdoor Media industry shines spotlight on te reo Māori with newly launched outdoor campaign
In recognition of Māori Language Week, the Outdoor Media industry will display a variety of te reo Māori themed messages on over 280 digital out-of-home (DOOH) sites daily across the country.
The te reo Māori messages will feature across a mix of large format digital billboards, smaller format bus shelters, airport and shopping mall digital advertising panels.
The messages will change each day of the week and during different timeslots in each day, providing snapshot te reo Māori language lessons on everyday words. Using the flexibility and immediacy digital billboards can bring, they will also reflect changing real-time, location-based elements such as weather and traffic.
More than 40 creative messages will run throughout the week in an effort to support this year’s Māori Language Week theme, ‘Kia Kaha Te Reo Māori’, which is about strengthening New Zealanders’ use and knowledge of the native language.
Says Derek Lindsay, general manager, Outdoor Media
Association NZ (OMANZ): “We are excited to be able to leverage the industry’s out-of-home digital assets to bring te reo Māori to New Zealanders around the country. The footprint of outdoor media provides exposure in most communities around the country and therefore gives us a unique opportunity to help raise the profile of te reo Māori and
encourages wider use of the language in our daily lives.”
This Outdoor Media Industry initiative partnered six key out-of-home owners, including OMANZ Members Adshel, oOH Media, QMS and APN Outdoor, as well as independent companies Go Media and Lumo.
Says Ngahiwi Apanui, chief executive of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, the Māori Language Commission: “These are signs of our times, and our times are a new step towards an Aotearoa that values, uses and celebrates our indigenous language. Te reo Māori was the first language of business in New Zealand and the Outdoor Media Association of New Zealand is helping restore it to its pride of place in commerce.”
The te reo Māori messages will appear on out-of-home sites in the following towns, regions and cities: Auckland, Waikato, Wellington, Christchurch, Bay of Plenty, Dunedin, Hawke’s Bay, Masterton, Otaki, Palmerston North and New Plymouth.