Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
See below for English translation
Ki a Wawata Creative te taumata o te rangi. Nō te tau nei tēnei kamupene ka whakawhiwhia ki ngā whakawhiwhinga nui taioreore e rua.
Tuatahi ake ko te whakawhiwhinga Tompkin, ā, ko te tuarua ko te Wake Rotorua Business Award. Nā reira e tika ana kia whakanuia ngā rangatira tokorua nei a Inia Maxwell me tana mākau ko Rongopai Stirling-Maxwell. Tūturu ko te ao pānuitanga nei he ao kua kaha haukurungia e te hunga tauiwi, ko ngā pākihi tauiwi e hāpai ana i ngā kirimana Māori. Nā tēnei tūāhuatanga ka toko ake te whakaaro i a Inia ( Ngai Te Arawa, Ngāti Rangiwewehi me Ngāti Whakaue) me tana mākau ko Rongopai ( Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Ngāti Porou , Ngāti Kauwhata me Ngāi Tahu) ki te whakahuri i tēnei tūāhuatanga ki a tika ai ki a tātau te Māori, nā e mea hoki nā, mā te Māori tonu ngā kaupapa Māori e kawe.
‘I whakaarangia tā mātau pākihi, tuatahi ake ki te tūhonohono i tētehi awaawa whānui e whakawehewehe ana te ao tauiwi me te ao Māori, nā reira tā mātau waka, he whakakīkī i taua awaawa rā ki te mana Māori motuhake’, hai tā Rongopai Stirling-Maxwell. '
Ka taea e māua ngā wāhanga katoa engari ko te tino wāhi ki a māua ko te whakanikoniko, ko te whakahono me te whakauru ngā paki kōrero, ngā tātai kōrero ā ngai tātau ki a ihi anō ai tō tātau ao e tūhonohono atu ai hoki ki te tini tangata’. Kātahi nei a Inia ka wha tekau mā whitu te pakeke, he uri nō ngā karanga hapū o Te Arawa i whānau i pakekengia ai i Ōhinemutu me Tarimano i raro i te mauriora o tana whānau Makiwhara-Morihana.
A Rongopai kātahi nei ia ka wha tekau mā wha ngā tau. Nō Te Papaioea me Te Wairoa ia. Tokowha a rāua tamariki, kai Ōhinemutu te pūrenga kāinga. Ko Horowaewae me Atareta ngā mātua o Inia. E wāuna hoki i te korenga o Atareta tētehi māreikura whakahirahira hoki. Wheoi anō ka toru tekau o ngā tau rāua e ako nā i te rōpū kapa haka o Ngāti Rangiwewehi. Tētehi kapa nui te mana onamata, ā moroki noa nei.
Nō te takiwā o te iwa tekau tīmatangia ai tana whaiwhai i tana mahi nei. Nā tana matua tāne kaokaoroa a Sir Howard Morihana te whakahau ki a tae moata ia ki tētehi uiuinga mahi ki Saatchi & Saatchi. Me kahu tōingo hoki, kāua e tae tautauhea. Kāti, kai te rangi e haere ana te kōrero. He ahakoa e kore pūkenga āna, he whakapono nōna nā āna pūkenga kapa haka ia, otīā rāua i piki ake ai ki te taumata nui. Ko te taha ki a Rongopai, he wahine whakahaere mahi me te taha ki te mātauranga, nā reira ia ki te puku o te taniwha e toutou nā i ngā pungarehu o te ahi. Engari e tika ana kia whakamihia o rāua mātua ake. Ko Trevor me Atareta, ko Kahu me May-Jane Stirling. Ngā whetū kōmata o te pikopiko i rangi.
‘Mēnā kua paiakangia ngā waewae o te tangata ki tōna turangawaewae mēnā he tangata kaha ki te whakaheke werawera he ngaru tūātea ka ekengia. Ka rua, ko ngā whakahau kaha a te whānau me ngā hoa tata, kai reira hoki ēnā whakaaro nui ki te puku. Me tika te mihi atu hoki ki Te Puni Kōkiri me Awhi Rōpū mō te kauawhiawhi me te āta poipoi i a māua kia tika ai. Tēnā hoki kōrua”. Ko te ihi wanawana ko te wāhanga whāngai tātai kōrero onamata ki te hāpori otīā te ao nei te haringa o tō Inia whatumanawa.
Ko te rautaki pae tawhiti. He ako i te rangatahi Māori ki a mātau ai rātau ki te ao pānuitanga. ' He ao hihiko tēnei ao mahi, kai te rori ngā waewae e oma ana, he rerekē hoki te wairua o ngā rangi hou. Kāore he paku aha ki a tātau ki te Māori ki te mahi ki tēnei ao, nā te mea kai a tātau tēnei wairua whakaohoooho otīā he iwi māia tātau, he iwi pakiki, he iwi whakawhanake moemoeā tātau’. Ko ā rāua kupu akiaki ki a tātau katoa ki te hunga e āta whakaarongia nei tēnei huarahi mahi,hai mahi māna. Kāua rawa e tukuna ōu whakaaro ōu moemoeā ki te kete takaoraoratanga. Tonoa he paku awhina karanga atu ki Te Puni Kōkiri me ngā rangatira whakahaere pākihi. I whakapau kaha ngā mātua tūpuna ki a whai oranga ai tātau, tēnā ko tēnā hikina te teka, mauria atu hai painga mō te iwi.
He inoi hoki tēnei nā Wawata ki ngā kamupene ki ngā pākihi ake o te takiwā o Rotorua: E hoa mā, tahuri mai ki ahau hai hoa awhina i a koe. Ehara kau ko mātau anake engari anō te huhua o ngā pākihi kai te takiwā nei e moumoungia ana. Ko te tihi o te mahi kai te ihu o te rangi. ' Kia whakataukingia nei e ahau, he ahakoa he iti te matakahi he kahikatea ka hinga. Kua eke noa a Wawata ki ngā taumata ko ētehi o ngā kirimana ā motu nei kua whakawhiwhia e mātau ko te kirimana Manatū Hauora, ngā kirimana Paremata, te kirimana 2022 mō te whakataetae ā ao nei mō te kirikiti ā ngā wāhine, he iti noa ēnei, ara kē atu anō ētehi kai te pātū o te kāinga. Ko tētehi anō taha ko te taha ki ngā kirimana tuawhenua mā KPMG me Microsoft . I tūhonohono atu ai mātau ki ngā pākihi takiwā nei ki a eke ai te kounga o te mahi – nō reira ka pūruangia te kōrero, tahuri mai ki te puku o te hāpori, he mana, he ihi, he wehi kai te ihu’. Raimona Inia
Wawata Creative scored two major wins in the 2022 Tompkin and Wake Rotorua Business Awards, testament to the vision of the pakihi’s creators, Inia Maxwell and Rongopai Stirling-Maxwell.
Historically, the advertising industry has been dominated by non-Māori who would win kaupapa Māori contracts.
Inia (Te Arawa, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāti Whakaue) and Rongopai (Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kauwhata, Ngāi Tahu) identified an opportunity to change advertising norms with an approach that is culturally centred, and values based.
“We established our pakihi specifically to bridge a glaringly obvious cultural gap and fill it with authentic, well-informed and empowering indigenous content,” Rongopai said.
“We do all the things ‘traditional’ agencies do but we specialise in Māori engagement and in cleverly weaving Māori narratives and stories into messaging that connects with the wider public.”
Inia, 47, was born and raised at Ohinemutu and Tarimano with his Maxwell-Morrison whanau. Rongopai, 44, grew up in Palmerston North and Wairoa. The couple has four children and live at Ohinemutu. Inia’s parents, Trevor and the late Atareta Maxwell, were tutors for the Ngati Rangiwewehi kapa for 30 plus years.
He began his advertising career in the 90s. His Uncle, Sir Howard Morrison, told him to look sharp and turn up to Saatchi and Saatchi for a job interview which he did. The rest is history.
They have had no formal training but believe the skills gained in kapa haka drove Inia to excel in the advertising world which he joined in the 1990s. Rongopai’s experience is in project management and education, so she is in the boiler room of the business.
But they credit their respective parents, Trevor and Atareta, and Kahu and May-Jane Stirling as being inspirational role models.
“They taught us that a strong cultural foundation, self-belief, determination and hardwork will help you achieve anything you put your mind to. Then there are whānau and friends who constantly provide encouragement and support.
“Te Puni Kōkiri and Awhi Rōpū Consultants are key in our pakihi growth.”
Inia was inspired by being able to apply indigenous knowledge and creativity to tell authentic stories that resonated with all audiences.
Their succession plan is to educate as many rangatahi Māori as possible about the advertising industry.
“Working in the industry is exciting, it’s fast-paced and every day is different. Māori will thrive in the advertising space because we are naturally creative, intuitive, and innovative.”
Their ideal future sees many more Māori working successfully in the advertising industry so more authentic indigenous content can saturate all media spaces nationally and internationally.
Their advice for rangatahi or anyone wanting to set up in business: Don’t ever put your ideas or aspirations into the ‘too hard’ basket. Ask for help from places like Te Puni Kōkiri, business owners. Longtime friends and advertising gurus John Fisher and Sam Robinson (Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga) have made a huge impact on the positive direction of Wawata Creative. Their knowledge and decades of experience in the advertising space have helped shape and influence Inia and Rongopai over the years. Our tipuna fought hard for us, so work hard to make a difference. Wawata Creative has a plea to Rotorua business owners: Look at home first.
There are so many talent businesses here that deliver exceptional work.
“We may seem small to you, but we collaborate to deliver national contracts. Our pakihi alone has won national contracts for the Ministry of Health, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Parliamentary Services, 2022 Women’s Cricket World Cup to name a few. We also create content for global clients such as KPMG and Microsoft. We partnered with local businesses to deliver some of them.
“So, again please look local before you go out of the rohe.”
There are 93 horses still facing an uncertain fate.