Helping a city restore its reputation with strategic communications

The Challenge
Rotorua is internationally recognised as a centre of Māori culture, and with unique natural assets and a diverse range of tourism products that attract more than three million visitors per year, there is much to be proud of in the area.

But, since Covid, Rotorua suffered significant reputational damage as a tourism destination due to the use of motel accommodation for emergency housing. A range of issues – many beyond the city’s control – contributed to a perception that the city had become unsafe, and was an undesirable destination to live, stay and play.

These issues, and ongoing negative stories in the local and national media, had started to define Rotorua and the effects were rippling out into other areas of the economy. Locals were increasingly down on their own city, and if nothing was done to reverse the reputation decline, there was a danger that the perception would become embedded.

The Approach
Scope Communications’ extensive tourism PR experience was an advantage in our approach to this important mahi. Our brief was to conduct extensive research through community engagement and personal interviews and produce an environmental scan document that served as a business case for funding to deliver the strategy. We then designed a robust, long-term communications strategy that would help to shift perceptions locally and nationally. We:

• Interviewed more than 60 people across 16 focus group sessions
• Held a dedicated workshop with Rotorua City Councillors and Mayor
• Involved iwi and hapu representing Te Arawa, including: Tuhourangi Tribal Authority, Pukeroa Oruawhata Trust, Rotoiti15, Te Arawa Lakes Trust
• Reviewed 25 data sources as part of the wider environmental scan.

Working in collaboration with the fantastic team at RotoruaNZ, Scope led this project with the support of Mary Lambie from Socius Media.

Results

The Rotorua Ripple Effect and Mai Rotorua Communications Strategy is a three-year plan that responds to key themes identified during the research and insights phase of the project. It includes community-driven initiatives to inspire more confidence amongst locals and ultimately bring people back to experience a vibrant, welcoming city. Telling Rotorua’s positive stories themselves via owned media (Mai Rotorua) provided an alternative for locals to reading mostly negative mainstream media coverage about their city.

“The number of negative media articles has dropped by almost 50% compared to the same period last year which we’re really pleased about. We feel that the work we did with Scope last year did a lot to create awareness around the media problem which in turn influenced community and the media themselves around the narratives being perpetuated.”
Marisa Balle, RotoruaNZ

Scope Communications was incredibly honoured to be able to deliver this mahi for RotoruaNZ. Some of the stories we heard from locals left a lasting impact on us as a team. It was a privilege to be part of this project.

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Do you need help with issues & reputation management or strategic communications? Contact us today for a free, no-obligation chat.