On 29 September 2024, more than 10,000 New Zealanders stood together at Eden Park, joined virtually by thousands more around the world, to perform the World’s Largest Haka.
The campaign reclaimed the GUINNESS WORLD RECORD from France, which had held it for over a decade, and raised over $500,000 for the Raukatauri Music Therapy Trust (RMTT).
Led by Auckland-based PR agency Pead, the World’s Largest Haka was recognised as one of the BBC’s “Happiest Stories of 2024”, made global headlines in 25 countries, and won the PRINZ Supreme Award alongside multiple category awards.
Pulling it off meant delivering a moment of national pride that educated audiences worldwide on the cultural significance of the Haka, raising vital funds for a charity in crisis, and meeting the strict requirements for an official GUINNESS WORLD RECORD, all without a paid advertising budget.
The Campaign
Founded by Dame Hinewehi Mohi in honour of her daughter, Hineraukatauri, the RMTT delivers music therapy to people of all ages and abilities, supporting communication, self-expression, and connection. After RMTT faced critical funding cuts in 2024, the need for funds was urgent, making it essential to launch a campaign that could raise funds while upholding the values of pride, inclusivity, and cultural respect.
The idea was bold: reclaim the GUINNESS WORLD RECORD for the largest Haka from the French, rally a nation, and educate the world on the Haka’s meaning and authenticity.
When Pead set out to deliver the PR behind the ‘World’s Largest Haka’, the goal was a lot bigger than breaking a world record. Achieving it would take national unity, global reach, and close collaboration with cultural leaders to ensure the event stayed true to its roots, and protected Māori cultural integrity.
Before launching the campaign, the team consulted with Māori Tourism, the Māori Language Commission, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, and Ngāti Toa Rangatira, and worked with a Māori designer to ensure the concept had the support of key stakeholders and would resonate authentically. Dame Hinewehi Mohi, acting as cultural ambassador, oversaw every decision and communication in partnership with Ngāti Toa, the guardians of Ka Mate.
For publicity, Pead negotiated with Stuff, Flava, and Māori Television, who promoted the event at no cost, while Go Media kindly provided billboard space free of charge.
Working with such a broad network of partners meant juggling many voices and priorities, requiring meticulous communications management. Pead needed to keep every contributor connected and aligned, as well as navigate intense media interest, and keep all stakeholders, partners, and the charity itself informed every step of the way.
Streem’s role was to capture and report the campaign’s reach in real time, giving Pead’s team and its partners a clear view of how the story was unfolding locally, nationally, and internationally.
The Approach
The challenge was mighty: deliver a moment of national pride that educated about the cultural significance of the Haka, raise vital funds, and meet the strict requirements for an official GUINNESS WORLD RECORD at the same time. All with no paid advertising budget, relying instead on earned media and partnerships to keep the story in the spotlight.
Pead needed a way to stay on top of a fast-moving, high-volume news cycle. A campaign of this scale demands clarity and speed in reporting. Pead needed to track coverage across domestic and international media, filter out irrelevant mentions, and turn large volumes of data into meaningful insights for multiple stakeholders, often daily.
“Due to the size of the campaign, and our objective of landing widespread media coverage to drive participation, tracking coverage quickly and accurately, fast filtering and reporting was key. With more than 650 pieces of coverage rolling in, quick filters and compiling of reports was essential.”
“We were providing daily reports on coverage to a number of stakeholders, so we needed to be able to pull reports quickly. We also needed to understand how coverage was landing and its impact on ticket sales. The ability to collate curated reports through Streem's platform meant we could also get a snapshot of where coverage was landing, share of voice and sentiment.”
- Sarah Munnik, Partner at Pead
With Streem, Pead could:
- Cut through noise instantly, surfacing only the coverage that mattered.
- Monitor an immensely comprehensive range of outlets from mainstream to niche publishers, to culturally and linguistically diverse global sources, and everything in between.
- Separate high-value stories from irrelevant mentions with confidence.
- See at a glance where the campaign was landing, how share of voice was shifting, and the sentiment behind the headlines.
- Deliver fast, accurate reports to multiple stakeholders, often daily.
The Results
The result was a campaign that raised the largest amount ever for music therapy in New Zealand. It delivered more than 650 pieces of earned coverage across 25 countries and five continents. From nationwide live TV coverage to tailored story angles for individual outlets. TikTok Live audiences broke platform records, with half a million likes in an hour, and more than 2,500 overseas Kiwis joined via Microsoft Teams, making the event truly global in scale. And, Pead took home the Supreme Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) Award at this years event, the top honour of the night.
With Streem’s monitoring breadth and tailored reporting, Pead stayed on top of the narrative and kept every partner in the loop.
- More than 650 pieces of earned media coverage were tracked and reported across Print, Online, Radio, TV, Podcast, and Magazine media in a single day.
- Coverage across 25 countries, including major global outlets.
- A cumulative potential audience reach of over 131 million in a 16-day period.
- Daily stakeholder updates with filtered, relevant coverage lists.
- Share of voice and sentiment analysis to track positioning and tone.
Campaign Coverage Volume timeline, with syndications included:
These reports provided proof of reach and valuable insight into how the campaign was received both in New Zealand and abroad.
Lasting Impact
The ‘World’s Largest Haka’ made history. Coverage amplified the cultural integrity of the event, educated audiences worldwide about Haka, and celebrated Māori culture with authenticity.
As a direct result of the campaign, GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS reviewed and changed its guidelines for indigenous cultural records. Now, only those within Māori culture can lead future Haka record attempts, safeguarding the tradition for generations to come.
For Streem, it was a privilege to help ensure that every moment (and mention) was captured in full, and we were proud to support Pead by monitoring an impactful campaign that celebrated the unifying power of a shared cultural moment.
Get in touch to find out how we can help your organisation track and report on media coverage, and deliver results worth sharing.
About Pead
Pead is an award-winning integrated communications agency based in Auckland, New Zealand. Pead is trusted by brands and businesses to grow, guide and protect their reputations. The agency creates ideas that cut through the clutter and believes strategic communications should be brave, creative and grounded in what really matters.
Pead would like to acknowledge Ballyhoo, Cornerstore, Extended Whanau, InsideOut Productions, Eden Park and other partners who played a key role in bringing this campaign to life.
About Streem:
Streem delivers a complete media intelligence solution backed by trusted local experts. Featuring realtime media monitoring, in-depth analytics and reporting, social listening, and press release distribution, Streem supports over 1000+ corporate, government, and agency clients across Australia and New Zealand.