Great Scott Communications

22/10/2026

They say good things take time, and that’s just what you’ll find in Waitaki.

This Friday we’re giving a shout-out to our client Waitaki NZ for a stand-out year, and we are proud to walk beside them.

Coming off the back of some really positive end of financial year figures, with visitor spend jumping 15.8% to an impressive $146.5 million, the awesome news has continued to roll in.

ICYMI: Waitaki was named alongside Dunedin NZ in Lonely Planet 2027 travel destinations list, an incredible achievement and the only New Zealand destination to make the list.

Lonely Planet highlighted Waitaki as one of the South Island’s most underrated regions, with the Waitaki Whitestone Unesco Global Geopark , Ōamaru Penguins and Heritage Precinct receiving special mentions.

Netflix's East of Eden has also put Waitaki on the international stage, with the new series transforming Ōamaru’s Victorian precinct into 1900s California. The seven-part adaptation of John Steinbeck’s classic novel saw a huge film crew take over the town, and even a chance for locals to play their part and step in front of the camera as extras.

To go see it for yourself, head over to the Tourism Waitaki website for a self-guided walking tour map of the film locations - https://loom.ly/iMAqwSM .

Through all of this, we’ve been supporting Tourism Waitaki with their Time to Wander Waitaki spring campaign, drawing attention to Waitaki as a must-visit spring destination. As part of this, we ran a Roady giveaway with a bunch of great local operators offering fantastic prizes.

Make sure Waitaki is on your summer plan bucket list, we’ll see you there!

15/10/2026

Nau mai, welcome to two new members of the Great Scott team, Isla Melton and Anna Birchall! 🎉

Isla joins us as Communications Co-ordinator, bringing fresh ideas and serious know-how in the social media and content space. Anna joins us as Graphic Designer, bringing a thoughtful and creative approach to turning ideas into reality.

We’re stoked to have you both on board!

09/09/2026

Kia ora e hoa,

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori and Mahuru Māori are almost upon us, and we're marking it with our Four-week Kōrero Challenge - a quick and easy te reo Māori taster course for your team, starting Wednesday 16 September, online.

Hosted by our own Solomona Davis (Sāmoa, Pākehā), teacher and translator of te reo Māori and communications advisor, this one-month course is practical, accessible, and has something for everyone, whether you're reconnecting with te reo or just getting started.

The wero: learn and speak as much te reo Māori as you can with your team, all month long.

Bring your whole workplace along for a donation of $99, with all proceeds going to a kaupapa Māori education and wellbeing organisation right here in Waitaha Canterbury.

Are you in? Sign your workplace up here - https://loom.ly/9550hzs

27/08/2026

Know a young person keen to get outside their comfort zone? 🇦🇶

This week we've been helping our client spread the word about the 2027 Inspiring Explorers Expedition™. Marking the Trust's 40th anniversary, they're looking for New Zealanders aged 18-30 to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime journey to the Ross Sea region to help protect some of the world's most important polar heritage sites.

We're stoked to have helped get the trust great coverage this week, across Newstalk ZB, RNZ, The Press and the NZ Herald.

Sound like you, or know an Inspiring Explorer? Applications close 5 October 2026.

22/07/2026

Love social media and storytelling? We want to hear from you.

One day you're crafting the narrative for a global corporate, the next you're helping a local hero tell their story. We work with clients doing genuinely cool things and we're looking for a new addition to our close-knit team.

Applications are moving fast and we're shortlisting early next week, so if you've been thinking about applying, now's the time!

Link in comments to apply.

05/06/2026

The Great Scott whānau is growing 🌱

First up, an overdue shoutout to Kim Ross-Guilford. Kim brings strategic storytelling, with a career spanning media, health and finance. She’s the kind of communicator who brings clarity for our clients, and we’re chuffed she's come home to Ōtautahi to do it.

This week we also welcomed Hannah McKnight (Ngāti Porou) to the team. Hannah is a te ao Māori-led communicator who has spent her career helping organisations transform how they build relationships across housing, health, disability, education and more. A natural connector of people and ideas, we’re filling up her calendar fast!

Drop a 👋 in the comments to welcome Kim and Hannah. We know you'll love them as much as we do.

04/06/2026

A great night for Great Scott at the 2026 PRINZ Awards.

We’re stoked to have two pieces of work recognised on the national stage:

✨ Bronze for Kathmandu Coast to Coast: Best Use of Media Relations.
✨ Bronze for Night for Flight (Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa): Community Relations & Engagement.

A huge thanks to Kathmandu and Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa for trusting us to tell their stories.

11/05/2026

It’s been a privilege to spend the past few months with some incredible families, helping to share their NICU journeys as part of Māia Health Foundation's Tiny Hands Need Big Hearts campaign, launched today.

These stories are a powerful reminder of why we need better spaces for our smallest patients and their whānau. Thank you to the families who trusted us to help tell them.

Seeing it all come together at Waipapa Christchurch Hospital, with the unveiling of the NICU Baby Wall and feather sculpture by Neil Dawson, is pretty special. We’re grateful to Māia for continuing to invite us to play a part.

If you are in a position to support, please consider donating – every contribution makes a difference:

We’re taking our health system from good to great. We’re a charitable organisation founded in 2015, committed to enhancing community healthcare services.

05/05/2026

Nearly two weeks on and we're still coming down to earth!

Great Scott has picked up a 2026 IABC Gold Quill Award of Excellence in the Community Relations category - it’s kind of like the Olympics for comms!

The award recognises Huihui Mai, a community engagement campaign asking Greater Christchurch what they want the region to look like in 2050. The goal was 3,000 responses. We got 7,067, with 35% under 35.

Here’s a line from the judges that we won't be forgetting any time soon…"This project serves as a fine blueprint for how agencies can work together to make public engagement feel genuinely inclusive and exciting.”

A huge thanks to everyone involved, and to the 7,067 people who shared their hopes for the future. This one's for you 💛

Thank you International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)

17/04/2026

We're chuffed to be named finalists, with Kathmandu and Kathmandu Coast to Coast, for the PRINZ Awards Best Use of Media Relations category.

Sharing the stories of the Kathmandu Coast to Coast is about more than media coverage. It's about finding the human moments inside one of Aotearoa New Zealand's most iconic endurance events and making sure those stories reach the people we want to inspire.

None of that happens without the trust and collaboration of both the Kathmandu and Coast to Coast teams.

Ngā mihi to PRINZ, and congratulations to all the finalists. We’ll see you in June!