Little & Loud.

There's proud, and then there's extra proud. And we are absolutely the latter when it comes to how we feel about how we got on at The Worthies Conference and Awards in Wellington last week. Our principal consultant, Shivarn Stewart was representing the volunteer team behind the Keep Māori Wards campaign in two categories, and came away with Silver in the Best Te Ao Māori Campaign. While we didn't take out Consultancy of the Year; we did make some incredible friends. Being a finalist when you are in such good company is a pretty good award in itself (although we do have our eyes on one of these FAB trophies).

How good do The Worthies look?! We're all down in Wellington at their inaugural conference and awards. Watch this space for updates.

Everyone’s favourite Scot is back in the building! This week, our Amber Dryden returned to work as a fully fledged mum-of-two. Liam (3) has adjusted incredibly well to big-brother life, and wee Zoey is just the sweetest little bundle of a baby sister. Coincidentally, it’s also just ticked over the five year mark since Amber took a gamble on Little & Loud. It means a heck of a lot that you keep doubling down on us Amber - we wouldn’t change it for the world! Welcome back lassie, och aye the noo etc.

EDIT- We've had to update this post this morning following the news that the Keep Māori Wards Manawatū campaign is a finalist in not one but TWO categories at the national The Worthies awards! Amazing work team. Reflecting on last year, with the general elections looming, we are so ridiculously proud of our Shivarn Stewart and the whole team behind the Keep Māori Wards Manawatū campaign. Life is so busy for all of us, and if it wasn’t for people like you lot creating space like this important mahi, things like this would go in the too-hard basket. With all of our neighbouring districts losing their Māori Ward (which, just to remind everyone, was simply allocating a space for Māori to be at the council table as mana whenua), not having this campaign would have had a very real impact. This is a beautiful example of a grassroots campaign that showed the impact of community outreach, education, plain English and the power of people united under Te Tiriti. Completely volunteer-led, Shivarn (and all of those involved) gave their own time to ensure that we didn’t lose the bare minimum of equity in local government. On behalf of everyone that didn’t have the spoons - thank you.

In this day and age, you'd never think it would be so difficult to run a business that sells perfectly legal products to consenting adults. Turns out, it's harder* than you'd think. This month, Viv Conway, co-founder of women's sexual wellness company Girls Get Off, is speaking at Women and Business in Palmerston North. We're proud supporters of Women and Business, and it's probably the safest place to not-network, or network, with other like-minded women. Everyone is welcome, students, SAHM, professionals, business owners, retirees and those inbetween. Tickets are on sale now (and selling fast) and we will be heading along if you want to join us. Link in the comments. *Yes, that is a pun. We tried.

Many of our friends, whānau and clients know that it's been a rough 18 months for our director Lizi Guest and her family. Amelia, her eldest daughter, became suddenly unwell with a complex neurological condition in August 2024, and it's completely changed their lives. They've had an incredible opportunity for a disability assist dog, Sammy, to join Amelia's life via Pawsible Service Dogs and are now fundraising to bring Sammy home. The support from the community has been epic, and with media stories in the works, fundraisers from special friends like Blacksheepdesign (check out their SpiderDog fundraiser if you are in the market for a new spider plant) - Lizi, Amelia and the whole family are seriously feeling the love. Check out the GiveALittle in the comments below; and follow Lizi on Instagram if you'd like to follow Amelia and Sammy's journey @lizi.guest

How many professionals actually feel confident when it comes to engaging with Pacific communities? For a country where one in twelve people have Pacific heritage - we’d bet the answer is not enough. We have been counting down the days until Mana Pacific Consultants Limited launched Talanoa Tai Learning, and the day is finally here. Talanoa Tai offers powerful learning experiences for those wanting to build cultural responsiveness and improve their ability to engage with Pacific communities. It’s been a privilege to support the talented Mana Pacific team with their marketing strategy, and we can’t wait to see the impact of this training on professionals across the motu.

Have you invested in AI Literacy yet? What started as a one-off workshop for colleagues in Palmerston North has snowballed into something quite special - our AI Essentials workshop series. Priced at $175 +GST per person, registered with the Regional Business Partners Network, validated by 200+ professionals and receiving *universally* positive feedback - we're on to a good thing here. We've booked in the last remaining dates for this year, and we'd love to reach as many regional businesses and organisations as we can. Need more reasons to come along? Here's what our attendees say they liked: ✅ AI without the jargon. Practical, plain-English workshops designed for non-technical professionals. No sales pitch! 🎯 Immediate takeaways. ⚖️ Balanced perspective. Not hype, not doom; cover both opportunities and risks including ethics, data security, and policy. 🌏 Regional first. Delivering relevant AI literacy for regional professionals - affordable and accessible. 🙌 Engaging delivery. Two-hour workshops that keep people energised, inspired, and confident to try AI for themselves. Queenstown - 3 October Rotorua - 21 October Tauranga - 22 October Whangārei - 30 October Palmerston North - 4 November Invercargill - 11 November Hastings - 24 November (AM) Central Hawke's Bay - 24 November (PM)

We take absolutely zero credit for this - but want to highlight Shivarn Stewart's incredible volunteer mahi on the Manawatū Māori Wards Campaign. She has worked phenomenally hard, in her own time, on this important campaign which impacts each and every one of us. If you haven't already, now is the time to understand what Māori Wards mean for our community and make sure your voice is heard.

We’ve worked on quite a few rebrands over the years - but this one was different. This time, our client (an education and social services provider) didn’t just choose a new name or hire an agency to dream one up based on their mission statement. They brought us in to listen. We talked to kaimahi (some with decades of service), ākonga, stakeholders, and partners to understand if their current brand was working, and what they wanted to see and feel in a new name and brand. The majority of their students and clients are rangatahi and whānau Māori and Pasifika, so it was clear Mātauranga Māori needed to be at the heart of the process. With support from the Board, we approached Muaupoko Tribal Authority Inc, who generously agreed to gift a name to the organisation. That in itself was huge. The whenua this organisation sits on holds deep maemae for Muaūpoko. It is a special place spiritually and knowing the work that was happening here, kaumātua gave this kaupapa their blessing through the name; Te Puna Whai Mātauranga. A name with mana. A name that encompasses opportunity. Not a translation, or a tag on. We knew this was THE name. Then came the next challenge: how to bring it to life authentically, and ensure kaimahi felt confident representing it. Here’s what we did: - Took inspiration from Hannah McKnight and Kā te Rama Switched On Group to create pronunciation videos featuring non-fluent speakers, so kaimahi could see people they recognised giving it a go. - Engaged celebrated Māori artist Sian Montgomery-Neutze and her sister Ana Montgomery-Neutze, a designer and photographer (who both whakapapa to Muaūpoko) to shape the visual identity. - Partnered with Jemma Cheer on the website, and worked closely with a te reo Māori translator (also connected to mana whenua) to embed biculturalism throughout. - Kept kaimahi engaged the whole way through; with updates and opportunities for input and feedback. And then...the new brand launched. Muaūpoko led the celebrations, alongside a sea of proud kaimahi in their new uniforms, with fresh signage and a brand that truly reflects who they are and where they’re going. It’s been a privilege to support the evolution of Horowhenua Learning Centre Life to the Max into Te Puna Whai Mātauranga. Meaning ‘a special place, the spring where knowledge, insight, learning and wisdom can be accessed and transformation is possible’ - this process truly sets the bar for what authentic engagement looks like during a branding process. Thank you to the Board, in particular Chair Justine Street, and CEO Patrick Rennell for trusting us. A huge thank you to Muaupoko Tribal Authority in particular Di Rump, Matua Tim Tukapau, and Dean Wilson. Thank you to Ana and Sian for your time, energy and guidance in bringing this to life. Jemma, thank you for joining us on this one; and a special nod to @Taitoko Design for the incredible signage work. Shivarn Stewart, Lizi Guest, Amber Dryden - pretty neat alright!