BeKiwi is a programme created to help conscientious travellers and businesses to discover more sustainable experiences that give back to the people and the land.
BeKiwi was first developed and launched by Level in 2019, with funding from the Ministry of Education. BeKiwi was created to help international students better connect with ‘real’ New Zealand travel experiences – including the people and the culture. Education New Zealand’s (ENZ) research identified that thousands of international students were coming to Aotearoa every year but struggling to connect with ‘real’ New Zealand. Level created the concept for BeKiwi in response to this unmet need, in order to better support the wellbeing of international students by connecting them with authentic, local experiences that allowed them to meet locals, learn new skills and build a stronger connection to the people and the land.
Level partnered with Auckland Unlimited to design and test the brand name, and then undertook branding, as well as the concept plan, design and build of the BeKiwi website. We worked closely with regional tourism authorities Northland Inc, Auckland Unlimited and Christchurch NZ to curate local experiences and create listings on the site that provided authentic experiences while capturing the future and life skills relevant to each experience.
Our mahi to date
- Brand Strategy
- Communications & Engagement Strategy
- Logo & Identity Development
- Brand Story & Messaging
- Website Design & Development
- Digital Marketing
- Market Research
- Workshops & Facilitation
- Collateral Design & Production
Following the Covid-19 pandemic, BeKiwi has evolved to reflect a significant shift in travellers’ attitudes, with people now seeking deeper connections to the land and the people of the places they are travelling to. The BeKiwi platform is now designed to meet not just the needs of international students, but all international and domestic travellers, as well as business partners and other New Zealand and international organisations seeking a new way of travelling.
The common theme across all these audiences is the desire to connect with high-quality experiences that involve ‘giving back’, by better connecting with the community, better connecting with the environment, and genuinely demonstrating their own values while learning valuable knowledge and life skills.
Evolving to meet changing industry demands
The BeKiwi Programme is now actively seeking to partner with organisations, agencies and the tourism industry to offer bespoke experiences for people looking to genuinely demonstrate their values, and help people connect with New Zealand more authentically. BeKiwi continues to work closely with its regional tourism authority partners in Northland, Auckland and Christchurch, with the goal to add new regions in the coming months.
Helping Auckland to get Aucklanders out and about
Over the last two years, BeKiwi has partnered with Auckland Unlimited to run seasonal campaigns encouraging Aucklanders to venture out and experience their local backyard through BeKiwi experiences. The ‘Bring Back The Awesome’ campaign and ‘Feel Good Winter Deal’ campaigns promoted BeKiwi experiences and offered a range of discounts when booking through the BeKiwi platform, with the campaigns run across multiple platforms including Facebook, Instagram, as well as social channels of Auckland Unlimited and Auckland tertiary institutions. Book Now events and audience reach both exceeded campaign KPIs.
