Insights into New Zealand’s creative industry

Ground-breaking films Avatar and The Lord of the Rings were partially filmed in New Zealand and post-production was completed here. New Zealand is a major player within the global creative industry.

The creative industry has prospered and is expected to continue its upward trend due to growth in:

• Production
• Fashion
• Music
• Digital material
• New media.

Music

As the New Zealand government strengthens their support of the creative industry, many areas are flourishing. For instance, organisations like New Zealand On Air, New Zealand Music Industry Commission and Te Mangai Paho are a selection of establishments working to promote New Zealand’s music sector.

Design

We also pride ourselves on developing cutting-edge industrial designs that are ergonomic and environmentally-friendly – such as award-winning furniture concepts, from Formway or David Trubridge. A distinct New Zealand style is captured in fashion labels such as Trelise Cooper, Karen Walker, Nom D and World.

Advertising

Our advertising agencies are constantly rated among the world's best. Advertising expenditures have experienced significant growth over the last 10 years, from NZ$1.5 billion to NZ$2 billion in 2009.

Multimedia

Looking to the future, multimedia is one of New Zealand’s up and coming creative sectors. Combined with new media content and advanced imaging, multimedia was worth over NZ$1.5 billion in 2005 – and the industry has seen substantial growth over the past 5 years. New Zealand is becoming a market leader as Kiwi companies continue their innovative approach to product and software development.

Key Resources

We suggest looking at the following resources:

• The Big Idea is dedicated to New Zealand’s creative community and provides comprehensive information on the creative sector
• The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand protects the intellectual property rights in New Zealand and administers the database of registered patents, trademarks and designs.
• The Ministry of Culture and Heritage manages New Zealand’s cultural resources and provides funds for cultural organisations
• Located in Wellington, Te Papa is New Zealand’s national museum. It’s renown for being innovative, educational and bicultural
• Film New Zealand provides information for people interested in filming in New Zealand
• Fashion Industry New Zealand provides representation and support for the fashion and apparel sector
• Creative HQ is based out of Wellington and they assist in the development of start-up businesses within the creative sector
• Peter Jackson's world-renowned Weta Workshop (the Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia, Avatar and The Lovely Bones to name a few) continues to showcase our film, visual effects, multimedia and post-production industries
• Auckland City Council is dedicated to supporting the region’s creative industry and they’ve established an action plan – Blueprint: Growing Auckland’s creative industries.