MONDAY 29TH OCTOBER 2007

Significant Growth In Importance Of Traditional Cultural Values To Māori
October 19th, 2007, Auckland: New research from The Nielsen Company and Anthony Wilson, cultural expert and commentator, has found a sharp rise in the importance of traditional cultural values among Māori, with three quarters of Māori today disagreeing that traditional values are not really important to them, compared with under half in 2004.

Three years ago, according to Nielsen, one in five Māori (20%) agreed that traditional cultural values were not important to them. Today, only 11 percent think they’re not important. In addition, the number of neutral responses has also declined – down from 33 percent in 2004 to 15 percent now.

Māori are also significantly more positive today than they were in 2004 about the role-models provided by their culture. The Nielsen research found six in ten Māori felt their culture provides them with strong role models, up from four in ten in 2004. And although fluency in Te Reo has changed little over the past three years, the importance of the Māori language is far more widely acknowledged among both Māori and Pakeha. Today, 82 percent of Māori recognise the importance of the development and growth of the Māori language, compared with 59 percent in 2004.

These cultural insights, drawn from the Nielsen Panorama survey, will be monitored and tracked over time providing new understanding into the cultural continuum that exists in New Zealand.
The research also provides insights into five distinct and diverse segments of Māori. “The culturally-based segmentation model is an exciting development for the Nielsen Panorama survey,” said Stuart Jamieson, Executive Director, Nielsen Media Research, The Nielsen Company, New Zealand. ‘It enables new levels of insights into Māori attitudes and cultural beliefs and is an area we will be looking to extend in the future.”

“Māori live diverse lifestyles and have diverse attitudes to their cultural beliefs. Despite this, media, government and business often treat us as a homogenous group. These five segments are of particular interest to media, advertisers and social marketers because they open up opportunities to better understand and communicate with Māori,” explains Anthony Wilson.

There are five segments:
 Cultural Traditionalists – older, settled, many of whom see themselves as role models to the younger generation. Traditional cultural values are extremely important to this segment.
 Upbeat Achievers – well-educated, successful and settled. Traditional cultural values are fundamentally important to them. These are the role models of the future.
 Strivers – typified by a wish to achieve. Some of this segment has not had good role models in their own life, and want a different future for themselves or their families.
 Young Battlers – young, female-oriented segment, most of whom have children. One in five does not feel their culture provides them with strong role models.
 Disaffected Youth – young, male-oriented segment, many of whom are still finding their feet. Less culturally engaged than other segments. Some feel they lack strong role models.

About The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognised brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek), trade shows and the newspaper sector (Scarborough Research). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.

About Anthony Paetawa Wilson. Dip Bus: Maori Dev

Nga Puhi, Te Arawa, Tuhoe, Ngati Awa, Tainui
In his early years, under expert tutorship by the country’s top Maori carvers, Anthony’s natural creative ability and understanding of Maori culture was nurtured and expanded. Since that time he has developed a background in television production and has worked in below and above the line advertising marketing communications agencies. Most recently he was Managing Partner for Weave, a division of DDB Advertising. He has also developed national brand identities for government and the corporate sector. Anthony has a strong community focus working closely with the Awataha Marae on the North Shore. He has pioneered a youth development programme “Creative Genealogy” and currently mentors young Maori in the area of creativity.

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