The decisions made by big banks come under more scrutiny than their smaller peers, such as Kiwibank*. And so they should. Whether it’s raising interest rates or external sourcing policies, the impacts of these decisions are felt far and wide.

We’ll leave the interest rates to the experts, but we have a few things to say about the appointment of Initiative ‘Aoteroa’ as ASB’s advertising agency.

We’re in no doubt that the appointment process was thorough, and yes, the decision to appoint Initiative belongs to ASB.

LOCAL VERSUS GLOBAL

And yes, we get that we live in a global community. But we also live in the New Zealand community, and the best way to contribute to the global community is to look after the New Zealand community.

PRINCIPLED DECISION MAKING

What weight should be put on purpose and values when making big decisions? Quite a bit if you’re aiming to be authentic.

ASB has no shortage of values and statements of intent to reference.

• Our purpose – At ASB, we have always been driven by a passion for progress.

• Our values of Caring, Integrity, Passion, Courage and United.

• People are at the heart of everything we do at ASB. From our values and unique culture to our commitment and support of the communities we live and work in.

There is nothing there to stir the juices but plenty to run a ruler over whether the ‘right’ (tika) decisions are being made.  

What does ‘commitment and support of the communities we live and work in’ mean? Isn’t community an all-embracing concept that incorporates the work community?

And should an organisation be claiming that its culture is unique? Shouldn’t that observation be made by those looking in from the outside?

INITIATIVE AOTEAROA

What’s in a name? It's more than a bunch of letters, that’s for sure.

Initiative Aotearoa. Big call. Is a statement being made about immersion in Te Ao Māori?

Or is it a cynical way of legitimising the arrival of the Initiative waka on Aotearoa whenua? We’re one of you now!

Can we assume mana whenua was consulted over the name?

Interestingly, another advertising agency has recently added Aotearoa to its name. DDB Group Aotearoa isn’t used globally on the website anyway. As an aside, nothing else on the website would suggest that tikanga Māori plays a role in the company's life.

BEN & AMY

Note that it’s always Ben & Amy, not Amy & Ben. Just saying.

It’s great to hear that the Ben and Amy roles will continue, but is this an opportunity for the freshly-minted Aotearoa agency to reconsider Ben’s name? Should this Samoan man be known as Peni?

We would be the first to admit that we’ve been a touch acerbic, but the situation has raised some big issues, among them:

• The role of purpose and values in decision-making

• The tangible expression of values – what does ‘United’ look like in practice?

• The role of tikanga Māori in business

• Allegiance to Aotearoa

Admittedly, the last point is a little provocative, but it’s there, along with our comments, to promote debate.

* Kiwibank is a New Zealand-owned bank whose profits are retained in its country of origin.
* Declaration of interest. We were Kiwibank’s original brand agency.