Taika Waititi and Thomasin McKenzie are among the big names in this new digital agency. Photo / Getty Images
Taika Waititi and Thomasin McKenzie are among the big names in this new digital agency. Photo / Getty Images
A switched-on move from New Zealand power players GCM, Taika Waititi and Thomasin McKenzie are among the big names in a new digital agency, reveals Ricardo Simich, who talks to some influential figures – including Dame Miranda Harcourt – about what to expect.
Some of New Zealand’s biggestentertainment names are coming together in a new digital agency.
One of the country’s longest-running and most successful talent agencies, Gail Cowan Management (GCM) – who represent some of the biggest names in the business, including Taika Waititi, Thomasin McKenzie, Rebecca Gibney and Luciane Buchanan – has leapt into the lucrative digital market with their new venture: Hive by GCM.
Earlier this year, Spy shone a light on why Waititi and wife, British pop star, Rita Ora, are New Zealand’s best social media influencers, showcasing everything from local jewellery to a spa pool.
“If 41 years in this business has taught me anything, it’s that change is constant, and our greatest strength is in having a mobile business model,” Cowan tells Spy.
Cowan’s daughter and business partner Eve Carvell says Hive will be an advocate for more authentic partnerships between its talent and clients.
“Being predominantly an actor’s agency we are mindful of longevity for creatives within the industry,” explains Carvell. “Which is why we work with our talent on personal brand management and finding partnerships that align with our talent and their goals.”
Heading up the division is PR and digital expert Selwyn Kumar, who says the demand for advertisers and businesses had always been there for GCM talent and the evolution of social media has been so swift that the firm created Hive out of demand.
Actors overseas can make millions in digital advertising promotions and local industry experts say the market here can make talent thousands, tens of thousands and into the hundreds of thousands depending on the name recognition and followers.
“There are so many elements to the mix, not only follower numbers, but each talent also comes with their unique quality,” says Kumar. “Actors have a particular type of audience that they connect to, and their audience connect with them.”
Kumar explains a campaign that perfectly aligns with one talent, might not necessarily resonate with another. “Follower numbers do help with the click baits but ‘talent endorsement’ is just as valuable. Both combined – we have a winner,” he says.
Hive will also help guide GCM’s emerging talent in the digital space, by working on their branding and PR, which won’t be just commercial campaign focussed but the talent’s personal passions too.
“Creatives, just like a brand’s personality, shine through in brand messaging, images, and overarching marketing campaigns,” explains Kumar. “You are already unknowingly creating a ‘brand’ for yourself with public acts, messages and social interactions.”
Harcourt is an acting coach to some of the most famous names in the world. Photo / Helen Middlemass
Dame Miranda Harcourt has her actor daughters Thomasin and Davida McKenzie with GCM and welcomes the agency opening a digital umbrella.
Harcourt, an acting coach to some of the most famous names in the world, uses social media daily to update followers on work, celebrate others and help causes she is passionate about. She tells Spy social media has become very important for talent in building and maintaining a career.
“The new platforms have democratised the old media system and now each person is in charge of the way they are or are not seen and heard,” says Harcourt, who points to many successful actors and creators from New Zealand now on the global stage. “Social media has supported the creation of their careers and helped them to grow and flourish.”
Everyone in the Harcourt family is a creative and expresses themselves in various ways on social media. “Davida has an influencer presence on TikTok centred around make-up and styling, whilst Thomasin’s Instagram is much more occasional, restrained and organic, which reflects her identity,” Harcourt says. “I post every day, a sort of magazine mixture of arts promotions and personal experiences.”
She urges those with large followings to mix what they want to communicate of their personal life, images and thoughts with issues-based engagement.
“I guess you would call that social advocacy, creating and making the most of the brand you have crafted.”
Harcourt advises sharing what you are passionate about. “For Thomasin and me that is often So They Can, a NZ-created initiative educating girls in Kenya, and for me also Women’s Refuge,” she says. “But I mix these advocacy posts in with random events and images, especially the films and TV I have worked on.”
Ricardo Simich is the New Zealand Herald’s Spy Editor. Based in Auckland he covers all roads that lead to popular culture.
