Brainchild

Turns out putting on a music festival involves more than booking bands and hoping for the best.
Our client Andrew Tuck, CEO of Homegrown, joined RNZ Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan to answer listener questions about everything from how many toilets you need to managing artists and festival crowds.

A great example of how media can help showcase the incredible (and often invisible) expertise sitting behind well-known brands and events.

Give it a listen if you've ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of a major festival. https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2019039328/expert-feature-what-makes-a-good-festival

💙 We've updated our status.

The trophy has already requested its own desk, parking space and email signature.

We're incredibly proud to have been named PR Consultancy of the Year (Small to Medium) at the 2026 PRINZ Awards 🥇

A huge thank you to our clients and everyone who has supported Brainchild along the way.

See you tomorrow when we find another way to mention it.

We tested how AI answers the question: Was Jim Beam Homegrown in Hamilton any good?
For the record, it was bloody epic!
(Reddit will get pulled into AI answers eventually. It just lags)

If AI can’t find you, it can’t recommend you. If that’s not on your radar yet, it should be. Happy to chat.

Waikato Business News picked up the Hamilton Arts Festival Toi Ora ki Kirikiriroa story last week, looking at the real impact behind the event.
And it’s significant:
• $12m boost to the local economy
• 42,700+ attendees across 10 days
• $28m in social wellbeing value
• 500+ Waikato artists involved

Plus more than a third of attendees came from outside the region, with visitors from as far as Austria, Brazil, Iceland and Mexico.

This is what great events do. They create cultural moments, support local talent, and deliver real value to the region.
We’re proud to support the Hamilton Arts Festival Toi Ora ki Kirikiriroa. Creativity sits at the core of what we do, so backing a festival like this is a natural fit.
Also great to see local media getting in early on stories like this and backing what’s happening in the region.
Have a read:

Creative economic boost - Business News The Hamilton Arts Festival delivered an estimated $12 million boost to Hamilton’s economy, attracting more than 42,700 attendees over its 10-day programme and generating $28 million in social wellbeing value. The strong turnout included visitors from across New Zealand and overseas. International ...

Waikato Business News picked up the Hamilton Arts Festival Toi Ora ki Kirikiriroa story last week, looking at the real impact behind the event.
And it’s significant:
• $12m boost to the local economy
• 42,700+ attendees across 10 days
• $28m in social wellbeing value
• 500+ Waikato artists involved

Plus more than a third of attendees came from outside the region, with visitors from as far as Austria, Brazil, Iceland and Mexico.

This is what great events do. They create cultural moments, support local talent, and deliver real value to the region.
We’re proud to support the Hamilton Arts Festival Toi Ora ki Kirikiriroa. Creativity sits at the core of what we do, so backing a festival like this is a natural fit.
Also great to see local media getting in early on stories like this and backing what’s happening in the region.
Have a read:

Creative economic boost - Business News The Hamilton Arts Festival delivered an estimated $12 million boost to Hamilton’s economy, attracting more than 42,700 attendees over its 10-day programme and generating $28 million in social wellbeing value. The strong turnout included visitors from across New Zealand and overseas. International ...

It has been an EVENTful start to 2026 at Brainchild, and Jim Beam Homegrown was a real special one, not just for us, but for our region.
We always love a front page, and this one from Waikato Business News is definitely worth the read.
Local media matters - even for an event of national significance. Lucky we've got phenomenal local journalism right here in the Waikato huh?

Have a read of the full piece:
https://cstu.io/01bf3a

And if you still get a print copy… you can't beat the smell of fresh print (just us?)

And that’s a wrap on ❤️. The bands and the fans returned to Hamilton last week for the first ever Homegrown in Hamilton. We’re back in the office this week (but the music is still on repeat in our heads). Proud to have had the opportunity to manage media and PR for NZ’s only 💯 kiwi music festival.

We love getting our clients into the limelight through smart, strategic PR - and right now, there’s no shortage of lights, cameras, or action at the Hamilton Arts Festival Toi Ora Ki Kirikiriroa.

As proud media partners supporting the Festival with pro bono PR, we’ve had a front-row seat to the buzz… so here’s our pick of what to see over the final few days.

🎭 Soliloquoy - a modern reimagining of Hamlet in the Japanese Garden of Contemplation

⚡️Black Comet - intergalactic funk in the Surrealist Garden

🎪The Fijian Flying Circus - a contemporary circus in the Rhododendron Lawn

🎶 Roadkill, The Musical - musical theatre from the back seat of a van in the Festival Hub

🎸And of course, Don McGlashan & The Others featuring. Hollie Smith

👀 Check out the full line up: https://hamiltonartsfestival.co.nz/events/

https://cstu.io/bab6b7

Hamilton Arts Festival Toi Ora ki Kirikiriroa 2026 The Hamilton Arts Festival Toi Ora ki Kirikiriroa returns in 2026 (20 Feb - 1 March) with an eclectic programme of theatre, music, dance, comedy and whaanau-...