Colenso & Spark: Kupu brings the Māori Matariki into everyday life

Colenso BBD has given Kupu, Spark’s te reo Māori translation app, a refresh in time for Matariki, Māori New Year. The app, which launched in 2018, translates the world around users into te reo Māori with a photo. This year, it reveals nine Matariki stars in objects found in New Zealand homes, backyards or neighbourhoods.

The campaign, in guidance with Māori astronomer, Dr Rangi Matamua (Tūhoe), is designed to help New Zealanders understand the intrinsic connection between Māori astronomy and the physical world.

For the month of July, New Zealanders can find Matariki stars hiding in plain sight by taking a photo in Kupu. Once a star is found, audio of its origin story can be played in either te reo Māori or English.

The new feature links two earlier campaigns, Kupu, the te reo Māori translation app, and 0800 Matariki, a suite of nine audio stories – one for each star in the cluster – rich in folklore and voiced by prominent Kiwi orators.

Spark Māori development lead, Riki Hollings (Ngāti Ranginui), commented, “We’re honoured to bring these nine Matariki stories to life in a new way by uniting them with Kupu this year. By utilising Augmented Reality (AR) anyone with the Kupu app can learn more about Matariki in the world around them. Taking everyday objects and connecting them with the origins of Matariki is hopefully going to be a special learning experience for many Kiwis.

“We see Māori culture as unique to us and something we want to celebrate and share as a New Zealand business. It is so humbling to have the opportunity to work with Dr Rangi Matamua on this campaign — to ensure we’re guided in the right direction in this space and so our tamariki are learning the stories that were passed down through generations.”

Dan Wright, group executive creative director at Colenso, added, “We launched Kupu in 2018 to make it easier for New Zealanders to learn a little te reo Māori every day. And now we’re incredibly excited to use it to help share the amazing stories of the Matariki stars. These stories hold enormous value as part of what makes New Zealand special and it’s a privilege to help more Kiwis reconnect with them during Matariki.”