24 October 2024
Ref: DOIA-REQ-0004192
R.C. Wilson
Email:
[FYI request #28529 email]
Tēnā koe
Thank you for your email of 26 September 2024 to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
(MBIE) requesting the following information, under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act):
1
What was the Ministry's annual spend for external design and advertising services for fiscal year
2023/24?
2
What was the Ministry's annual spend for internal design and advertising resource for fiscal year
2023/24?
3
How many design and advertising personnel are currently employed at the Ministry?
4
What is the Ministry's policy -if any- for when design and advertising work is sent for external bids or
is kept in-house? Please provide a copy of this policy -if any- or other documents as PDFs.
5
Of the MBIE groups listed below, which have had their Brand and Style Manuals created externally
or in-house? If created externally, please provide the total spend for the creation of the Brand and
Style Manuals. Please also provide a PDF of the Brand and Style Manuals for each.
5a) Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
5b) New Zealand Immigration
5c) New Zealand Space Agency
5d) New Zealand Companies Office
5e) The Intellectual Property Office
5f) Standards New Zealand
5g) CERT NZ
On 4 October 2024, question 5g was transferred to the Government Communications Security Bureau
under section 14(b)(ii) of the Act, as CERT was moved to this agency in August 2023.
My answers to the remaining parts of your request begin below.
Our design and marketing staff provide a wide range of design and marketing support right across MBIE.
MBIE is a large and diverse organisation and the mahi of our design and marketing staff supports 16
ministerial portfolios, and ensures MBIE is effectively engaging with its extensive stakeholders, including
New Zealand businesses, employers, workers, diverse communities and iwi groups.
Advertising supports this engagement in a range of ways, including:
• Increasing awareness of support services available during weather events, such as the Temporary
Accommodation Service during Cyclone Gabrielle and the recent Auckland Flooding events.
• Encouraging participation in government through the promotion of consultations and roadshows.
• Ensuring members of the public are aware of their rights and responsibilities, for example
publicity about new requirements for landlords, or employment standards.
Question 1
Spending on external advertising and design resources, FY 2023/24
Expenditure on advertising, public relations campaigns or publication varies depending on the specific
work programme MBIE is required to deliver, as well as any need to consult, inform or educate New
Zealanders.
MBIE’s official spending record is contained in our responses to Parliament’s Annual Review questions.
You can view our answers for the 2022/23 financial year on Parliament’s website, at the following
address:
www.parliament.nz/resource/en-NZ/54SCEDSI_EVI_efd95405-e2b2-4e75-83da-
08dbff6cce5c_EDSI400/919b5fbad94ae9c541fc5f2885d927e4c6fed6b1.
In particular, you may be interested in our answers to questions 50 to 53, which are about our spending
on communications and public relations.
Our response to the Select Committee’s question about our expenditure on advertising, public relations
campaigns and publications in the 2023/24 financial year is currently being prepared as part of this year’s
Annual Review process and will be published on Parliament’s website alongside the rest of our answers
likely in the first half of December, at
www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/scl/education-and-workforce.
For this reason, I am refusing this question under section 18(d) of the Act, as the information you have
requested will soon be made publicly available.
Question 2
Spending on internal advertising and design resources, FY 2023/24; and
Question 3
Number of design and advertising personnel currently employed by MBIE
As at October 2024, there are 24 staff at MBIE with a role that includes responsibility for marketing,
advertising or design, as broken down in the table below.
Please note, this is a count of the number of people whose roles include responsibility for marketing,
design and advertising, although some of the roles listed below extend to other duties as well.
The majority of these roles are in our Design and Marketing team, which provides MBIE with a centralised
point of expertise around brand management, marketing strategy and advertising and media buying.
Some of the roles are located inside individual business groups and connect to high profile or public
facing functions with a need to interact and inform New Zealanders on a regular basis, including
Immigration New Zealand, Business.govt.nz and Employment New Zealand.
Group
Team
Number
Corporate Services, Finance and Enablement
Design and Marketing - Design team
6
(CSFE)
CSFE
Design and Marketing - Marketing team
6
Immigration New Zealand
Operational Marketing and Content
4
Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery (TWSD)
Information and Education
5
TWSD
Small Business
3
For your reference, a list of our internal business groups and their responsibilities can be found on our
web
site at www.mbie.govt.nz/about/who-we-are/our-structure.
The total cost of salaries for advertising, marketing and design roles for the 2023/24 financial year was
$3,076,122.29. However, when reading this number, it is important to note this number includes people
who started or finished at MBIE part way through this financial year.
Question 4
Policy for external design work
The decision whether to manage design work internally or to go to market is made on a case by case
basis, according to the size of the project, whether we have the required expertise to carry it out, and the
amount of work it would take to carry out, relative to other work on hand.
MBIE does not have a procurement policy specific to external design work. The rules that we follow when
we procure goods and services from third parties are outlined in our Procurement Policy, which I am
releasing to you as Document 1. No information has been redacted from this document.
Detailed information about the rules that government agencies need to follow through the procurement
process are available online
, at www.procurement.govt.nz/principles-charter-and-rules/government-
procurement-rules/getting-started/.
Question 5
Brand and style manuals created in house
MBIE has a complex brand framework which includes around 70 sub brands. Through careful brand
management we oversee the consistent use of brand elements, including logo, colours, typography,
layout and graphic devices. The relationship between these visual elements and their correct use ensures
that MBIE and its services are presented in a professional manner, our content is accessible and we are
supporting the Māori-Crown relationship.
The MBIE corporate brand and each sub brand have visual identity guidelines which are contained in the
Visual Identity Rules document. Each also have a range of branded templates which are easily accessible
to all staff. Please note that all the guides relating to groups identified in your request, were created in-
house.
There are six documents in scope of this part of your request, numbered as Documents 2 to 6B, and listed
in the table in Appendix A to this letter.
These documents contain our advice around writing for external audiences, as well as our visual identity
requirements (the use of graphic elements to represent a brand). No information has been redacted
from these documents.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision. Information
about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802
602.
Nāku noa, nā
Karin Schofield
General Manager, Communications, Design and Ministerial Services
Corporate Services, Finance and Enablement
Appendix A
List of documents in scope of question 5
These documents are being released without redactions.
Doc
Question
Date
Title
1
4
Mar 2024
Procurement Policy
2
5
Dec 2022
Brand and Naming Policy
3
5
Jun 2021
The MBIE Style Guide: A guide to good writing
4
5
Sep 2023
Visual Identity Rules: MBIE Master Brand, September 2023
5
5
Jan 2020
Immigration New Zealand Visual Identity Guidelines
6A
5
Jun 2024
INZ writing style guide
Intranet guidance for staff
6B
5
Jun 2024
INZ writing style guide
Intranet guidance for staff
