Dan Cain
November 29, 2024

Checking Out The Changing Cities of Aotearoa, New Zealand

Dan Cain, Spatial Media’s Head of Client Engagement returned home to Aotearoa, New Zealand in late 2023, as we grow and support more and more projects in the country’s pipeline of major infrastructure projects.

Dan Cain, Spatial Media’s Head of Client Engagement returned home to Aotearoa, New Zealand in late 2023, as we grow and support more and more projects in the country’s pipeline of major infrastructure projects.

The opportunity to return home after supporting projects in the UK, Middle East, Australia and more was one which has allowed Dan to spend time with family, work flexibly and remotely while also being part of the $94 billion transformation taking place from Auckland to Invercargill.

“It’s great to be home,” said Dan. “I think many of us from New Zealand and Australia will understand that a huge part of us wants to travel the world, explore new places and cultures, but also really appreciates coming home.”

“My return came about through Spatial Media’s commitment to enabling us to work from where we want and to use technology to overcome the challenges of distance. This meant that for me, with a young family, the chance to head home, to connect with family and community, and be part of Spatial Media’s ongoing growth and success.”

Wellington's Casual Approach to Signage

But it wasn’t just family that fueled Dan’s desire to head back across the ditch. The transformation that has taken place in New Zealand and is continuing in the coming years as infrastructure projects are delivered also fired up his interest.

“There is no doubt that there is a lot of excitement in New Zealand about the nation’s upcoming pipeline of major projects. With almost $95 billion in funding across over 1,000 projects in energy, water, transport, health and community facilities sectors, it’s clear that for residents, businesses and communities, investment will bring long term social and economic benefits,” said Dan.

As Dan reconnects with the cities he grew up visiting, living and working, he has been spending time in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.

“In Auckland, I spent time in the Wynyard Quarter and Viaduct. It was really cool to see what great precinct planning and design can do to transform cities.  The addition of green, living streets creates a new look and feel in urban areas and makes everything seem more alive and welcoming. Precincts such as this should be the benchmark for urban development as they create not just a new precinct, but support development, regeneration and create new opportunities for businesses and residents.”

A new home for the All Blacks and Crusaders takes shape in Christchurch

“In Wellington, the Queens Wharf precinct is a vibrant and active part of the city where lots of people break from work to run, swim, do mean bombs*, and eat and drink. I have also noticed that the communication style here in Aotearoa, NZ, is much more informal, natural and relaxed* particularly when it comes to signage. Wellington also has a strong Māori cultural/language presence which adds to the vibrancy of the city and makes it a great place to be.

“The transformation occurring in Christchurch as the city continues to rebuild is amazing, and it is fair to say that the city is thriving. As well as work - I got to have an arvo beer in a church, a run up the port hills, go to a music festival in Hagley Park and also walk past the new stadium being built - right in the city! The new stadium is going to be a huge drawcard for the region, and, look, it wouldn’t be a story about a New Zealander without mentioning rugby…but as soon as I can, I’ll be grabbing tickets to a Crusaders or All-Black’s game,” said Dan.

from our clients

Spatial are my go-to for solutions

Spatial are my go-to for solutions nobody has dreamt up yet! They have an incredible knack for combining tomorrows tech solutions with creativity, intuitive UX and analytics. The results are engaging interfaces that are impactful and ultimately bridge the gap between project and stakeholders.
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Kate Kernaghan, Company Director, Factotum Communications

They look tremendous, the team have done amazing work!

Our booth very popular - the corflute poster was so incredible to point at our ideas, even at a concept level. Well done to you and the Spatial Media team!
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Rainer Knobloch, Co-Founder - Strategy and Operations

It was a pleasure to work with everyone

Spatial Media masterfully brought our CETO wave energy technology to life and provided a glimpse into how we're harnessing the immense power of the ocean to create clean, renewable electricity. Thank you to Spatial Media - Visual Engagement Solutions for their incredible work on this animation!
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Brighid Jay, Chief Commercial Officer, Carnegie Clean Energy

A very straightforward and fun process for EnergyAustralia

From the initial kick off meeting to the final video, it was a very straightforward and fun process to work with Spatial Media. The final video is outstanding and really helped bring the project to life for our stakeholders. Highly recommended.
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Matt Bruers, Development Director, Wooreen BESS, EnergyAustralia

Top shelf solutions for North East Link project

Spatial Media offers top shelf solutions that help tell the often intricate stories around the construction of major infrastructure. From animations to 3D models, dealing with Spatial has been seamless, and the end results have been first class.
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Jamie Aldridge, Communications Manager, Spark – North East Link – D&C 

Airside Driving Simulator an important part of the training program

It can be storming outside. It could be night time. Any time of the day or night we can create these simulations. It’s very flexible.
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Niel Young, Training Coordinator, Brisbane Airport

Enhancing and innovating communication for Melbourne Airport

Spatial Media is an excellent partner and we’ve been impressed by the work the team has produced for Melbourne Airport to help inform our travellers and community about our terminal upgrades and new runway. They are great to deal with and deliver a polished product with creative thinking and a can-do attitude.
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Andrew Lund, Head of Media and Communications, Melbourne Airport

They are our go to tech-savvy experts with huge amounts of creative flair!

COVID19 social distancing restrictions made having our large scale community event nearly impossible, so we decided to take our face-to-face event online. Spatial worked really closely with us to develop the concept, design and platform that would host our virtual community event. The Spatial team are exceptionally creative, with a fantastic ability to bring your idea to fruition in a way you never thought possible. They made our pen on paper scribble into something that over 45k stakeholders visited online, more than what we could have reached in person. Thank you
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Emily Divitaris, Senior Communications Advisor, WestConnex

Valuable long-term partnership with Brisbane Airport Corporation

The Spatial Media team are always professional, well organised and continuously deliver high quality content pieces on time and on budget. They bring new ideas to the table and constantly adapt to changing requirements. I would highly recommend Spatial Media to all.
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Lauren Graham, Head of Commercial Marketing, Brisbane Airport Corporation