At RUN Aotearoa, we beleive that design is storytelling – connecting people, cultures, and communities. As a Māori-owned globally award-winning agency based in Tāmaki Makaura Auckland, storytelling lies at the heart of what we do.
When we co-founded RUN, it began like many creative agencies—working across a variety of clients without a specific niche. Over time, our direction evolved, driven by both internal reflections and the needs of our clients. Today, our agency spans advertising, design, and cultural storytelling. Much of our mahi is for clients who are Māori-owned or Māori-led. Or organisations with a Māori strategy, or are wanting to reach a Māori audience. As an agency, we’ve become a platform for creativity and partnership, guided by Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi). This journey, rooted in partnership, is both professional and deeply personal as co-founders and life partners.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi: A Living Framework
For us, Te Tiriti is more than a historic document. It’s a living framework that shapes our relationships and our mahi. As a partnership between tangata whenua (the people of the land) and tangata Tiriti (the people of the Treaty), it inspires how we work together, with our team, and how we collaborate with clients.
RUN’s story began in 2008 when Laura Cibilich (tangata Tiriti and Tararā), a graphic designer, founded the agency as a boutique design studio. In 2014, her husband, Raymond Otene McKay (Ngaati Mahuta, Ngāti Pūkeko, Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Porou), joined. He brought his wealth of experience from the network advertising world. Their partnership—each with a 50% interest in the business—became a foundation for embedding Te Tiriti principles in their work. At RUN, Te Tiriti principles strongly guide our approach to partnership, ensuring that every voice is heard, respected, and uplifted. These principles remind us that our role isn’t just to create—it’s to co-create in a way that acknowledges the value and mana of everyone involved.
The three foundational principles in Te Tiriti—partnership, participation, and protection—guide how we co-create and connect. Partnership ensures equitable decision-making and shared power between Māori and non-Māori. Participation prioritises Māori voices at every stage of the process, ensuring their perspectives are integral. Protection safeguards Māori interests, taonga, and cultural heritage, respecting Māori rights and values.
By weaving these principles into our creative practice, we deliver work that achieves commercial results while remaining meaningful and culturally authentic.
Tikanga Māori in Practice
Tikanga Māori and te ao Māori values underpin every aspect of our mahi at RUN. Whether we’re crafting strategy, presenting creative concepts, or holding hui, tikanga ensures our work is grounded in respect and connection. From karakia to open and close hui, to mihimihi and whakawhanaungatanga, we follow tikanga and kawa (protocol) throughout every project. Manaaki is expressed through offering kai, and iwi- or hapū-specific narratives and dialects are integrated where relevant. These practices transcend cultural boundaries, enriching any professional setting. Principles such as manaakitanga (hospitality and generosity), kotahitanga (unity), and kaitiakitanga (guardianship) foster collaboration, empathy, and creativity. They are universal human values that elevate the quality of our work.
One of the most transformative aspects of tikanga is whakawhanaungatanga— building relationships through shared stories, listening, and finding common ground. Every project begins this way, laying the foundation for authentic collaboration. This approach ensures that the mahi is not just a campaign or design but a meaningful creation born from shared values.
Navigating Flexibility and Vulnerability
Incorporating tikanga Māori requires flexibility and openness. Timeframes often need adjusting, and established processes must be reshaped. It also demands vulnerability, particularly for those new to these practices, as navigating tikanga may initially feel unfamiliar. Yet, this commitment has strengthened our client relationships, fostering mutual trust, respect, and reciprocity. These practices, rooted in tikanga Māori, have proven to be powerful tools for creating long-lasting connections and meaningful outcomes, regardless of the kaupapa or context.
A Partnership for the Future
At RUN, we view Te Tiriti o Waitangi as a foundation for our agency—a guide for how we approach partnerships, both internally and externally. By honouring Te Tiriti, we nurture partnerships that transcend business and create authentic, lasting connections grounded in respect and trust.
The Manaakitanga Pencil
In 2023, Chief Creative Officer at RUN, Raymond McKay was invited to be a judge for the prestigious Design & Art Directors (D&AD) awards. The invitation was somewhat controversial as, historically, a requirement for judges at D&AD was—that the judges themselves be recipients of the coveted Yellow Pencil D&AD award. This was an achievement that Raymond had yet to garner. The appointment by D&AD was, however, to help address an identified lack of diversity within the judging panel. And to broaden the perspectives on what it means to be creative.
Raymond decided to turn the negativity aimed his way into something positive. He wanted to reciprocate the manaakitanga shown to him by D&AD. Working alongside the wider RUN team, Raymond, a carver, crafted this bespoke version of the famous Pencil from native mataī wood to gift back to D&AD for their much welcomed efforts in diversifying the judging pool. The carving features a taratara ā Kae pattern symbolising wealth of resources and hospitality. This alternates with a rauponga pattern representing whakapapa, for the progress being made, and yet to come, in creating an inclusive industry. The pencil now sits on the front desk of their London D&AD office. It acts as a reminder that it is manaakitanga and inclusion that makes our creative communities stronger.
Māori Kiwifruit Growers
Māori Kiwifruit Growers (MKG) was established specifically to export small volumes of Kiwifruit into Hawaii. The accompanying brand, developed by RUN, was created as a bridge connecting the indigenous peoples of both lands—Māori and Kānaka Maoli (the polynesian people of Hawaii).
The notched pattern of the logotype graphic is based on the traditional taratara a-Kai patterns. They are often seen carved on pātaka (food storehouses). A symbol of wealth of resources and hospitality. The accompanying brand story features the red-tailed tropical bird known to Māori as the Amokura, and to the Kānaka Maoli as the Koa’e ‘ula—the tail feather of which was prized as a symbol of safety, navigation, and chiefly qualities. The Amokura represents the story of voyaging—of bringing produce from ‘our islands to yours.’ The Māori Kiwifruit Growers brand was a finalist at BEST 2024 in the Small Brand Identity category.
GSM would like to thank Laura and Raymond for providing their thoughts to us for Rākau Kōrero. If you would like to continue this discussion on culture please contact editor@gsmmagazine.co.nz
—with Laura Cibilich and Raymond Otene McKay, Co-Founders @ RUN Aotearoa
