This Money Week, “Be Royal”

Something unique for this year’s Sorted Money Week, which runs 14–20 August, is a campaign aimed at Pacific young people that was created by design students. “Be Royal” was the winning entry in a competition at Media Design School and will feature on social media, billboards and at events around the country.

The campaign links Pacific young people with their cultural heritage, which includes royalty, and connects them to empowering messages about taking control of their money.

“A successful king or queen takes care of their followers, and exhibits power, control and dominance over their wealth,” explains Nic Seagrave, who was part of the winning creative team of four. “Our ‘Be Royal’ concept plays on the idea of collective responsibility, where Pacific families don’t operate as individuals, but as a collective that support each other when in need.”

The four-week competition was sponsored by the Commission for Financial Capability, which runs Money Week each year and is the team behind Sorted. Fourteen teams at Media Design School pitched close to 40 ideas as entries. Tim Swann, whose role as Manukoloa at the Commission focuses on engaging Pacific communities, says it was a way to connect with young people in a more relevant, authentic way.

“Young Pacific Islanders I’ve spoken to are keen to be in control of their money, but don’t get excited by some of the mainstream media images,” explains Swann. “So we came up with this idea of running a competition among design students to see if they could come up with something more relevant.”

“There’s a whole identity piece that’s been embedded into the art, getting Pacific young people to remember that there are royal lines in their heritage and to take pride in who they are as young people,” Swann says. “There’s an element of identity and resilience that we’re trying to inspire.”