Link to site: https://sayittika.co.nz/

In 2017, over half a million New Zealanders used Google Maps every day. But the automated voice wasn’t pronouncing our indigenous Maori place names correctly. With only 3.7% of the population able to speak Maori, our country couldn’t afford for our precious native language to erode any further.

 

With Vodafone connecting half the country to Google Maps – and with aural and oral assimilation the best way to learn a language – we saw this as a prime opportunity to contribute towards a revitalisation of Te Reo.

 

So, we created ‘Say It Tika’ (Say It Right); a campaign that rallied the nation to help Google Maps find and fix its pronunciation blunders at sayittika.co.nz.

 

We kicked off during Maori Language Week with a striking social video that called on locals to help. And they did. In just 14 days, half the country engaged and 67,000+ pins were placed on our interactive map.

 

So far, 500 Maori place names have been fixed, with many more to come.

 

Say It Tika. It was the local campaign that changed a global platform.