A bold rebrand of one of New Zealand’s longest-published mastheads set out to make a new generation fall in love with without alienating those who have always loved it.

In an INMA blog post, Stuff Group communications specialist Jason Fallow tells of the rebrand of the Dominion Post – the newspaper of the country’s capital, Wellington – ahead of a major push to grow digital audience and subscriptions for the masthead.

Fallow says the result was a rebrand so attention-grabbing that even the masthead’s fiercest competitors were forced to cover it.

As New Zealand reckons with its colonial past, he says Stuff has taken a leadership role in “acknowledging and apologising for past wrongs” against the country’s indigenous Māori population.

“The Dominion Post was first published in 1907 – a time of deep injustice for Māori people – and the name celebrated the British Empire’s dominion over New Zealand and the country’s allegiance to the Crown.”

The newspaper leapt into a new era by dropping the word ‘dominion’ from its title, becoming simply The Post, and also incorporated the Māori language into its title, making it a dual language masthead reflecting the indigenous language of Aotearoa New Zealand: Te Upoko o te Ika.

“Although the move was not without risk – loss of readers who didn’t like the stance, advertisers feeling uncomfortable, and negative noise on social media – the rebrand was a resounding success,” Fallow says. “No advertiser walked, subscribers stayed, and new ones signed up. The plaudits for the change were overwhelmingly positive.”

He said the decision to rebrand a heritage masthead embraced the aspiration and uniqueness of New Zealand and the independence of Stuff’s journalists, while still acknowledging that heritage. “It also met the changing needs of The Post’s audience and advertising partners.

“The rebrand also came with a repositioning of the newspaper’s newsroom and content as a capital newspaper and website, doubling down on political coverage and Wellington issues.

“The renewed focus drew in bigger national audiences and a fiercer reputation for agenda-setting journalism while balancing the needs of local, loyal readers. The Post is a newspaper for the nation, not just the city.”

Stuff used its assets to promote the rebrand and announced the change with a special wrap around the final print edition of The Dominion Post, celebrating the masthead’s history and building anticipation for the future.

The rebrand campaign captured the imagination of existing and new audiences. Subscription acquisition across print and digital was 359 per cent up over the four weeks of the campaign. It also captured media attention, generating an estimated more than NZ$1 million (A$920,000) in media exposure, significantly amplifying the paid and owned-media campaign.

“The campaign helped the Post secure its position as a proudly independent news source bringing the country the news from the heart of decision-making in New Zealand,” says Fallow.