Every year, the release of Stuff’s Impact Report offers a valuable snapshot of how New Zealand’s largest media organisation is shaping national conversations, and what that means for brands, businesses and organisations wanting to connect with Kiwi audiences in meaningful ways.
The 2025 Impact Report highlights impressive audience scale, deep community engagement, and an advertising platform that continues to support high‑impact storytelling nationwide. Here are a few takeaways:
If reach is important to you, Stuff's news audience is impressive
Stuff holds the position as the country’s dominant news platform, reaching 3.4 million New Zealanders each month with everything from breaking news to in‑depth features.
Stuff positions itself to brands as providing credibility at scale, meaning when your message appears alongside trusted reporting (as demonstrated through their audience reach), the halo effect is powerful.
Stuff produces more than 56,000 stories annually, creating a constant stream of content where expert commentary, brand stories and thought leadership can find a home. So, if you're after broad national exposure, this is a key channel in your strategy.
Local community connection with Neighbourly
We were interested to hear what Stuff had to say about Neighbourly's reach, as we admit it's not often on our radar, even when working with community organisations. But Stuff reckons one of its greatest assets is its ability to connect with local communities alongside national audiences.
The 2025 report reveals 973,000 Neighbourly members, each actively engaging in conversations that matter to their neighbourhoods. But this is where we start debating reach versus engagement. I would find it hard to believe this number of members are actively engaging - I'm supposedly one of them and would certainly not call myself an active member.
For local brands, local services, councils, and community-focused organisations, this is a good channel to consider in your overall action plan, but we'd complement it with other local print and digital media to ensure your message is delivered where you need it to. For example, Facebook community groups are an excellent way to gain local reach, build engagement, and grow a fan base.
A strong advertising platform
14,000+ advertisers partner with Stuff each year because Stuff delivers across awareness, engagement, and conversion.
While strong storytelling can often earn media coverage, it's important that we're realistic about expectations, and some messages are simply too product‑focused, commercially driven or time‑sensitive to land organically in a newsroom. That’s where paid editorial comes into its own.
Paid editorial allows you to deliver your message exactly as intended with full control over the narrative, timing and visuals, in a format that audiences trust and engage with. It blends the credibility of a news‑style environment with the certainty and strategic precision of advertising.
If your announcement, offering or campaign sits just outside what traditional newsrooms would run, paid editorial through Stuff can ensure your story is still heard at scale. It places your message in front of the 'right audiences' (notation marks included because we'd determine that together), in the right context, with measurable impact, all while maintaining a tone and style consistent with quality journalism.
Journalism that drives real‑world impact
Beyond numbers, Stuff’s report reinforces the organisation’s commitment to journalism that creates tangible, positive change. Stuff’s work influences policy, supports vulnerable communities, and shapes public awareness, providing your brand or organisation with an opportunity to align and partner to support fairness, transparency, and community benefit.
In summary, here's what it means for you and your brand
In an era of misinformation and fragmented channels, aligning with high‑trust media like Stuff strengthens reputation and message credibility.
Use Stuff’s national platforms for broad awareness while leveraging channels like Neighbourly for targeted community engagement.
With tens of thousands of stories published each year, there is no shortage of opportunities for expert input and commentary, provided it’s timely, meaningful and aligned to audience interests. We can help you with this.
We're always banging on about authenticity, but as we've seen time and time again, it's what New Zealanders crave and need. Stuff’s focus on impact and community outcomes provides a great channel for purpose-driven brand stories.
For Belle PR clients, the opportunity lies in combining strategic storytelling with the right placements to create impact; not just in impressions but in real-world engagement.
If you’d like help shaping a media strategy that leverages these insights, chat to me and Kylie.
