While doing research on little known Census law, we discovered one of the world’s biggest influencers, Harry Styles, would be required to complete the New Zealand Census.

One week before Harry Styles’ concert in New Zealand, and Census day, we set off a global news and social media storm, creating a snowball effect of conversation around Harry Styles’ participation in the Census.

Completely unpaid, Harry Styles advocated for the Census on stage, turning the low-interest event into a cultural moment in history, with over 25.6 million impressions, a 25% spike in Census logins and a 10% lift in youth participation.

For most New Zealanders, Census is not exciting. It’s a 54-question government survey, held every 5 years. And for the first time ever, the 2023 Census would include questions about gender, sexual orientation, and sex characteristics.

But with previous Census data showing low participation numbers amongst youth, we needed to excite and engage an audience whose trust and interest was low.

By noticing that global superstar, Harry Styles, would be required to complete the Census, with his live show being in New Zealand on Census Day, we saw an opportunity to inspire trust and create excitement around the typically dry form-filling event.

If Harry Styles cared about something like the Census, we could increase Census participation amongst an audience that was disengaged.

The Census is the official count of the people and dwellings in New Zealand, occurring every five years, usually on a day in March. Everyone is required to complete a set of questions about themselves and their household, which can be done online, or on paper.

The data provides a snapshot of people and life in our cities, towns, suburbs, and rural areas, and helps the government and communities plan services, including hospitals, kōhanga reo (preschools), schools, roads, and public transport.

The 2023 Census marked a historic moment for New Zealand, being the first to inquire about gender, sexual orientation, and sex characteristics – aiming to represent LGBTQIAP+ communities in nationwide data.

Due to past negative experiences and fears of data misuse, there was no urgency to engage in the Census, a sometimes degrading box ticking exercise. Trust was eroded by the 2018 Census' failure to count everyone, affecting these audiences. Only 75% of youth (15-29 year olds) filled out the 2018 Census, much lower than the overall population at 83%.

While doing research on little known Census law, we discovered that everyone, including visitors to New Zealand, would need to complete the Census.

And with the champion of inclusivity, Harry Styles, set to perform to 40,000 fans in Auckland on Census night, this seemed like a story people would want to share.

But it wasn't enough for Harry to take part in the Census, we wanted him to use his influence to advocate for his fans and the nation to join him.

So, we made sure the story reached key social influencers, like ‘Shit you should care about’, who had millions of followers passionate about current affairs and pop culture, especially Harry Styles.

We also created assets to get inside Harry’s inner circle, providing his guitarist, New Zealand-born Ny Oh, with a Census scarf to wear on stage, along with signs for eager fans to hold in the crowd.

The 2023 Census marked a historic moment for New Zealand, being the first to inquire about gender, sexual orientation and sex characteristics. But because of previous negative experiences with the 2018 Census, trust had been eroded amongst diverse individuals, youth, and the LGBTQIAP+ community. Only 75% of youth (15-29) filled out the 2018 Census, which was lower than the overall population did at 83%.

The strategic alignment of Census Day on 7 March 2023, with Harry Styles' concert in Auckland, provided an opportunity to create excitement and encourage Census participation.

So, we launched the story to reach this audience via key social influencers who were passionate about current affairs and pop culture, especially Harry Styles. We also helped it grow by creating assets to reach Harry’s inner circle, creating Census placards for the concert and a Census scarf for his New Zealand guitarist, Ny Oh, to wear on stage.

One week before Census Day, March 7, 2023, and Harry's concert in New Zealand, a fun government tweet officially confirmed that everyone in the country would need to fill out the Census, even former members of One Direction.

New Zealand-based influencer ‘Shit you should care about’ then led the story on Instagram with her 3.5 million followers, which blew up TikTok, radio stations, and national and international news, from Billboard to CNN and the Guardian – creating a snowball effect of conversation with 25.6 million impressions (New Zealand has a population of 5.2 million).

To further appeal to Harry to advocate for the Census, we contacted his New Zealand-born guitarist, Ny Oh, who agreed to wear a Census-themed scarf on stage. We also provided placards for eager fans to hold at the concert, and in front of media channels covering the event.

On Census Day, in front of 40,000 ecstatic fans, with the curious nation (and world) watching on, Harry answered the question on everyone’s lips – yes, he'd done the Census with New Zealand.

With the global megastar singing our campaign song and encouraging everyone to take part, the typically dry, low-interest Census became a cultural moment in history, shared enthusiastically on multiple social media and news channels.

As the story headlined national and international news, online participation in the Census soared, with a 25% spike in logins directly corresponding to the news coverage. Many respondents confirmed they were motivated or reminded to do the Census ‘because of Harry Styles’, which was part of an overall 10% lift in youth participation figures over the 2018 census.

The campaign reached over 25.6 million, in a nation of just over 5 million. And a global influencer advocated for the Census, for free.