Hospice NZ: Dying Reviews
Hospice NZ tasked McCann Wellington with addressing the systemic lack of compassion shown to terminally ill patients by public and private services. The goal was to highlight these invisible pain points and drive corporate change. The agency needed to engage the public and businesses alike, shifting the conversation from private grief to a measurable, national standard of care for the dying.
Creative Idea
Patients reviewed businesses on their compassion, turning end of life care into data.
Hospice NZ turned the dying experience into a public review system, evaluating businesses on their compassion. By quantifying the systemic failures in how society treats the terminally ill, they forced corporations to confront their lack of dignity and design for the end of life.
Turning The End Of Life Into Data
Building A National Compassion Index
The project required a sophisticated data architecture to transform subjective, emotional feedback into a standardized metric. The team at Levo NZ and Credera developed a bespoke platform capable of aggregating qualitative narratives into a 3.28 out of 5 star national average. This required balancing the sensitivity of end-of-life storytelling with the rigor of a consumer review site. By categorizing feedback across sectors, the platform revealed a stark disparity in service, with Government agencies struggling at 2.5 stars compared to the 4.55 star performance of the hospitality and events sector.
From Advocacy To Self-Sustaining Revenue
Beyond the initial awareness phase, the campaign introduced a unique model for charity financial sustainability. Hospice NZ pivoted the data collection into a long-term asset by placing future, in-depth Dying Reviews Reports behind a corporate paywall. This strategy forced major corporate entities, including several of the country's largest banks, to engage directly with the organization to audit their customer service pipelines for terminally ill clients. This shift moved the campaign from a temporary awareness drive to a permanent, revenue-generating consultancy tool for the charity.
A Transition Through Agency Evolution
The campaign serves as a notable case study in agency continuity during industry consolidation. Originally conceived and launched in 2024 by Clemenger BBDO Wellington, the project transitioned to McCann Wellington following the global Omnicom-IPG merger in late 2025. Despite the structural changes, the team maintained the integrity of the original data collection, which saw 380 individuals contribute approximately 500 reviews during the initial launch phase, providing the foundation for the campaign's subsequent recognition at the 2026 Cannes Lions.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Hospice NZ leveraged their unique position as experts in end of life care to advocate for systemic change.
Category
Non-profits typically rely on emotional appeals or donation drives rather than data-driven corporate accountability metrics.
Customer
Terminally ill patients felt invisible and unsupported by the rigid, uncompassionate systems of modern public and private services.
Culture
The rise of review culture and data-driven corporate ESG reporting provided the perfect vehicle for this advocacy.
Company
Hospice NZ leveraged their unique position as experts in end of life care to advocate for systemic change.
Category
Non-profits typically rely on emotional appeals or donation drives rather than data-driven corporate accountability metrics.
Strategy:
Quantify human suffering to force institutional accountability and systemic design improvements.
Customer
Terminally ill patients felt invisible and unsupported by the rigid, uncompassionate systems of modern public and private services.
Culture
The rise of review culture and data-driven corporate ESG reporting provided the perfect vehicle for this advocacy.
Strategy:
Quantify human suffering to force institutional accountability and systemic design improvements.
Results
The initiative successfully launched the first 'Dying Reviews' report in 2025, analyzing the first 500 reviews. It established a benchmark rating of 3.28 out of 5 stars for New Zealand's compassion toward the dying. The report identified key systemic pain points across sectors like banking, healthcare, and government agencies. Major organizations, including the Bank of New Zealand, The Cooperative Bank, and BusinessNZ, formally acknowledged the value of the report and committed to using the insights to redesign their customer systems. The initiative also gained international interest, with Palliative Care Australia advocating to take the research globally.
3.28/5
National compassion rating for New Zealand
500
Initial reviews analyzed in the first report
100%
Corporate engagement from key reviewed sectors
Strategy Technique
Turn Data Into Drama
By aggregating personal experiences into a national star rating, the campaign transforms individual suffering into a compelling, undeniable metric that demands corporate accountability.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Borrow a Familiar Format
The campaign adopts the ubiquitous online review format to evaluate corporate compassion. This familiar structure makes the abstract concept of end of life care immediately relatable and actionable for businesses.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
The campaign's strength lies in its brilliant copywriting and strategic design, turning a taboo subject into a structured, actionable business metric.
The framing of death as a 'customer experience' phase that businesses fail to design for is a highly provocative and effective rhetorical device.
The clean, blue-and-white visual identity of the reports and graphics mirrors corporate branding, making the data feel professional and undeniable to corporate targets.
“The synergy between the clinical corporate design and the deeply emotional personal testimonies creates a powerful tension that demands action from businesses.”
