Behind the Tactix
Six seasons supporting one of New Zealand’s netball’s leading teams – the Tactix
The ANZ Premiership brings together New Zealand’s leading netball teams, players and supporters – and behind every season sits an enormous amount of work to build the brand, engage fans and bring each home game to life.
Papiermache has recently completed its sixth season as a strategic marketing partner to the Tactix, working alongside the team across strategy, campaigns, creative, social media, content, digital advertising, game-day delivery and commercial partner support. Our role reaches well beyond promoting individual games. It is about building momentum across the whole ANZ Premiership season and helping supporters feel part of the Tactix story.
Long-term agency partnerships create a depth of knowledge that is difficult to replicate. Throughout this time, Papiermache has developed a strong understanding of the Tactix brand, its supporters, commercial partners and place within New Zealand netball. We understand the rhythm of an ANZ Premiership season: the early campaign build-up, team announcements, ticket launches, home-game promotion, live match coverage and the need to respond quickly as the competition unfolds. That knowledge allows us to move quickly while keeping every piece of activity connected to the wider strategy.
Rather than approaching social media, advertising, content and sponsor delivery as separate tasks, we bring them together around shared objectives – growing the audience, strengthening the brand, supporting commercial partnerships and bringing people through the doors.
From a historic championship to building on the legacy
The Tactix have built considerable momentum both on and off the court. In 2023, the team recorded the second-highest match attendance in New Zealand, accounting for 20% of all tickets sold across the ANZ Premiership. We were then proud to be part of the team supporting the Tactix throughout their historic 2025 campaign, which saw them crowned ANZ Premiership champions for the first time. It was a significant moment for the players, coaches, wider organisation and the Canterbury supporters who had backed the team throughout the season.
In 2026, our focus has been on building on that legacy – continuing to strengthen the Tactix brand, engage its growing supporter base and create momentum around every home game. This momentum has continued in the stands. Across five round-robin home games in 2026, the Tactix welcomed 13,604 supporters, recording the highest home attendance in the ANZ Premiership, including a season-high crowd of 4,917.
Building momentum
A full stadium starts well before game day. Across the 2026 ANZ Premiership season, Papiermache created and managed campaigns designed to build anticipation, rally Tactix supporters and drive attendance across each home fixture. Campaign activity extended across digital advertising, social media, outdoor advertising, direct marketing, photography, videography and game-day communications.
Each channel had a different role. A supporter might first encounter the game through a billboard, later see player content on social media, receive a direct email and then respond to a targeted digital advertisement as match day approached. By connecting those touchpoints, the campaign remained visible while reaching people at different stages of the ticket-buying journey. The results were reflected in the stands.
Bringing a Tactix game day to life
For supporters in the stands, game day may begin when they arrive at the venue, but for the Papiermache team it begins well before the first whistle. We are on the ground at Tactix home games, capturing photography and videography, sharing live score updates and identifying the moments that help tell the wider story of the match.
This includes:
Team arrival and warm-up
Behind-the-scenes moments
Live match action and score updates
Crowd energy and supporter reactions
Commercial partner activity
Final results and post-match content
This coverage allows supporters who cannot be at the venue to follow the action and feel connected to the team in real time. It also creates a valuable content bank that can be used after the match across social media, ticketing campaigns, sponsor reporting, player recognition and the promotion of future games.
Bringing netball supporters closer to the team
Results are central to professional sport, but they are not the only reason people follow a team. Supporters want to know the players, understand their personalities and see the work happening away from the court. Throughout the season, Papiermache captures training sessions, player stories, behind-the-scenes content and the energy surrounding each match. This creates a more complete view of the Tactix and gives supporters something to connect with between games.
Social media becomes more than a place to publish scores and fixtures. It becomes an ongoing window into the team. It is this regular, real-time connection that helps turn followers into supporters – and gives existing supporters more reasons to stay engaged throughout the ANZ Premiership season.
Supporting Tactix commercial partnerships
Commercial partners play an important role in professional netball. For Papiermache, sponsor delivery is not treated as a separate obligation added after the wider campaign has been created. We work alongside the Tactix to develop partner activity that fits naturally within the season, the brand and the experience supporters already care about. This can involve campaign concepts, branded content, player participation, game-day activity and social storytelling.
The aim is to create meaningful visibility and value for the commercial partner without losing sight of what the audience wants to see. Because Papiermache works across the wider Tactix marketing programme, we can consider sponsor delivery alongside campaign strategy, content production, game-day activity and the overall supporter journey.
Supporting women’s elite sport in Canterbury
We love supporting a local team that plays such an important role in representing women’s elite sport and the Canterbury community. The Tactix give young players visible role models, provide supporters with a team they can feel part of and bring elite New Zealand netball to Christchurch. Full stands create momentum that extends well beyond an individual match. They lift the experience for players and supporters, strengthen the commercial platform surrounding the team and help move women’s sport further into the spotlight.
More than an agency relationship
Our partnership with the Tactix is built around understanding the brand inside and out and being genuinely invested in its success. Over six seasons, Papiermache has worked closely with the people behind the team to support the commercial requirements of the organisation, elevate the Tactix brand and strengthen the way it connects with supporters and partners.
The work brings together the full Papiermache offer: strategy, branding and creative, social media, content and digital marketing. It is fast-moving, collaborative and often highly reactive – but always connected to the wider purpose of building the team, supporting its partners and growing the audience around elite New Zealand netball.
From supporting the Tactix through their first ANZ Premiership championship in 2025 to helping build on that legacy with the league’s highest home attendance in 2026, it has been an exciting period for the team – and work we are incredibly proud to be part of.
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