Westpac Smarts – Bare Lake To Big Success

This event is now closed for registrations – if you would like to attend please contact deanna@southlandchamber.co.nz

Lessons in Growth, Marketing and Resilience from Kiwi Water Park Founder Emily Rutherford. 

What can a Southland business learn from one of New Zealand’s fastest growing visitor attractions?  

Join Emily Rutherford, Co-Owner and Managing Director of Kiwi Water Park, for an engaging fireside chat hosted by Southland Business Chambers own Nigel Finnerty. 

Starting with little more than a vision and a piece of bare land in Central Otago, Emily and her team have built Kiwi Water Park into one of New Zealand's most recognised tourism attractions. 

Along the way they have navigated significant consenting and compliance requirements, created a strong visitor experience, and built a powerful online presence that has helped drive awareness well beyond the region. 

One of the most remarkable aspects of Kiwi Water Park's success has been its social media journey. Through creative content, authentic storytelling and a deep understanding of audience engagement, the business has generated 85 million TikTok views just last season alone, and created one of the most-viewed TikTok video ever created by a New Zealand business.  Today, Kiwi Water Park has  built one of the strongest social media profiles of any New Zealand visitor attraction, with more than 500 million views. 

In this honest and practical conversation, Emily will share: 

• The story behind building Kiwi Water Park from the ground up 
• The realities of business growth, resilience and risk-taking 
• Lessons learned navigating consenting, compliance and health and safety requirements 
• How social media became a powerful driver of awareness and business growth 
• The strategies behind creating highly engaging content and building an online community 
• Practical insights businesses can apply to strengthen their own visibility, marketing and customer engagement  

Whether you're a business owner, manager, marketer, entrepreneur or aspiring founder, this session will leave you with practical ideas for building momentum, attracting attention and growing a business in a competitive environment. 

Bring your questions and join us for an inspiring conversation with Emily.

With thanks to Westpac, whose generous sponsorship enables us to offer this event free to our business community.

 

•