Client: Stuff‍

‍Brand: NZ House & Garden

‍Industry: Lifestyle / Publishing / Events

‍Campaign: NZ House & Garden Tours 2026

‍Locations: Wānaka, Christchurch, Taupō, Auckland

‍Duration: 13–14 February 2026, 20–21 February 2026, 13–14 March 2026, 27–28 March 2026

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The Objective

The client's goal was to grow subscriptions for NZ House & Garden magazine during the NZ House & Garden Tours while creating a premium and engaging customer experience.

The activation focused on connecting directly with attendees at the tours, building brand loyalty, and converting event guests into long-term subscribers.

The subscription offer included:

• 1-year NZ House & Garden subscription for $99
• Free George & Edi Reed Diffuser valued at $59.90

Success for the client looked like:

• Strong subscription sales onsite
• Positive attendee engagement
• Building awareness and loyalty around the NZ House & Garden brand
• Delivering a professional premium experience aligned with the lifestyle positioning of the tours

KPIs shared:

• Minimum target of 30 subscriptions sold per day
• Internal sales incentives introduced after 30 subscriptions sold per venue/day

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The Challenge

Prior to working with Destro, the client had used another staffing agency for the tours but experienced challenges around communication, reliability, and contingency planning for last-minute cancellations or sickness.

After connecting with Denver and learning more about Destro through conversations with one of our team members, the wider NZ House & Garden team reached out looking for a more proactive staffing partner that could provide stronger support and reassurance around event delivery.

A major focus from the outset was ensuring the client had full visibility over Destro's staffing processes, backup systems, and communication practices to guarantee staffing coverage across every location and event day.

This activation also required staff who could confidently engage with attendees in a premium lifestyle environment while driving direct sales.

This role involved:

• Active customer engagement
• Explaining subscription value clearly
• Processing purchases through iPads and EFTPOS
• Encouraging attendees to commit to a paid subscription onsite

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Our Solution

We partnered closely with the NZ House & Garden team to supply experienced promotional staff across the national tour series, while also giving the client confidence through consistent communication, backup staffing procedures, and proactive event management.

Services provided:

• Promotional staffing / brand ambassadors
• Brand representation
• Customer engagement
• Subscription sales support

Responsibilities included:

• Greeting and engaging attendees
• Explaining subscription offers and benefits
• Assisting customers with iPad sign-up forms
• Processing EFTPOS transactions
• Managing diffuser gift distribution
• Answering customer questions about the magazine and tours

Staff were selected based on their:

• Confidence speaking with attendees
• Sales ability
• Professional presentation
• Friendly and approachable personalities
• Ability to represent a premium lifestyle brand

A major focus for staffing selection was ensuring the team felt comfortable initiating conversations with attendees throughout the day and confidently converting interactions into sales.

The client later shared positive feedback around the ease of sourcing staff nationally and the seamless delivery of the campaign across all regions.

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Execution

The activation took place within the NZ House & Garden Tours hubs across Wānaka, Christchurch, Taupō, and Auckland.

Staff worked from branded subscription stands positioned within the event hub spaces and engaged directly with attendees throughout the day.

The experience focused on creating warm, natural conversations around home inspiration, the tours, and the value of subscribing to NZ House & Garden magazine.

On the day, staff:

• Welcomed attendees to the stand
• Discussed the tours and featured homes
• Explained the subscription offer
• Guided customers through the digital sign-up process
• Processed EFTPOS transactions
• Distributed complimentary George & Edi Reed Diffusers once purchases were completed

A key part of the activation was maintaining a premium and professional customer experience while managing a high volume of attendee interaction throughout the tours.

The Destro team consistently exceeded expectations onsite, with staff heavily outperforming the original KPIs set by the client. While the target was 30 subscriptions per day, some locations achieved sales figures of over 100 subscriptions in a single day.

Due to the exceptional performance of the promotional team, brand ambassadors were able to walk away with fantastic commission earnings through the commission structure agreed upon with Stuff for the campaign.

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Results

Measurable outcomes:

• National activation delivered across four New Zealand regions
• Strong face-to-face engagement with tour attendees
• Significant subscription growth achieved onsite
• Successful promotion of the exclusive event-only subscription offer

Key results:

• 40% increase in subscription sales across the event series
• Staff exceeded sales KPIs across multiple locations
• Some event days achieved over 100 subscriptions sold, significantly surpassing the original target of 30
• Strong sales performance resulted in high commission payouts for the promotional team

Additional outcomes:

• Increased brand visibility during the NZ House & Garden Tours
• Positive attendee interaction with the subscriptions team
• Growth of the NZ House & Garden subscriber community
• Successful partnership integration with George & Edi as gifting partner
• Strong client confidence built through proactive staffing communication and contingency planning

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"Another year of subscription sales done and dusted at our annual NZ House & Garden Tours! This year we teamed up with local agency Destro to build the dream promo team. Big thanks to Denver Watts and Portia Brodie who made sourcing staff from Auckland all the way down to Wānaka a seamless task. By leveraging a strong offer with our gift partner George & Edi, we achieved a mammoth 40% increase in subscription sales across this year's event — great to see the strategy result in many new readers joining the NZ House & Garden community." — Simona, NZ House & Garden

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