Arque Research is helping award-winning artisanal gin producers Mothers Ruined Gin use history as a powerful way to stand out from the crowd in the competitive international spirits market.

Among other successes, founders Jo Davy and Helen Gower recently scored prizes for their gin at the NZ Spirits Awards and the London Spirits Competition. And like the women who defied male-run guilds to create their own gin businesses back in the 1700s, they’re changing the premium gin game in more ways than one, as the first New Zealand drinks brand to use sustainable recycled paperboard bottles. These have a carbon footprint up to six times lower than the glass alternative.

As a female-founded business in a male-dominated industry, Mothers Ruined draws on the long and colourful history of women as gin distillers, wholesalers and retailers to engage, educate and delight their customers. We tell the stories through channels including digital campaigns, media, newsletters and events, creating innovative and exciting gin experiences that align with and support Mothers Ruined’s core values of sustainability, feminism and fun.

Optimation is one of New Zealand’s most successful homegrown technology businesses, founded in 1992. As Optimation’s marketing consultant, Amanda McVitty delivered a multi-faceted one-year project to celebrate the company’s 25th anniversary.

This major project included documenting Optimation’s history using private archives, records and photo collections; interviewing current and past customers and staff to create a timeline of highlights and milestones; sharing Optimation’s story through the press, website, newsletters and social media; and creating staff-focused collateral and activities that gave Optimation’s people a powerful sense of belonging and connection.

The celebrations culminated in a gala event for customers, business partners and stakeholders at Wellington Museum, where the time machine Ngā Hau was used to take guests on a spectacular multimedia journey through Optimation’s past, present and future.

Arque Research is helping specialists History4Today to find, analyse and interpret evidence related to cases under the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011. The Act allowed whānau, hapū and iwi to apply to the High Court for orders recognising customary marine title and protected customary rights, and resulting hearings involved investigation into both historical and recent customary use.

With the pressure of tight external deadlines related to hearing dates, we were able to rapidly assess, understand and contextualise information from thousands of pages of primary and secondary source material, including complex reports and legal documents.

Our contributions included finding and analysing historical material from 19th-century sources including court records, government documents and newspaper reports; and producing clearly written, balanced and well-nuanced interpretation of this material within a short timeframe. We added additional value through our specialist expertise and knowledge in British and European legal history.