With central government requiring all publicly funded events to assess public sentiment alongside economic outcomes, Major Events NZ faced a new challenge: how to capture the voice of the population quickly, accurately, and at scale.

Traditional methods were too slow and narrow. Event funders needed to know if public money was delivering value beyond just dollars and to be able to compare sentiment across a diverse range of events in a meaningful, consistent way.

• A clear, reliable way to assess public sentiment across major sporting and cultural events
• The ability to benchmark sentiment between events and over time
• Insights detailed enough to uncover specific public concerns or controversies
• Fast turnaround of insights to feed into routine government reporting cycles
• Data to help prioritise future event investments based on public support

Crowd Reader gave Major Events NZ a powerful new lens on public opinion, analysing millions of candid, real-time conversations about a wide range of events, from Sail GP to the World Shearing Champs.

With this data, Major Events NZ could:

• Compare sentiment levels between events on a like-for-like basis
• Identify the big topics and flashpoints for each event
• Benchmark and track sentiment over time, so decision-makers could see how perceptions shifted
• Provide clear, actionable insights directly into routine cabinet reports and stakeholder updates

With Crowd Reader, event funders could make smarter, better-informed decisions about where public money should go, backing events with strong public support and addressing issues where needed.