A sharp increase in cyber-crime. An uneducated SME market in NZ who were unaware of the problem and also reliant in some way (sometimes heavily) on digital technologies. And making matters worse, no-one locally was talking to SMEs about how to manage the risk; there was an alarming lack of information.

Recognising the need to give SMEs financial protection from cyber-crime and digital misadventure, NZI was launching its new Cyber Insurance suite. Given this scenario and the absence of almost any competitor products in-market, you might think this was a gilt-edged opportunity. But research told them otherwise.

The problem? Cyber-crime and digital misadventure is usually just that, digital. And therefore invisible. Any business impacted is highly unlikely to talk because of the potential damage to reputation. And in the absence of anyone taking a leadership position, effectively there was no issue, publicly at least - just thousands of individual companies being affected, one-by-one, in silence.

Without highlighting the problem publicly and credibly, NZI Cyber Insurance was unlikely to be taken up. Before they went to market, they went to NZME and commissioned a 1000-word Native article reporting on the scale of the problem. By contextualising the issue, it was both raised nationally and simultaneously validated the need for the product.

The result? Both launch plus Q1 targets were smashed, and for Q2 (Oct-Dec) they have already hit 110% of the target for the entire quarter in only three weeks!