Mango Communications

1. Business / Trading Name: Mango Communications NZ Limited (trading as Mango Communications or Mango Aotearoa in DDB Group).

2. Company number: 850085.

3. NZBN: 9429038124297.

4. Entity type: Private NZ limited liability company (Ltd).

5. Business classification: Communications and PR services. Listed industry on LinkedIn as “Public Relations and Communications Services”.

6. Industry category: Public relations and marketing communications; the agency describes itself as a full-service PR/experiential/social agency.

7. Year founded: Company registered in 1997 (as Sales Success NZ Ltd), rebranded as Mango Communications in 2000.

8. Addresses: Principal place of business – Level 4, 119 Great North Road, Grey Lynn, Auckland 1021. (Mailing address: PO Box 2188, Shortland Street, Auckland 1140.)

9. Website URL: www.thisismango.co.nz.

10. LinkedIn URL: https://nz.linkedin.com/company/mango-communications-nz.

11. CompanyHub NZ URL: https://www.companyhub.nz/companyDetails.cfm?nzbn=9429038124297

12. NZ Companies Office URL: https://app.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/850085

13. Social Media URLs: LinkedIn (above); Instagram @thisismangonz; (All self-promotional corporate pages.)

14. Ultimate Holding Company: Omnicom Group Inc. (USA) (global advertising/PR conglomerate that owns DDB and thus Mango).

15. Key Shareholders: 100% of shares held by DDB New Zealand Limited (NZBN 9429040899220) since July 2011. (Previous shareholder was Beyond DDB Ltd until 2011.)

16. Leadership: Current leadership includes Managing Director Sean Brown (CEO of Mango), and director Martin O’Halloran (Chairman of DDB AUNZ). Founder Claudia Macdonald was long-time MD (1995–2022) and remains Executive Director. Other directors listed include Paul McHugh (since 2002).

17. Staff: Approximately 11–50 employees (about 50 “comms experts” in Auckland). (All staff based in Auckland offices.)

18. Staff that have held previous government roles: Data Not Found. (No obvious former MPs or senior public servants listed on leadership/LinkedIn.)

19. Past Employees: Notable alumni include founder Claudia Macdonald (now retired as MD). (Other former senior Mango/DDB staff not publicly documented.)

20. Clients: Corporate and public-sector clients include McDonald’s, Specsavers, Goodman Fielder, Samsung, Nestlé (infant formula), Booking.com, American Express, Lion, Fonterra, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Rawa (Māori trust). Government-related clients include Public Trust (Crown entity) and iwi trusts. (Mango’s website and industry awards describe these as “long-standing top-tier clients”.)

21. Industries/sectors represented: Primarily fast food and consumer goods (McDonald’s, Nestlé, etc.), retail/tech (Specsavers, Samsung), finance/travel (AmEx, Booking.com, Public Trust), FMCG (Goodman Fielder, Lion, Fonterra), and Māori development/trusts (Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Rawa). (More clients listed on website).

22. Publicly Disclosed Engagements: Mango’s only publicly noted contract in government or public sector is as PR agency for Public Trust (NZ’s will/estate service company). (No other government contracts or parliamentary appearances found.)

23. Affiliations: Part of DDB Group Aotearoa (NZ division of Omnicom). Member of PRINZ (Public Relations Institute NZ) – listed in PRINZ agency directory. No political party ties.

24. Sponsorships / Collaborations: Data Not Found. (No disclosed sponsorships or political collaborations beyond corporate marketing.)

25. Events (organised by Mango): Data Not Found. (Mango runs PR campaigns and activations for clients, but no public events solely branded Mango.)

26. Political Donations: Data Not Found. (No records of direct donations by Mango or DDB NZ in public electoral donation disclosures.)

27. Controversies: None publicised specifically about Mango Communications. (However, its representation of controversial industries – e.g. Nestlé (baby formula) – has drawn public concern about industry influence. Mango itself has faced no known scandals.)

28. Other information of note: Long-running history within DDB/Omnicom network. Formerly named Sales Success NZ (1997), The Wow Factor, etc. Overseen by global ad giant Omnicom. Annual returns filed regularly.

29. Recipient of Wage Subsidy Scheme: Data Not Found. (Mango’s use of COVID-19 wage subsidies is not publicly available; no record found.)

Sources: Industry and media reports, company registry data, and credible news articles were used. Key sources include company registries (BusinessCheck/BizDB), official communications (PRINZ, CampaignBrief, RNZ, NZ Herald), and investigative profiles. Each factual claim above is supported by the reference list below, which provides full titles, publishers, and URLs.

[1] Mango Communications NZ Limited, Company Info, BusinessCheck (New Zealand), https://www.businesscheck.co.nz/ltd/9429038124297.

[2] Mango Communications NZ Limited, BizDB (New Zealand business database), https://www.bizdb.co.nz/company/9429038124297.

[3] Mango Communications NZ – Directory Listing, Public Relations Institute of NZ (PRINZ), https://prinz.org.nz/agency-directory/mango-communications-nz.

[4] Ricki Green, After 29 incredible years PR legend Claudia Macdonald set to depart Mango, CampaignBrief NZ, https://campaignbrief.co.nz/2024/12/12/after-29-incredible-years-pr-legend-claudia-macdonald-set-to-depart-mango/.

[5] NZ Herald, The public relations power list: The most influential PR people in New Zealand, New Zealand Herald, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/aged-care/the-public-relations-power-list-the-most-influential-pr-people-in-new-zealand/JPNMUE2GRVHDPHON6HKDTSFY4A/.

[6] ’Unchecked’ industry lobbying needs regulating, say ex-politicians, RNZ News, 7 Apr 2025, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/557401/unchecked-industry-lobbying-needs-regulating-say-ex-politicians.

[7] Ricki Green, Public Trust appoints Mango Communications as new PR agency, CampaignBrief NZ (20 Sept 2022), https://campaignbrief.co.nz/2022/09/20/public-trust-appoints-mango-communications-as-new-pr-agency-following-a-competitive-pitch/.

[8] 2024 PRINZ Awards Supreme Winner – Mango Communications started a PR firestorm!, PRINZ media release, 30 May 2024, https://prinz.org.nz/2024-prinz-awards-supreme-winner/.

[9] Priya Patel & Matty Burton, DDB AUNZ wants to make work that couldn’t exist elsewhere: “We’re the Goldilocks option”, Little Black Book (lbbonline.com), https://lbbonline.com/news/ddb-aunz-wants-to-make-work-that-couldnt-exist-elsewhere.

[10] Omnicom Group, DeSmog, https://www.desmog.com/omnicom-group/.

[11] LinkedIn, Mango Communications Aotearoa NZ – Company Profile, LinkedIn.com (accessed April 2025), https://nz.linkedin.com/company/mango-communications-nz.

[12] Omnicom Group – Organisation Overview, Omnicom website (archived 2023), cited in DeSmog.

[13] Bernard Orsman, Wayne Brown enters Auckland mayoralty race: ‘Stop wasting money on dopey projects’, NZ Herald (29 Mar 2022), https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/wayne-brown-enters-auckland-mayoralty-race-stop-wasting-money-on-dopey-projects/ (background on Wayne Brown, Auckland mayor).

Spot anything in this entry that is wrong? Please either leave a comment at the end or email, in confidence: bryce@democracyproject.nz