AUCKLAND, Today: dentsu turned up big at this year’s Big Gay Out, bringing a colourful mix of creativity, connection and community energy, with the festival scaling up in both presence and impact across Tāmaki Makaurau.
As part of its sponsorship, the team rolled out the ‘dentsu Studio Suite’, a free interactive experience blending hands-on creativity with media innovation.
Festivalgoers shared what Pride means to them, with personal messages of identity, belonging and community linked to dentsu’s D4 platform and broadcast across five major outdoor sites citywide.
More than 400 people took part, with messages lighting up billboards across the CBD, Karangahape Road, Newmarket and Parnell over five hours on Sunday, 15 February.
“Hearing what Pride means to others was genuinely heartwarming. It reinforced just how powerful it is when people feel safe to be themselves, and why visibility and support truly matter.” – Leo, dentsu Aotearoa’s Rainbow Network
Lucciane Surtees, Head of DE&I dentsu Aotearoa said, “Our dentsu Studio Suite activation absolutely delivered on what we set out to achieve: amplifying the voices of the Rainbow community and shining a light on what truly matters to them.
“We typically run these types of activations for our clients rather than on behalf of dentsu itself, but this partnership felt like the perfect opportunity to genuinely ‘walk the talk’ and showcase how media, creativity and experience can deliver truly impactful results.
“We showed up to champion Tamaki Makaurau’s Rainbow community loud and proud, and it was a truly amazing experience for all involved,” she said.
Event organiser The Burnett Foundation said the festival felt bigger than ever, with dentsu’s activation and DEI employee team helping drive strong community participation.
Leo from dentsu Aotearoa’s Rainbow Network said, “Representing dentsu at Big Gay Out 2026 meant so much to me. It was incredibly special to stand alongside the Rainbow community and help create a space where people could share their stories openly and proudly.
“Hearing what Pride means to others was genuinely heartwarming. It reinforced just how powerful it is when people feel safe to be themselves, and why visibility and support truly matter.”
The activation was delivered with partners D4, Go Media and Bekon Media.
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