Local Experience Agency Builds ‘the Right Product At The Right Time’ Just As Border Restrictions Lift

With managed isolation being phased out; and the staged opening of New Zealand borders set from the 16th of January, experience agency Wonder & Wander says it hasn’t seen this level of demand for community travel/events in over a decade.

“In today’s hyper-connected and distributed digital society, the best way to get cut through and create meaningful, high-quality interactions is still through face to face gatherings. Having spent most of our time during lockdown finding innovative, alternative ways to connect people and teams, it’s exciting to finally be able to bring people together again,” comments Steve Pirie, Chief of Wander at Wonder & Wander.

The company’s popular 'Island in a box' offering has always been an easy way for communities to book ‘all inclusive’ travel for teams; and post-Covid, the offering is fast-becoming the perfect answer to the huge demand to create, grow, manage and amplify communities within a business context. “It's a brand new way of creating events - a proven event design process for transforming your ideas, your content, your vibe and your audience into a sell-out success,” says Steve.

Wonder & Wander have taken the headaches out of destination events over 15 years, with more than 25 000 domestic and international happy travellers. They’ve also launched acclaimed community events including Nurture Change, Nurture Her and UnpluggedFiji.

“In February, the HBR released a powerful review around how Covid has reshaped the world of work. 89% of those who say their workplace wellbeing has declined included a massive 24% who attributed this to 'losing connection' and 14% who attributed this to 'growing disengagement'. Wonder & Wander are on a mission to turn the tide on these figures as the world starts to return to 'normal' again; opening up for travel and face-to-face connection,” explain Steve.

Wonder & Wander currently have thousands of travelers booked for 2022 for community-style events across Fiji, Mexico, Croatia, Antarctica, New Zealand, Australia and the United States where connection, collaboration and ideation will take centre stage for attendees after a very long period of working remotely.

To meet increased demand, Wonder & Wander has entered into a partnership with Agency X run by young entrepreneur Matt Billington. Matt became an award-winning CEO at just 17 for his acclaimed almond ice cream brand Olelei. He opened Agency X earlier this year, offering a unique combination of traditional digital agency services and a focus on quality business education for entrepreneurs, gained at the coalface of the ideation and business launch.

Agency X and Wonder & Wander are calling the partnership a marriage of ‘the willing and the wise’. Having worked together previously on a number of projects, Matt recognised the opportunity to not only provide a service to Wonder & Wander; but to jump on board with creating a movement.

“The world is changing, whether we like it or not — we can’t control that. But what we can control, is the individual effect that we have on it, each and every day. Wonder & Wander are bringing back connection; bringing back belonging at a time when isolation and disconnection has become the norm. That’s something that resonates deeply,” comments Matt.

“Creating an event can be an expensive failure. All too often, the process is confusing and needlessly time-consuming. Add in the emerging challenges of a pandemic, and ‘Island in a Box’ is quite literally ‘the right product at the right time’,” concludes Steve.

About Wonder & Wander: https://www.wonderandwander.com/

About Steve Pirie:

Steve Pirie is a serial entrepreneur. His naturally curious mind has led him to co-found and sell many successful businesses including Unleashed Travel (named by BRW as one of Australia's 100 fastest growing startup businesses in 2011 and 2012), Nurture Change, Nurture Her and UnpluggedFiji.

Recently, Steve has fused his passion for events, mindset, education, travel, health and wellness as co-founder and ‘Chief of Wander’ at Wonder & Wander, an ecosystem created to inspire a new way of thinking and a new way of being.

Wonder & Wander brings together innovation consulting, travel and learning. Its team collaborates with people and brands to unleash their most innovative ideas, events and experiences. Steve also offers ideation and growth strategy sessions to start ups and established businesses in the travel, events and business space. Companies hack his naturally curious mind to get ideas and connections for your business and your life.

About Matt Billington:

Matt Billington helps entrepreneurs and business leaders free up more time in their day to focus on the things that light their heart on fire.

At the age of 22, he’s spent seven years working in the startup world, having built, grown, and scaled his own startups as well as worked with a number of brands around the world on theirs. He’s passionate about creating lasting impact on the world and aligning himself with brands that think similarly.

Working at the intersection of Brand, Marketing, Technology, and Data, Matt uses his collection of knowledge and resources to grow the footprint of brands and helps connect them with their audience on a more meaningful level .

© Scoop Media