Council comms are dull… aren’t they? The Auckland mayor’s social media guy, Connor Ayliffe, is proving it ain’t so.
You might have noticed a change in Auckland Council’s socials over the past year. Some posts – specifically from mayor Wayne Brown – are actually entertaining.
It’s a radical thought for council content which, on the face of it, doesn’t sound thrilling: roadworks, bins, planning decisions.
There’s a lot to cover across Tāmaki Makaurau. So while other comms departments deal with libraries and parks or events and emergency response, the mayor has his own four-strong team.
“Well, for social media, it’s just me. It’s just the one person,” says Connor Ayliffe, advisor – policy and communications at the mayor’s office. He creates and manages mayoral content across Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, YouTube and Reddit. No TikTok?
“We’re not on TikTok. We don’t want to do TikTok,” says Ayliffe.
As you might expect, content is tailored for each channel. “A lot of people really care about rubbish, roads and roadworks on Facebook, but maybe less so on Instagram,” he says.
It’s all about meeting the audience where they are and cutting through. Which is where the recent, more creative, posts from the Mayor’s Office come in. The subjects remain the same – rates, city amenities, the annual plan – but the treatment is different.
Show your working
In August last year, Wayne Brown strode through council offices justifying a 6.8% rate rise while an old-timey cowboy score played underneath. The video leaned in to the western aesthetic, with horse sound effects, a “WANTED $140 million in savings” poster and graphics that nodded to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
“In a way the video is quite silly, but it’s simply to illustrate that while rates are going up, we’ve actually done a lot of work to make sure they’re not going up a lot,” says Ayliffe.
Meanwhile, a video released on Christmas Eve 2024 saw Brown reading the comments section – a few are complimentary, but mostly it’s just abuse. He pulls no punches in his responses. The mayor, decked out in a Santa hat and surrounded by tinsel, gives his detractors short shrift. He’s gruff and Grinchy.
Despite the combative mood, it’s another opportunity to talk about how rate rises compare with Wellington and list what Brown has delivered while in office. It captured attention – including column inches in The Herald and Stuff – but could it undermine the mayor’s credibility?
“It’s a fine balance between creating something engaging and staying on-message. Bouncing ideas around the team always helps,” says Ayliffe.
Trust is the real script
Video ideas aren’t always embraced with enthusiasm. Brown kicks off the Christmas clip saying: “Against my better judgement, I’ve been talked into doing this…”
Yet the mayor confessed to being “in a strangely good mood” as he tucked into dumplings in March, urging the public to submit on the city’s annual plan for a chance to win a “succulent Chinese meal”.
Does Brown secretly enjoy making the videos or is it just a chore?
“Both,” says Ayliffe. “It depends what time of day he succumbs to my lobbying efforts. For example, the ‘succulent Chinese meal’ – he required some persuading to do that, but he went along with it in the end. We’ve built up a level of trust. So he trusts that I’m not going to make him look stupid.
“Everything is ultimately shaped with input from the mayor – he’s closely involved and signs off on tone and direction.”
A CV like no other
Brown has had quite a turnaround in popularity since he took office in October 2022. Curia polls for the Taxpayers’ Union put his average approval rating at -10% in Q1 of 2023, when his response to the Auckland Anniversary floods was heavily criticised. That rose to +22% in Q1 2024, settling to +14% in February 2025 when he announced he’d run for re-election.
It’s almost a year since Ayliffe joined the team, having accumulated a “broad and eclectic” CV over a decade in advertising and marketing, plus film and TV. Starting at TVNZ’s creative and production team Blacksand, he’s worked with sketch comedy YouTubers Viva La Dirt League and clocked up stints in news and motion graphics as well as at Warner Bros Discovery as a colourist.
Ayliffe was born and grew up in the UK, moving to Aotearoa with his family at the age of 18. He says he’s become a “bit of a politics nerd” since his partner stood for MP in Auckland’s Epsom.
Even backlash is useful
Bringing production skills to the political office means Ayliffe can “connect the dots of the mayor’s key messages and create something engaging that we can put out ourselves”.
It’s a faster approach compared to going through an external agency.
“We’re pretty nimble – because of the mayor’s direct input and the skills in-house, we can go from idea to execution quickly.
“Working directly with the mayor, I’ve developed that long-term understanding of the mayor’s vision and policies and I’m able to anticipate those things and weave that into work.”
Asked to pick a favourite, Ayliffe plumps for the Christmas message. Even negative comments are useful, he says.
“Backlash is another form of feedback, and we do listen. For us, it’s an opportunity. There are always going to be people who don’t agree. But if we feel the backlash is a result of people not understanding something, then that’s a little red flag that we need to do a better job.”
This story comes from NZ Marketing magazine issue 83, Jun-Aug 2025. Why not subscribe? Get four issues a year for just $50 (including delivery) if you autorenew.
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