Announcing Nico's New Chapter

When two-time Olympic medallist Nico Porteous decided to step back from competitive skiing at the age of 23, he turned to Payper to help share his story with New Zealand and the world.

‍

Nico won bronze at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics at just 16 years old, before claiming gold in the freeski halfpipe at the 2022 Beijing Games — becoming the first New Zealand male to win a Winter Olympic gold medal. His decision to step away from Olympic competition to focus on filming, product development, and events like Natural Selection was a major story.

‍

Payper was engaged to manage the media strategy around the announcement, which was timed for Monday 16 June 2025. We coordinated a full day of back-to-back media interviews at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in Auckland, followed by a second day of morning broadcast and radio hits.

‍

The result was a clean sweep of New Zealand’s biggest media outlets. 1 News, 3 News, TVNZ Breakfast, RNZ, NZ Herald, Stuff, and the Otago Daily Times all ran the story on the day of the announcement. Mike Hosking devoted his daily Mike’s Minute opinion segment to praising Nico’s decision — an unprompted editorial endorsement that demonstrated the strength of the story.

‍

Internationally, the announcement landed on NBC Sports, Olympics.com, Powder Magazine, the FIS website, and Yahoo Sports — reaching a global audience of millions. The story had real legs, too, with the Otago Daily Times running a follow-up feature in September and the Dom Harvey Podcast recording a two-hour-plus deep-dive interview in August.

‍

In total, the campaign generated 26 stories across television, radio, print, digital, podcast, and international media — reaching an estimated 47.9 million people for a total cost of $7,500. That’s an EMEI of 159.7, making it one of Payper’s most efficient campaigns to date.

‍

For Nico, the coverage validated his decision to step away on his own terms, and ensured his story was told with the respect and nuance it deserved. That’s a story Payper was proud to help tell.