NEWS, WORK
On Your Side: new AMI podcast hosted by Sam Wallace
18 May 2022
AMI has launched a new podcast series, On Your Side, hosted by Sam Wallace showcasing wonderful, heart-warming stories about Kiwis who have found their sense of purpose by helping others.
The new audio series features interviews with inspiring New Zealanders who have done everything from caring for premature babies to training disadvantaged youth to competing in one of the world’s toughest multi-sport events and in doing so made entire communities better.
The first episode features an interview with Dr Maysoon Salama whose son, Ata Mohammad Ata Elayyan, 33, was killed in the Christchurch terrorist attacks. Dr Salama has written a book Aya and the Butterfly to help children – including her own granddaughter – to come to terms with grief, cope with change and build resilience.
Broadcaster Sam Wallace, who hosts On Your Side, says he was “blown away” by the Kiwis he interviewed for the podcast who managed to turn misfortune into something positive that benefitted others.
“It’s a lesson in attitude, it’s a lesson in gratitude… and like me, you will be inspired to seek the best of a bad situation,” he says. “New Zealand is full of some incredible people and AMI has done a great job finding six of the best. Their stories will raise you and inspire you to lift your head and make the most of the day in front of you.”
AMI marketing manager Jess Bunker says that the insurer’s brand platform ‘On Your Side’ highlights the role the insurer’s team plays in helping people through some of life’s toughest moments.
“We have been sharing amazing stories of New Zealanders going out of their way to help others for the last three years,” she says. “It’s been great to see how this concept can evolve into new channels like podcasts to further inspire people to be on the side of their fellow Kiwis.”
Bunker said it had been “fantastic” working with host Sam Wallace and Medium Rare’s agency Storyation and to bring the podcast to life.
Storyation’s Lauren Quaintance said she was proud to share the stories of such inspiring New Zealanders in a way that was true to AMI’s brand values.
“We love creating content about amazing Kiwis, the kind of people you’d like to have on your side,” she said. “These stories deserve to be heard and they feel particularly intimate and emotive delivered in this way.”
The series is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify with a new episode dropping each Wednesday for the next six weeks.