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Pukekohe-based nonprofit organisation, Mai Lighthouse has gone from a local rebrand to receiving a global accolade, recognised for the world’s best naming strategy at the recent 2026 Transform Diamond Awards.
Partnered with Pukekohe branding agency Re:brand, the organisation took home a Diamond Award for Best Naming Strategy and an award for Best Visual Identity by a Charity, NGO or NotFor-Profit.
“We were really shocked when they announced that we’d won the best naming in the entire world, which is a big tribute to Re:brand,” Mai Lighthouse’s Robyn Driver says.
“It’s pretty humbling for a small agency in Pukekohe to receive such an award.”
The King Street-based organisation was formerly known as Franklin Family Support.
Last year, in response to the region growing rapidly, the team felt it was time for a refresh of the name and brand.
“It was a good time to revisit that, see what our community thought and what kind of service we wanted to be,” she says.
After leafing through 40–50 ideas for names, the team landed on Mai Lighthouse, lacing together several contending concepts.
The addition of ‘lighthouse’ was inspired by the famous Manukau Heads lighthouse with the logo imitating its glass panes, Driver confirms.
“The word ‘Mai’ means ‘towards me’ or ‘here’ in Te Reo Maori, aligning with the open invitation for the services we provide families. It also represents that people come to us when they are needing some support, but they leave with some positivity,” she says.
“We want people to come towards us as we’re a beacon of help in the area. I think it represents us well.”
Now, Mai Lighthouse not only has a new face that better reflects its work, but this dedicated team also has two shiny new trophies to show for their efforts.
