Staying Connected in the Field NZCS X Nomad
One of the things that has been a real challenge for us running New Zealand Conservation Stories is the split within our team.
One of the big challenges we've found is that, as Kiwis increasingly move abroad, a lot of the people associated with New Zealand Conservation Stories, or even the best content creators to work with, are more and more based in Australia. And that really creates a challenge for us, because it means that members of our team for content trips often have to come over from Australia, or that post production occurs in Australia.
Because a lot of the wider crew involved in New Zealand Conservation Stories work in
marketing, media, or outdoor industries, being on the road is just a part of life. And that can become an incredibly expensive part of life when we are producing content while travelling.
One of the challenges we've found is that, on average, a content trip for us, whether it be for New Zealand Conservation Stories, an overseas trip, or another project, generally involves using about 300 gigabytes of storage. That'll cost us, at a minimum, around $150 worth of data for editing, uploading, or sharing content on a trip, and oftentimes much, much higher.
So for New Zealand Conservation Stories, there's been a real need to find a better solution because, to do the work we do, if we run 10 content trips a year, it can cost us anywhere between $1,000 and $3,000 annually just to share data while travelling.
Many eSIM travel plans start anywhere between $5 and $10 per gigabyte abroad, and that was simply an unacceptable cost for us. We needed to find something that represented some of the best value on the market. Finding the right partner didn’t just represent thousands of dollars of savings for us, we also wanted to find a partner that would make financial sense for our audience when they travel.
For us, that meant partnering with Nomad. They provide data coverage across more than
200 countries and regions, and one of the things we found genuinely useful was how fast the setup process was. Instead of dealing with local SIM cards or trying to organise roaming while travelling, we were able to set things up in just a few minutes and be connected almost immediately after landing.
Because we travel so frequently and often across multiple countries, having flexible plans
has also made a huge difference. Whether it’s shorter trips, longer expeditions, or topping up data while already on the road, it’s made the process far simpler for us operationally.
The resources they've provided to us, and the fact that they've committed to helping us
cover our data needs for these trips, have been a massive boost to our ability to produce
content on the road.
Practically, that means that, for the first time while on a trip, we've been able to consistently share content. It's also means that while travelling post trip, we've been able to produce more data on the road.
For us, that means that this month we've shared more than 20 pieces of content, compared to the last content trip we were on, where we shared just three. In practical terms, that means we reached 2 million additional people that we would not have otherwise reached without this partnership.
That's huge. It's made a massive difference to our work, but it also makes a massive difference to the organisations we partner with. It means that we can connect with millions more people each year, more easily.
One feature we’ve also liked recently is Nomad’s “Weekly Wins”, where users can check in weekly for extra rewards and data bonuses for future trips. It’s a small thing, but when you travel regularly, those kinds of features genuinely add up over time.
If you'd like to learn more about the setup we've been using, you can check out the Nomad eSIM here. Or if you've downloaded the app and created an account, you can use this link to get a 20% discount code for our audience: NZCS26.
Download the app, have a look through the plans, and next time you’re travelling we
recommend get Nomad App.