What Honoco does

Honoco Limited is a privately-held strategic partnership consultancy headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand. The firm substantiates, evaluates, and enables partnerships for corporate brands, sports rights owners, charities, government agencies, and creative organisations across New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and China. The firm name derives from 'hono' in te reo Māori, meaning to join, connect, or link.

The company's core offering comprises eight interconnected professional services: insight reports, partnership strategies, measurement solutions, custom-built research studies, marketing and leverage strategy, partnership and rights valuations, market segmentation and audience profiling, and expedited strategy plans. These are delivered through project-based consulting engagements using proprietary analytical frameworks, ready-to-access research programmes, and tailored client surveys. Honoco does not develop or sell technology products; its capabilities reside in research methodologies, data assets, and team expertise rather than a software platform.

Revenue is generated through quote-based, project-based consulting engagements with no publicly disclosed pricing. The firm operates with a small specialist team of approximately six to seven members, leveraging deep individual domain expertise—particularly in sports marketing, audience research, and public sector social impact work—as its primary competitive differentiator. Distribution is relationship-based and direct, with Managing Director Richard Howarth as the primary point of contact for new engagements. The firm is founder/management-owned with no disclosed external investors, parent company, or institutional funding.

Name

Honoco

Legal name

Honoco Limited

Website

https://honoco.nz

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Honoco is a New Zealand-based strategic partnership consultancy that provides valuation, measurement, research, and audience insights services to corporate brands, sports rights owners, charities, government agencies, and creative organisations across New Zealand, Australia, the UK, and China.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Partnership Consulting Services

NAICS

Marketing Consulting Services (541613), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Management Consulting Services (54161), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategic Partnerships, Alliances & JVs Advisory (BPAHADAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Marketing Technology (MarTech) Strategy & Stack Advisory (MPAAAFAJ), Strategy & IT Advisory (BPAEAAAA)

Keywords

• Partnership consulting services
• Sponsorship valuation advisory
• Audience research insights
• Strategic partnership advisory
• Sports rights consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Strategic Consulting Services: Honoco provides professional consulting services including partnership strategy development, audience insights, measurement solutions, and custom research studies. Revenue is generated through project-based engagements with corporate brands, sports rights owners, charities, government agencies, and creative organisations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Honoco is a strategic partnership consultancy that substantiates, evaluates, and enables partnerships for clients in New Zealand and selected international markets. It sells project-based advisory services covering partnership strategy, audience insights, partnership and rights valuations, measurement frameworks, market segmentation, and custom research. Deliverables are produced by senior specialists using the firm's proprietary analytical frameworks, ready-to-access research programmes, and client-specific studies.

Product overview

Honoco is a strategic partnership consultancy, not a software platform product. The company operates as a unified service offering centred on strategic partnership advisory, substantiation, and evaluation. Their core portfolio consists of eight interconnected consulting services: Insight Reports (research-backed intelligence), Partnership Strategies (strategic advisory), Measurement Solutions (performance frameworks), Custom-Built Research Studies (tailored surveys), Marketing & Leverage Strategy (activation guidance), Partnership & Rights Valuations (financial assessment), Market Segmentation & Audience Profiling (audience analysis), and Expedited Strategy Plans (rapid planning). These services are delivered by experienced industry specialists using the company's own ready-to-access research programmes, client-specific studies, and established analytical frameworks. The offerings are provided as consulting engagements rather than as separate software modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Insight Reports Research-based reports providing data-driven insights to guide partnership decisions and strategic recommendations for corporate brands, sports rights owners, charities, government agencies, and creative organisations.
• Partnership Strategies Strategic advisory services helping clients identify partnership opportunities, define partnership components, choose partners, and align partnerships with strategic goals.
• Measurement Solutions Frameworks and methodologies for measuring partnership success across brand, community, and commercial objectives, tailored to the client's strategic goals.
• Custom-Built Research Studies Tailored research programmes and surveys designed to address specific client project needs, drawing on quantitative and qualitative methodologies including demographic, psychographic, and behavioural lenses.
• Marketing & Leverage Strategy Strategic guidance on maximising the value and exposure of partnership investments through effective marketing activation and leverage planning.
• Partnership & Rights Valuations Assessment of the financial value to place on partnerships and the associated rights provided, typically used to inform deal-making and pricing for sports rights owners and brands.
• Market Segmentation & Audience Profiling Analysis of target audiences from demographic, psychographic, and behavioural perspectives to inform partnership planning and campaign strategy.
• Expedited Strategy Plans Accelerated strategic planning services for clients requiring rapid development of partnership frameworks, leveraging Honoco's ready-to-access research and proven analytical frameworks.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• AUT (Auckland University of Technology)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHonoco has partnered with AUT to support student development through third and fourth year workplace experience papers. The internship programme provides students with real project experience while Honoco utilises their skills. The partnership focuses on developing industry-ready talent for the sports and partnership industries.
• Massey UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHonoco has partnered with Massey University to support workplace experience papers for students. The mutually beneficial partnership allows students to develop industry skills while contributing to Honoco's project work across diverse industries.
• NZ Aquatics CollectiveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerElla McAneaney worked with Swimming NZ to develop club marketing resources for the NZ Aquatics Collective during her university studies. This represents Honoco's team member background rather than a formal company partnership.
• Tennis NZminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerElla McAneaney serves as Chair of the Tennis NZ Youth Advisory Group, helping the organisation understand and improve experiences for young people in tennis. This represents individual team member involvement in industry organisations.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Engine Sport: Engine Sport provides sports marketing, sponsorship strategy, and partnership consulting to brands and rights holders in EMEA. Comparable to Honoco's sports-focused partnership and audience strategy services, with geographic complementarity in UK/Europe.
• Nielsen Sports: Nielsen Sports (formerly Repucom) is the global leader in sports sponsorship research, valuation, and consulting. Directly comparable to Honoco as both provide data-driven sponsorship measurement and partnership valuation services to rights owners and brands.
• Two Circles: Two Circles is a sports data and analytics firm helping rights holders grow revenue through fan data, partnership strategy, and measurement. Directly comparable to Honoco's sports-focused partnership strategy and audience insights offerings.
• Gemba Group: Gemba Group is a sports and entertainment strategy consultancy offering insights, strategy, and measurement to sports rights holders and brands. Directly comparable as Honoco's Commercial Strategy Director Sean Jones previously worked at Gemba, indicating operational and service-line overlap.
• MKTG (Dentsu): MKTG is a sports and lifestyle marketing agency under Dentsu, offering partnership strategy, sponsorship consulting, and activation services. Directly comparable to Honoco's strategic partnership advisory services for corporate brands and rights owners.
• Sportfive: Sportfive is a global sports marketing agency managing rights sales, partnership brokering, and sponsorship strategy. Comparable to Honoco's rights valuation and partnership strategy work, though operating at much larger scale globally.
• IEG (Wasserman): IEG, now part of Wasserman, is a leading sponsorship advisory firm providing strategy, valuation, and research to brands and rights holders. Directly comparable to Honoco's partnership strategy and rights valuation services in the sports sponsorship market.
• Octagon: Octagon is a global sports and entertainment marketing agency offering partnership strategy, athlete management, and brand consulting. Directly comparable to Honoco as both serve corporate brands and sports rights owners on partnership strategy and activation.
• SponsorUnited: SponsorUnited provides sponsorship analytics, valuation, and partnership intelligence for brands and rights holders. Comparable to Honoco's research-driven partnership valuation and measurement offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Deloitte (Sports Business Group): Deloitte's Sports Business Group provides commercial advisory, partnership strategy, and valuation services to sports organisations globally. A broader incumbent that competes with Honoco on larger partnership advisory engagements in the same market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/honoco

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Honoco