Brandwave

Forest & Bird vs Red Cross NZ:Which is more popular?

In September 2026, Red Cross NZ had more branded searches than Forest & Bird among national charities in New Zealand. Red Cross NZ had about 7,770 branded searches, while Forest & Bird had 3,600. Red Cross NZ made up 9.6% of all national charity searches we track, and Forest & Bird accounted for 4.4%. When we asked ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews about national charities, Forest & Bird appeared in three of the five answers and Red Cross NZ in two. Red Cross NZ was mentioned before Forest & Bird in two out of three answers.

Among national charities in New Zealand in September 2026

Who do people search for more?

Red Cross NZ, about 2 searches for every 1 for Forest & Bird

Red Cross NZ 7.8K searchesForest & Bird 3.6K searches

Who does AI mention more?

Forest & Bird, mentioned in 3 of 5 answers, Red Cross NZ in 2

Forest & Bird in 3 of 5Red Cross NZ in 2 of 5

Who does AI recommend more?

Red Cross NZ, named ahead of Forest & Bird in 2 of 3 answers

Red Cross NZ first in 2Forest & Bird first in 1

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Top national charities in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Forest & Bird was mentioned in three out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Red Cross NZ was mentioned in two out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Red Cross NZ was listed before Forest & Bird in two out of three answers.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

  1. Red Cross NZ1st
  2. Forest & Bird2nd
  3. Cancer Society NZ3rd
  4. Salvation Army NZ4th
  5. SPCA5th
  6. World Vision NZ–
  7. Hospice NZ–
  8. Starship Foundation–

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

  • Salvation Army NZ3 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Forest & Bird3 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Red Cross NZ2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Cancer Society NZ2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • SPCA1 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • World Vision NZ0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Hospice NZ0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Starship Foundation0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers

See every answer about national charities

5 answers

Not named in any answer:

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in New Zealand on October 19, 2026.

Is Forest & Bird or Red Cross NZ more popular in search?

This chart shows how often people search Google for Forest & Bird and Red Cross NZ by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all nine national charities we track, month by month, from searches in New Zealand.

Forest & Bird and Red Cross NZ among national charities in New Zealand, by month

Share of searches by month for Red Cross NZ, Forest & Bird. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of searches table
MonthSPCASalvation Army NZRed Cross NZForest & BirdWorld Vision NZHospice NZCancer Society NZStarship Foundation
Oct 202542.8%35.4%10.1%2.6%3.2%2.7%2.1%0.98%
Nov 202542.8%35.5%10%2.6%3.2%2.7%2.1%1.1%
Dec 202537.9%46.1%7.1%1.9%2.5%2.3%1.3%0.88%
Jan 202641.1%40.8%9.1%1.7%2.1%2.8%1.7%0.79%
Feb 202636.8%42.6%9.8%1.8%3.3%2.5%2.2%1%
Mar 202642.3%34.7%9.7%2.6%4.3%2.7%2.6%1.1%
Apr 202646.6%32.7%8.7%1.9%4.2%3%1.9%0.9%
May 202645.9%31.4%8.8%2.2%5.2%3%2.2%1.2%
Jun 202642.9%29.2%8.8%5.9%8%2.4%1.8%1%
Jul 202650%28.8%9.7%2.5%3.4%2.7%2.1%0.95%
Aug 202648.3%28.1%10%2.3%4%2.7%3.6%0.94%
Sep 202647.9%28%9.6%4.4%3.9%2.8%2.4%0.91%

How has the Forest & Bird and Red Cross NZ comparison changed over the last 12 months?

3 findings

How did search popularity change for New Zealand national charities in September 2026?

2 changes

  1. In September 2026, Forest & Bird overtook World Vision NZ and 2 others to rank 4th among national charities in New Zealand, with 4.4% of the searches.

  2. Estimated monthly branded searches for Red Cross NZ in New Zealand fell 15.4% over 12 measured months, from 9.2K to 7.8K in September 2026.

How are branded searches counted?

14 search terms

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Forest & Bird’s and Red Cross NZ’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.

Forest & Bird

2 branded search terms

  • forest & bird
  • forest and bird

Red Cross NZ

12 branded search terms

  • red cross
  • red cross donations nz
  • red cross motueka
  • red cross mount maunganui
  • red cross nz
  • red cross nz donate
  • red cross onehunga
  • red cross palmerston north
  • red cross timaru
  • red cross volunteer nz
  • red cross whangarei
  • redcrossnz

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

Other head-to-heads among national charities

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