--- title: "Gentle Touch Funeral Services vs Howard & Gannon: Which is more popular in New Zealand?" description: "Is Gentle Touch Funeral Services or Howard & Gannon more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Hawkes Bay funeral directors set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/gentle-touch-funeral-services-vs-howard-and-gannon" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Gentle Touch Funeral Services vs Howard & Gannon: Which is more popular in New Zealand? Is Gentle Touch Funeral Services or Howard & Gannon more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Hawkes Bay funeral directors set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Gentle Touch Funeral Services and Howard & Gannon - **Competitive set**: Hawkes Bay funeral directors - **Market**: New Zealand - **Month measured**: Oct 2026 - **Gentle Touch Funeral Services Share of Search**: 0.88% - **Howard & Gannon Share of Search**: 6.2% ## Is Gentle Touch Funeral Services or Howard & Gannon more popular in search? - In October 2026, Howard & Gannon had more branded searches than Gentle Touch Funeral Services among hawkes Bay funeral directors in New Zealand. Howard & Gannon had about 70 branded searches, while Gentle Touch Funeral Services had 10. Howard & Gannon made up 6.2% of all hawkes Bay funeral director searches we track, and Gentle Touch Funeral Services accounted for 0.88%. - Howard & Gannon was ahead of Gentle Touch Funeral Services in every measured month of the 12 months ending October 2026. - Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Gentle Touch Funeral Services’ share of searches among hawkes Bay funeral directors in New Zealand moved from 0.92% to 0.88%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 10. - Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Howard & Gannon’s share of searches among hawkes Bay funeral directors in New Zealand moved from 8.3% to 6.2%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 90 to 70. ## Top hawkes Bay funeral directors in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions, Gentle Touch Funeral Services appeared in all three answers. Howard & Gannon was mentioned in two out of three: in two of the three ChatGPT answers. Gentle Touch Funeral Services was listed before Howard & Gannon in every answer. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Gentle Touch Funeral Services | 1st | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | Terry Longley & Sons Funeral Services | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | Beth Shan | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 3 | | Howard & Gannon | 4th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 3 | | Dunstalls | 5th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 3 | | Terry Longley & Son | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 | ## Every AI answer about hawkes Bay funeral directors - Asked ChatGPT "Which Hawkes Bay funeral director should I hire in Hawke's Bay Region, New Zealand?": 1. Gentle Touch Funeral Services, 2. Terry Longley & Sons Funeral Services, 3. Beth Shan - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best Hawkes Bay funeral directors in Hawke's Bay Region, New Zealand?": 1. Beth Shan, 2. Gentle Touch Funeral Services, 3. Terry Longley & Sons Funeral Services, 4. Howard & Gannon, 5. Dunstalls - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best Hawkes Bay funeral director in Hawke's Bay Region, New Zealand for a family funeral?": 1. Terry Longley & Sons Funeral Services, 2. Gentle Touch Funeral Services, 3. Howard & Gannon Not named in any answer: Terry Longley & Son. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in New Zealand on October 21, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for New Zealand hawkes Bay funeral directors in October 2026? - In October 2026, Howard & Gannon lost share of searches among hawkes Bay funeral directors in New Zealand, from 9.1% to 6.2%. - In October 2026, Gentle Touch Funeral Services lost share of searches among hawkes Bay funeral directors in New Zealand, from 2.5% to 0.88%. ## How has branded search for Gentle Touch Funeral Services and Howard & Gannon changed in New Zealand over the last 12 months? | Month | Gentle Touch Funeral Services estimated searches | Gentle Touch Funeral Services Share of Search | Gentle Touch Funeral Services rank | Howard & Gannon estimated searches | Howard & Gannon Share of Search | Howard & Gannon rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Nov 2025 | 10 | 0.92% | 5 | 90 | 8.3% | 3 | | Dec 2025 | 10 | 0.96% | 5 | 70 | 6.7% | 3 | | Jan 2026 | 10 | 0.68% | 5 | 90 | 6.2% | 3 | | Feb 2026 | 10 | 0.73% | 5 | 70 | 5.1% | 3 | | Mar 2026 | 10 | 0.83% | 5 | 110 | 9.1% | 3 | | Apr 2026 | 50 | 3.8% | 4 | 50 | 3.8% | 5 | | May 2026 | 30 | 2.5% | 5 | 50 | 4.2% | 4 | | Jun 2026 | 20 | 1.7% | 5 | 70 | 5.8% | 4 | | Jul 2026 | 20 | 1.4% | 5 | 70 | 5% | 4 | | Aug 2026 | 20 | 1.4% | 5 | 140 | 9.7% | 3 | | Sep 2026 | 30 | 2.5% | 4 | 110 | 9.1% | 3 | | Oct 2026 | 10 | 0.88% | 5 | 70 | 6.2% | 3 | ## How are Gentle Touch Funeral Services’ and Howard & Gannon’s branded searches counted? Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Gentle Touch Funeral Services’ and Howard & Gannon’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. - **Gentle Touch Funeral Services**: Measured on the search term “gentle touch funeral services”. - **Howard & Gannon**: Measured on the search term “howard and gannon”. - [Gentle Touch Funeral Services profile](/demand/nz/brands/gentle-touch-funeral-services) - [Howard & Gannon profile](/demand/nz/brands/howard-and-gannon) - [All hawkes Bay funeral directors in New Zealand](/demand/nz/locations/hawke-s-bay-region/funeral-directors): The set both shares are measured inside, 6 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Gentle Touch Funeral Services or Howard & Gannon more popular in search? In October 2026, Howard & Gannon had more branded searches than Gentle Touch Funeral Services among hawkes Bay funeral directors in New Zealand. Howard & Gannon had about 70 branded searches, while Gentle Touch Funeral Services had 10. Howard & Gannon made up 6.2% of all hawkes Bay funeral director searches we track, and Gentle Touch Funeral Services accounted for 0.88%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Gentle Touch Funeral Services vs Howard & Gannon: Which is more popular in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/gentle-touch-funeral-services-vs-howard-and-gannon This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/gentle-touch-funeral-services-vs-howard-and-gannon. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.