PRINZ Awards Case Studies 'best of' 2015
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PRINZ Awards Case Studies ‘best of’ 2015
CORPORATE PUBLIC RELATIONS
What’s in a name? – From Telecom to Spark,
rebranding one of New Zealand’s best known businesses
Richard Llewellyn, Andrew Pirie, Lucy Fullarton, Conor Roberts,
Vicky Gray, Sam Durbin, Todd Parker, Courtney Bennett:
Spark New Zealand
On 21 February 2014, Telecom announced it planned to change its name to Spark New Zealand.
On 8 August 2014, the change was made. One of the biggest rebrands in New Zealand’s history,
it marked the culmination of a massive integrated public relations and marketing communications
programme involving thousands of people and dozens of interconnected activities and initiatives.
It provided a solid foundation for the new Spark New Zealand to pursue its ambition to become a
winning business, inspired by customers to unleash the potential in all New Zealanders.
Background Preliminary research
Telecom was associated with home phones, Spot the Significant qualitative and quantitative research, including
dog, and the early development of internet and mobile targeted focus groups, highlighted legacy perceptions
services. Since Telecom became our name in 1987, the of the Telecom brand and reinforced the need for change.
likes of fibre, video calling, smartphones, internet TV, We looked at the characteristics of successful
Cloud, big data, mobility, social media and the ubiquity rebrands elsewhere. In particular, we focused on
of the internet have transformed our lives. We needed telecommunications rebrands such as Orange, Sprint,
to change to be more relevant to customers. O2, and BT. Closer to home, we learnt from the
In late 2013, we started planning to move beyond legacy experiences of Shell rebranding to Z Energy and the
brand perceptions. A new name, Spark New Zealand, ANZ merger with the National Bank. We conducted
was approved in principle by the Board of Directors, desktop analysis, as well as spoke with peers. Our
with a decision to unveil it at the company’s half year research identified the following seven factors as key
financial results announcement on 21 February 2014. determinants of a successful rebrand:
The corporate relations team conceptualised, 1. Customers determine your success
orchestrated and executed a comprehensive, integrated 2. Big change occurs on multiple levels
and multifaceted public relations rebrand campaign to
engage with the hearts and minds of New Zealanders. 3. Staff need to feel, and be, part of the change
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CORPORATE PUBLIC RELATIONS
4. Giving people plenty of notice about big Messages Implementation/tactics
change helps draw negativity out
The core key messages consistent across the The total cost of the entire rebrand was
5. Must back it up with real substance programme were: approximately $20 million.
6. Show early indicators of success »» In the last 27 years our business has The best way to describe the programme is
7. Capitalise on the energy created changed dramatically to outline the key initiatives in chronological
»» We’re now into a whole raft of new order:
Objectives technologies…cloud, data centres, 21 February 2014 – Announced our intention
The business goal was to accelerate the internet TV, etc. to change name. It generated massive
transformation of the company, outline »» We’ve innovated with public WiFi zones, reaction, managed by stakeholder relations
the enormous change that had occurred Spotify, Ultra Fibre and more. and a social media war-room.
and symbolise our intent to be the leading »» We’ve already changed enormously over 21 February 2014 – Announced an intention
provider of digital services in New Zealand. the last 18 months. to launch a new internet TV business,
Our measurable communications objectives providing an immediate proof point of our
»» We’ve listened to our customers, intention to move into new types of services
for the period between February and August improved services and lowered our
2014 were to: prices dramatically. 21 February 2014 – Launched a multi-faceted
1. Create more than 3 new channels to programme called Spark Should, enabling
»» We are committed to listening and two-way conversations with customers on
make it easier for New Zealanders to improving in the areas that matter
engage with us, and grow the number of what Spark ‘should start’ or ‘should stop’.
to customers.
New Zealanders willing to do so. 28 February 2014 – Partnered with music
»» ‘Telecom’ is a word most New Zealanders streaming service Spotify, with a supporting
2. Drive significant and measurable associate with ‘old world’ telco
improvement in positive public sentiment PR campaign featuring NZ singers performing
and landlines. in Auckland centres.
between the first announcement and the
»» ‘Spark’ is a word with life and energy that February – June 2014 – an internal
change of name.
links to the creativity of New Zealanders. communications programme including
3. Inform at least 40 potential media
»» The reality is many New Zealanders think customer-inspired workshops, email and
influencers ahead of Spark Day in order
Telecom is not relevant. Spark is a new start. intranet feedback channels, videos, and
to positively influence the tone of their
commentary. »» We’re determined to deliver for our e-learning.
customers and for the future of Mid-June 2014 – Launched www.
4. Inspire positive engagement for our
New Zealand sparkiscoming.co.nz website to explain
thousands of staff through a series of
activities with a target of more than 80% »» For investors: the rebrand is an important publicly what Spark New Zealand will be
attendance and positive engagement. investment in our future all about.
5. Generate positive conversation about 1 July 2014 – Spark ‘launch day’ announced
Spark in social channels around launch Strategy as 8 August 2014 – until then, we had only
day achieving at least 100,000 views, indicated the launch would be sometime in
We had a clear change game-plan:
likes, comments and shares. the middle of the year.
»» Announce the new name in advance and
6. Influence positive coverage on the 1 July 2014 – A special 27 day countdown of
start laying groundwork for change (and
transformation story achieving at least 10 video interviews with employees who began
also reduce the risk of a leak).
positive print, radio and TV news stories at at the company in each of the 27 years
»» Allow customers to share their views/ Telecom was in existence.
launch and in the days following. vent – given the nature of the old Telecom
July 2014 – A ‘Spark Time Capsule’ featuring
brand we expected a strong reaction, so
Audiences the likes of Rod Drury and Sir Ray Avery and
we needed to be ‘upfront and front up’
others talking about technology.
There were a number of key target from day one.
audiences: Mid-July 2014 – Launched new social media
»» Give it time to soak in – and make a real
pages under the pending Spark brands to
1. Staff – it was critical our people became effort to listen and respond appropriately.
begin building our new audiences and a new
advocates of the change. »» Acknowledge our heritage. social brand.
2. Customers – customers needed to support »» Start with an internal focus, then broaden July 2014 – Staff brand immersion sessions
and respond positively. externally to build awareness and support, held across NZ to deliver the key messages,
3. Influencers – influencers needed to be being conscious it’s not what we say it’s with very high engagement and message
well-informed on the change. what they hear that matters. retention.
4. New Zealand public – we wanted »» Underpin the change with real substance Early August 2014 – created PR stories on
potential customers to consider us, to show how we are changing (rather the logistical side of the changeover, so these
particularly where Telecom had been than telling how we are changing). stories (for example signage changes) didn’t
weakest (under 35’s, Auckland region, »» Build up anticipation for Spark Day (8 impact on Spark Day
small business). August). 4 and 7 August – two key stakeholder
5. New Zealand media – both traditional »» Be prepared for the worst – plan cocktail events held with briefing material
and non-traditional media needed to be extensively for crisis scenarios and the provided to all attendees, supported by a
well informed. inevitable logistical challenges a change targeted outreach to other potential media
6. Financial analysts – analysts needed to on this scale produces. commentators
understand the investment rationale. »» Pay particular emphasis on the tone 7 August – completed crisis communications
of communications – to show Spark planning in the event of any technical glitches
New Zealand would be a very different in the thousands of systems needing a
organisation to the old Telecom. name change.
»» Execute relentlessly.
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CORPORATE PUBLIC RELATIONS
8 August – a 7am rallying call to our »» Spark is Coming – new external website Objective 4
people from Simon Moutter with a video developed with relevant video and written »» Strong engagement in brand immersion
delivered via smartphone to all our people content. The website launched in May sessions with 79% attendance and a 92%
in New Zealand, Australia and the Philippines and steadily increased in visibility, peaking positive reaction.
8 August – a strong paid media push – with at 470,000 page views during Spark
launch week. »» Significant improvement in Organisational
commercials airing on TV One, TV3 and TV2, Health Index for 2014 compared to 2013,
and full-page print media ads in national »» New Spark social media handles created moving from the bottom 13% of 1,300
newspapers NZ Herald, Dominion Post, the for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, companies worldwide, to just above 50%.
Press, Otago Daily Times, Waikato Times Snapchat, with strong growth in users
and National Business Review. across all (further details later in this »» Spark Day One digital message and video
award entry). was watched by 75% of all staff.
8 August – more than 1,300 Spark
Celebration Boxes delivered to staff in »» New Spark.co.nz consumer website »» The Spark is Coming intranet site
100 locations across New Zealand and is now the number one industry was visited 7,208 times in the weeks
the Philippines, to inspire our people on website with more than 620k monthly leading up.
launch day. unique visitors. »» The 27 year countdown series of videos
8 August – ‘Spark Thanks’ recognised existing »» Existing communications channels were watched over 56,000 times in total,
customers with a rewards programme – online, phone, email, and investor – peaking at 3,916 views and averaged
featuring an ‘Automatic-Thanks-Machine’ well employed to respond to thousands 1,500 views.
(ATM), which travelled the country dishing of enquiries and comments about »» 1,300 Kiwiana themed celebration
out prizes. the rebrand. packs sent to staff, with over 200
8 August – A new crowd-funding initiative, Objective 2 photos of celebrations entered in
Spark My Potential, supported financially internal competition.
»» UMR brand research showed by August,
by Spark New Zealand to encourage support 87% of the public was aware Telecom »» An internal poll on the success of the
for talented New Zealanders. was changing its name, and of that rebrand showed 82% of staff rating the
group, 90% knew it was changing success of the name change as 8 or higher
Creativity OR Problem solving to Spark. on a scale of 1–10.
Given our repositioning as a digital services »» Analysis of social media showed reaction Objective 5
company, strong social media and online to our rebrand announcement in Feb »» Social media sentiment on 21 February
engagement was going to be a key tool for 2014 was 90% negative. On August 8 2014 was 90% negative, whilst the
overcoming challenges. the sentiment was 75% positive. sentiment on 8 August 2014 was
On February 21, Spark/Telecom was the »» Net Promoter Score measures jumped 75% positive.
number one NZ trending topic on social 13% points from March 2014 to August »» The launch day ATM video achieved over
media, and the level of media commentary 2014. 100,000 views on YouTube and over
was enormous. The early risk to the rebrand »» Research showing customer preference 44,000 views on Facebook in the first
was significant, so we created a social media scores up across the board – with mobile 48 hours. By end of the campaign it had
‘war-room’ of over 15 staff responding to consideration up 18 points in Auckland, been watched by over 190,000 people.
thousands of comments posted on various 13 points in SME, and 19 points in »» Spark’s new Snapchat channel grew from
channels throughout the day. We continued post‑paid. 0–11,500 followers in the week following
the momentum with the launch of Spark launch, making it the most followed
Should as an online channel for customers »» Store visits increased 6% in first fortnight
and increased 10.2% in the half-year to Snapchat account in New Zealand. Spark
to share what they wanted to see from Spark achieved over 600,000 Snapchat story
as a company. 31 December 2014 compared to the prior
six month period. views in the week long, post-launch tour.
Faced with the challenge of how to say »» Spark’s Instagram account grew from 300
goodbye to the old Telecom brand in the »» The spark.co.nz website now has more
than 620k monthly unique visitors. Online – 3000 followers.
right way we staged a 27 day count-down
sales in the six months to 31 December »» Spark’s Facebook page added 8,152 Likes
featuring short video interviews with a
2014 grew between 9 – 12% (depending over the course of the campaign –
staff member who had started in each of
on category). a 5.7% increase.
the 27 years since the Telecom brand was
introduced, while for media we created video Objective 3 Objective 6
content of the old Telecom signs ‘leaving the »» Two stakeholder cocktail events held with 12 national print and radio media and
building’. This content was used by all major more than 200 key influencers attending, industry articles in the week leading up the
national media outlets. one held for marketing and advertising launch, focusing on the logistical challenge of
influencers, one for business influencers – the rebrand.
Results with at least 3 influencers asked for media More than 80 print, radio and network TV
Objective 1 comment subsequent to the launch. stories or discussions about the Spark rebrand
»» Social/online media war room engaged »» Briefing material provided to 12 were held on 8 August, with the scope of the
with approximately 3000 people who New Zealand university marketing rebrand, the ATM campaign and the Spark
commented across various channels on academics, with at least 2 asked for media My Potential initiative (an associated crowd-
February 21. comment subsequent to the launch. funding campaign) all getting significant
»» Targeted outreach to 15 media positive mention.
»» Spark Should – new channels for internal
and external two way communications, commentators who had critiqued the This compares favourably with the more than
with over 900 questions from customers brand change post Feb 21 2014 – while 50 print, radio and TV stories on 21 February
and 200 from staff, all answered. this did not result in any public ‘mea 2014, with more than half negative in tone,
culpas’ we did not have any repeat largely focused on the cost and logic behind
criticisms from these commentators. the decision to rebrand.
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CORPORATE PUBLIC RELATIONS
Evaluation and follow-up Regular internal surveys – in October 2014
we asked if there had been positive change in
There are several key measures Spark
the company, 71% responded favourably, up
New Zealand continues to track from a
24% since April 2014.
reputation perspective and to measure the
ongoing impact of the rebrand. Media coverage has improved significantly
in the last 12–18 months, reflected by the
Share price is an ongoing measure and
steady increase in positive media sentiment.
evaluation of how the rebrand is being
received. At February 2014 the share price The ongoing and growing Spark My Potential
was $2.37. By August 8 2014 the share price programme with the first six months of
was $2.82, and by early March 2015 (when SMP, 37 projects launched raising a total
this entry was submitted) the share price of $350,000 via crowd-funding, including
was $3.29. $120,000 of matching contributions from
Spark New Zealand.
Between 30 June and 31 December
2014, we saw strong growth with
108,000 new mobile connections (5% Acknowledgement of other
growth in a flat market) and 4,500 new communication disciplines
broadband customers. Spark New Zealand corporate relations team
We monitor customer preference (as a Spark’s various in-house marketing teams –
precursor to market share) through research Spark Digital, Spark Home Mobile & Business
quarterly, with improvement across all
Spark New Zealand rebrand project office
product categories since the rebrand.
which coordinated logistical activities
Social channels are an increasingly important
Agency partners; Sherson Willis, Touchcast,
influence on customer sentiment, with steady
Socialites, Dynamo, Saatchi Worldwide
growth in sentiment and audience numbers
Design, Interbrand, Rapp, Chillbox,
since Spark Day.
Spur, Goodfolk
UMR research benchmarks favourability
against industry competitors and well-
known New Zealand companies, with
Spark New Zealand trending positively since
the rebrand.
Annual Ross Carmichael Singer investor
research shows improved investor confidence
in the overall Spark business strategy.
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CORPORATE PUBLIC RELATIONS
DairyNZ levy vote – demonstrating value in 2014
and beyond
Hayley Gavan, Bernie Walsh, Phillipa Adam: DairyNZ
In May 2014 DairyNZ faced a do or die moment – we needed a majority of dairy farmers to
vote in support of continuing to pay a levy used to fund our work. The average for industry-
specific levy referendums is 40 percent – we needed a turnout of at least 50 percent. As a
communications team we took up the challenge and formed a plan that would create urgency
around the need to vote and show dairy farmers the value of DairyNZ’s work. The result? During
May, 60 percent of 14,436 eligible farmers voted and 78 percent voted ‘yes’ to continue the levy.
Background Held every six years, the levy vote is required by
government legislation and collected under terms set out
In May 2014 New Zealand dairy farmers had the
in the Commodities Levies Act 1990. Once a levy order is
opportunity to vote on continuing to pay a levy to fund
in place, every farmer is required to pay the levy whether
a range of activities carried out by their industry body
they voted ‘yes’ or ‘no’, or didn’t vote at all.
DairyNZ. For the average New Zealand farm, this levy
amounts to around $5,500 each year based on their milk Under the Act, a minimum of 50 percent of voting
solids production. The levy amounted to $61 million in farmers need to support the levy for a new levy order
funding in 2013/14. to be approved by the Minister for Primary Industries.
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CORPORATE PUBLIC RELATIONS
Ticking ‘no’ in the levy vote is effectively DairyNZ staff – DairyNZ staff are very Create urgency – build momentum in
voting for no DairyNZ. For DairyNZ corporate, knowledgeable of their own projects but March and April and paint a picture of the
this is effectively a do or die vote. not always aware of the breadth of activity consequences of not voting.
undertaken across the organisation. They Arm the messengers – provide staff with clear
Preliminary research needed to be able to tell the DairyNZ value story. messages so they too can confidently pass
»» Data from an annual farmer perception Media (rural and mainstream) – DairyNZ had information on to farmers. Utilise existing
survey and an annual farmer built good media relationships over time. It relationships with media, commentators and
communications survey of 1000 farmers. was important to leverage off this and ensure stakeholders. Information about DairyNZ
the levy campaign piqued the interest of needs to be interesting, not just to farmers.
»» Four focus groups carried out in February
all media. Sharpen the message – DairyNZ undertakes
2014 which tested levy branding and
messaging. more than 150 projects each year. Our
Messages work needs to be summarised effectively to
»» Analysis of the 2008 levy vote.
»» Voting provides an important opportunity resonate with farmers.
for farmers to have their say.
Objectives Implementation/tactics
»» The more farmers who vote and who vote
Organisational objective:
yes, the stronger DairyNZ’s mandate to Media
DairyNZ’s target: 60 percent of farmers to work on behalf of farmers. »» A proactive media release plan and story
vote and 75 percent to vote yes.
»» DairyNZ has a clear strategy ensuring that pipeline was developed for external media
Communications objectives: dairy farmers continue to benefit from and all our own channels, including a
As above, but additionally we aimed to: the levy. dedicated web page. In February and
»» DairyNZ provides value to all dairy farmers March, we built awareness, in March/April
»» Increase awareness of the DairyNZ Levy
and has made a difference to their we promoted work in the regions and in
Vote 2014 (compared to initial results in
bottom line. May we created urgency around the need
focus groups which indicated awareness
to vote.
was low). »» The breadth of DairyNZ’s work is valuable,
covering all aspects of dairy farming and »» The support of media commentators was
»» Increase the awareness of DairyNZ’s lesser
every region. garnered. They were invited to DairyNZ
known areas of work among farmers,
events and provided with easy-to-digest
such as disease control and policy and »» Voting is quick and easy. material. We shared regional voter turnout
advocacy by 50 percent (based on the
figures throughout the voting period to
previous year’s farmer perception survey). Strategy drive stories and interest.
»» Increase the awareness of DairyNZ’s work Show value – encourage farmers to take »» Every media release during March, April
among media and key stakeholders – a an interest in DairyNZ’s work, see the and May had a levy vote message in it.
story will be published in every provincial value and understand the impact it has on
farming page in April and May. »» There was strong engagement with key
their business.
rural media to keep stories fresh, targeted
»» Increase the voter turnout of sharemilkers
and top of mind.
from 37 percent in 2008 to at least 50
percent in 2014. »» There were efforts to drive interest on
business and provincial farming pages
Audiences particularly on economics, future of
business, challenges and competitiveness
We needed to target our campaign to using DairyNZ experts.
particular segments of farmers.
Stakeholders
Large herd owners – they pay the highest
levies and produce more milksolids as a »» A media pack was sent to dairy industry
group (the weighted milksolids results also partners, including dairy companies and
count under the legislation). It was especially farmer groups.
important to express the dollar value of »» Organisations’ chief executives and
DairyNZ’s work to this group. spokespeople were asked to write opinion
Sharemilkers – over 4000 in number, but pieces and include information in their
generally unaware of their ability to vote on own communications. Short stories were
the levy. In the 2008 vote, the sharemilker supplied for them to distribute.
turnout was considerably lower than for »» We worked in partnership with Federated
owner-operators (37 percent vs 58 percent). Farmers’ sharemilkers section and a
We recognised an opportunity to lift sharemilking DairyNZ board member to
their vote. develop joint media releases and tailored
Farmer-led organisations and milk supply messages that focused on lifting the
companies, e.g. Federated Farmers – their sharemilkers’ vote.
support was crucial. They have their own Internal communication
communication channels and could endorse »» Levy communication resources were
the value of DairyNZ’s levy-funded activities created for our staff. An acronym,
and promote the vote. PREPARE, was used to help our people
Farmers by region – one of the key strengths answer the question ‘what do dairy
of DairyNZ is its ability to tailor and deliver farmers get for their levy’?
regionalised information and services through »» We provided ‘booster backpacks’ for staff,
regional teams on the ground. We needed to branded with the catch-phrase – ‘to levy
communicate this. 2014 and beyond’. It included a guide to
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CORPORATE PUBLIC RELATIONS
the levy and other resources to support good stories. Farmers told us that farm profit Evaluation and follow-up
and motivate staff. and scientific research were most important
»» A project debrief workshop was held
Direct-to-farmer to them. We stuck to the facts, using
and produced a report of learnings. Our
evidence to back up any value statements.
»» Regionalised monthly e-newsletters communications work stream fed into this
We supplemented this with farmer
were used as a channel to help build review process and we also conducted our
endorsements.
momentum over March, April and May. own team debrief.
We carefully planned out messages and »» We are now advising others on levy
used testimonials from farmers and Results campaigns. Dairy Australia and Beef and
stakeholders. Specific messages were The results of the vote exceeded DairyNZ’s Lamb NZ have both sought our advice
created for large herd owners. goal with 60 percent of 14,436 eligible this year.
»» Social media, including Facebook and farmers voting and 78 percent voting
»» We held a media debrief at the June 2014
Twitter was used to target groups that ‘yes’ to continue the levy. The turnout
Mystery Creek Fieldays with our senior
were likely to use online media e.g. was well above the average for industry-
staff. This resulted in video stories on-line
sharemilkers. We also enlisted supporting specific levy referendums (turnout average
about the success of the work.
organisations to use their own social according to election specialists Electionz.
com is 40 percent). In addition we lifted the »» We produced an infographic one page
networks.
sharemilkers’ voter turnout to 50 percent results flyer that was shared widely with
»» Two information guides were sent (up from 37 percent in 2008’s levy vote). This media, stakeholders and staff. Staff shared
to farmers in March and May 2014, was a record result. it on their Facebook pages and pinned it
explaining the vote and demonstrating up at desks, building staff morale.
the value of DairyNZ to dairy farmers. Four DairyNZ conducts a farmer perception survey
every year. In 2014, 1000 farmers were »» We also publicly thanked farmers for voting
key priority areas were created, based on
surveyed between May 23 and July 6. in all our media channels and publications.
earlier research into the types of messages
that best resonated with farmers. »» In response to ‘why did you not vote?’, »» DairyNZ board chairman John Luxton
only 8 percent indicated they didn’t know summed up the campaign with a
»» A ‘levy issue’ of our monthly Inside Dairy
the vote was happening. Only 9 percent comment to our communications
magazine was produced and distributed
said they didn’t know what the vote was manager. “Overall it has been a great
to farmers in March.
about. success, so well done.”
Budget
»» Unprompted farmer awareness of our »» We measured our performance by the
$14,000 (printing of information booklets for activities increased significantly in specific vote result (a record result, higher than
staff and farmers) areas we had targeted (advocacy with any previous votes) and the DairyNZ
decision-makers 11 percent, up from Farmer Perception survey, level and tone
Creativity OR Problem solving 2 percent in 2013; awareness of work of media coverage and levels of farmer
We identified two specific challenges. in promoting the industry 20 percent, engagement with our communication
up from 12 percent in 2013; research channels and contact points. In the 2014
Voter apathy and development 15 percent up from farmer communications survey, 68 percent
The corporate PR/communications part of 11 percent in 2013; disease control of farmers said they became more aware
the campaign had to build urgency and 12 percent, up from 2 percent in 2013). of our work through key channels like
motivation. At the same time we were Inside Dairy magazine (up from 47 percent
»» At the same time we maintained our
conscious that this was a democratic vote. in 2013).
general high support with farmers, with
The primary objective was to encourage 9 out of 10 farmers saying they would »» We continue to focus on evidence-
farmers to vote, and to see the value in vote to have DairyNZ continue operating. based data and regionalisation in our
continuing the levy. There was a strong focus communications, including our 2013/14
on providing sufficient information to ensure DairyNZ’s corporate media relations resulted
Annual Report.
voters could make an informed choice. in the following.
»» Our media relationships and their
The communications team ensured that top »» 168 articles mentioning DairyNZ’s levy
understanding of DairyNZ have
people in the organisation understood the vote being printed and broadcast from
strengthened.
importance of developing key messages and March until June.
expanding on them at short notice. A weekly »» A wide range of media using our
Acknowledgement of other
meeting helped cement this and update the material. The list included TV3’s 6 o’clock
wider levy campaign team. news, RadioNZ, regional metro dailies
communication disciplines
(including Dominion Post, Waikato Times, The DairyNZ communications team worked
We constantly monitored and adjusted
Christchurch Press, Otago Daily Times) alongside other areas of the business to
our messages and activities to keep the
and community newspapers. deliver an integrated levy vote campaign.
media momentum right to the end of the
voting period. »» We reached every region from the A project manager, Jodi Tong, worked
Northland Advocate to the Southland with our Senior Leadership Team to lead
Too much information the campaign, with an above the line
Times.
We had a lot to say and we had to branded advertising campaign in print and
»» Rural publications featured the levy vote
capture the attention of a busy and varied broadcast media, complementing our team’s
prominently. A front page of Dairy News
constituency of voters. DairyNZ’s work communications and public relations strategy.
was dedicated to the vote.
covers everything from scientific research We were also ably assisted by our digital and
to investing in disease control, policy and Our internal communications was also
design team, including Lisa Ballantyne (senior
advocacy and water quality. Nailing the successful.
graphic designer), Monica Pooley (graphic
messages and tailoring to our different »» Staff were comfortable facing questions designer), David Borgioli-Jones (digital
regions and audiences took time and effort. when tasked with calling all farmers specialist), Jo Gisborne (digital specialist),
The solution was to use research to help to remind them of the vote. Around Laura Nola (administrator).
develop our messages and work closely with 90 percent of staff called farmers and
All DairyNZ staff participated in engagement
media to give them what they needed for answered their questions.
to promote voting directly with farmers.
8
GOVERNMENT OR QUASI GOVERNMENT PUBLIC RELATIONS
Gig-borne: The city that dared to dream
Kerry Donovan, Nicola Chrisp: ExpressPR
Like David vs. Goliath, Gigatown was an epic battle of community spirit vs. population size.
50 NZ towns, one prize: The fastest internet in the Southern Hemisphere. Gisborne struggled
from the outset. There was little understanding of ultra-fast broadband (UFB) and many
struggled with the digital accessibility and proficiency required to get involved. ExpressPR’s
community-driven campaign united the entire community, daring them to dream big. Through
army-style infiltration, a crash course in social media and tireless effort, Gisborne changed its
paradigm. We came second to a city four times our size, by just 0.2%.
Background Preliminary research
Gigatown, a year-long Chorus competition, saw 50 Research objectives
towns compete for one-gigabit-per-second internet and »» Identify the best way to engage people in
$700,000. Town-specific hashtags earned points through the competition.
seven social media platforms.
»» Kick-start engagement, involving key influencers from
The Gisborne District Council (GDC) managed the beginning.
Gisborne’s campaign, supported by Eastland Community
Trust (ECT). With the lowest internet access in NZ »» Research questions
and high deprivation statistics, Gisborne was ready »» Why is our community unengaged?
for transformation. »» What community sectors would benefit from UFB
Winning Gigatown was the goal. But, the real prize and how?
would be widespread community engagement, »» What platforms should we focus on?
improved digital literacy and Gisborne’s compelling story
Primary research
told globally.
Client briefings, interviews and focus groups
Six months in and 11th place, Gisborne looked out of the
encompassing stakeholders such as iwi, businesses,
race. Enter ExpressPR – executing a strategy to transform
schools, health, government, IT sector and
a town of disbelievers into an undeniable force.
wider community.
9
GOVERNMENT OR QUASI GOVERNMENT PUBLIC RELATIONS
Secondary research 2. Increase active engagement to 40% of Messages
Desktop research confirmed Gisborne’s high Gisborne’s population by November 18,
Key messages involved:
deprivation statistics, a compelling story 2014.
»» How: Competition information and
and Gisborne’s competitive advantage. Measurability:
participation instruction.
Highest users of social media were women, »» Facebook likes achieve 1000% growth.
18–44 yrs. »» Why: Social and economic benefits.
»» Five Facebook posts daily receive more
Research found two main engagement »» Why Gisborne: Vote for Gisborne.
than 150 comments.
barriers: Overarching message
»» 100 people tweet 100 times daily.
»» Lack of competition and UFB “Gigatown Gisborne will be a leading digital
understanding. »» 1500 people participated in the monthly
hub, driving global connectivity, economic
quiz.
»» Low digital proficiency and accessibility. and social development and world class
»» The project recruits more than 200 education, changing how our community
volunteers. lives, works and plays.”
Objectives
»» 10 community-driven events, projects Key message one: “Getting involved is easy!”
Winning Gigatown was the ultimate or campaigns executed.
objective, supporting: 1. Register at www.gigatown.co.nz.
»» 150 new Twitter registrations.
»» GDC in “leading and supporting 2. Complete the quiz. Go to www.gigatown.
the social, cultural, economic and co.nz/take-the-quiz.
environmental development of [its] Audiences
3. 10@10. Take 10 minutes at 10am to post
communities” and; The town with the loudest voice wins, #gigatowngis on Facebook, Twitter or
»» ECT in “creating a positive, prosperous therefore, target audiences were those that: Instagram.
and attractive community.” »» encapsulated the most people; Key message two: “Business done better.”
Project objectives: »» were motivated by fast, affordable internet; »» Winning will drive business growth and
1. Increase Gisborne’s digital proficiency by »» and were able to participate. development, and create new, higher
November 18, 2014. These included: paying jobs.
Measurability: Local businesses: Community employers with Key message three: “Maximising potential.”
»» 500 people social media trained. large databases. Businesses would benefit »» Winning will maximise our people’s
»» One proficiency focused initiative from efficiency and productivity gains, cloud potential. It will transform our education
implemented. access and improved communications. system, improving digital accessibility
Entrepreneurs: Winning would support and literacy.
2. Increase social media participative
democracy by November 2014. start-ups and innovation, and drive Key message four: “Bringing people together.”
economic development – with entrepreneurs »» Winning will unite our community,
Measurability: maximising Gisborne’s work-life balance.
connect us with whanau globally and
»» Gigatown Facebook community posts Community influencers: Widespread spotlight Gisborne on the world stage.
receive over 200 comments. engagement depended on passionate
Gisborne also had to convince Chorus, judges
»» GDC Facebook page grows 25% by community leaders seeing value in winning
and New Zealand that it should be Gigatown.
November 2014. and actively enlisting support.
Key external messages:
3. Showcase Gisborne as a great place to Education providers: Schools were major
live, throughout the competition. competition beneficiaries and large »» We are Gig-borne.
Measurability: community communicators. UFB would »» Gisborne is the best platform to showcase
transform education accessibility, delivery UFB’s transformative power.
»» Gisborne’s digital strategy video receives
and communication. »» Gisborne is on the edge. Paradigms
1000 hits.
Health providers: Another large employer, innovate from the edge, ideas are born
»» Gisborne’s story attracts national media
health and social service providers would on the edge, disruption comes from
coverage at least once.
benefit from reduced service delivery costs, the edge.
»» Gisborne attracts one new investor as a improved access to tools, services and shared »» Gisborne is the place talent chooses to live.
result of Gigatown. patient data.
»» Gisborne has the funding, drive and
PR objectives: Iwi: Maori represents 50% of Gisborne’s capacity to incite change.
1. Increase awareness of the competition population. The two main iwi had large
networks fundamental to winning. UFB »» Gisborne will share its story with the world.
and UFB benefits to 90% of the
community by November 2014. would improve iwi standards of living and
Measurability:
global whanau connectivity. Strategy
Local government: Potential Gigatown One thing was clear. One person could not
»» Minimum 500 Gisborne businesses
deliverer and large employer, its outreach do this alone. Winning would require a mass
are contacted.
programmes were fundamental to community-wide effort.
»» 90% of IT professionals, education and project communication. Gisborne was in 11th place, winning was
health providers are approached.
IT Sector: Winning Gigatown would catapult no longer about building momentum, but
»» Monthly communication with GDC growth in the IT sector. building it faster than the competition, which
employees. had a six month head start.
Mothers aged 18–44: The largest habitual
»» Public meetings attract 50–100 social media users and key communicators, First place seemed an almost impossible task.
people each. mothers would be the biggest converters Gisborne had to systematically and patiently
»» Weekly local media engagement. of others. knock off the competition, one by one.
10GOVERNMENT OR QUASI GOVERNMENT PUBLIC RELATIONS
There were two components to the strategy. Social Media Solution:”Twitter Tuesday” and
1. Secure a large, sustainable network of High frequency social media tactics grew daily “Facebook Friday.”
people to lead and inspire the community. engagement. Topics included: Informal, peer-led training was held weekly
2. Provide the tools and resources for them »» Competition rules and UFB benefits. with beer and pizza, or coffee and morning
to recruit mass community engagement. tea. Community facilitated, they promoted
»» Dare to dream – what could Gisborne self education and fostered a supportive
There were 10 steps on the ladder, ten towns look like with UFB? Giga-family.
that had to surrender by force, military »» Games and competitions.
style. All communications focused on the
immediate competitor, breaking the massive Motivational tactics: Results
climb into achievable targets. »» Transparency: Leader boards and graphs Gisborne came second, losing to Dunedin
The PR strategy was simple: were posted online, driving ownership by 0.2%. Judges voted Gisborne’s digital
and momentum. strategy best. Winners regardless, Gisborne’s
»» Tell Gisborne’s compelling story, illustrating engaged community is committed to digital
the need for UFB. »» Gig-Shed: Army HQ, named because all
good innovation comes from a kiwi shed, excellence, with the world spotlight on its
»» Communicate clear vision and goals, was a supportive space manned 24/7 by digital journey.
sharing project ownership and soldiers who cheered, hugged, laughed Project objectives:
empowering the community. and cried at every 0.1% increase. Increase digital proficiency by November 18,
»» Don’t ask, inspire people to get involved. »» Celebrating success: Big or small, 2014.
»» Work with supporters in the way they are achievement was celebrated through »» Over 500 twitter registrations, 19,000
able. Any contribution is valued. events, and printed and social media. email registrations.
»» Represent Gisborne with integrity and Budget: »» Over 500 attended training
brand consistency. To Finale: (May–Sep 14): $18.8k »» Mind Lab’s digital teacher academy
»» Celebrate success, big or small. Finale: (Sep–Nov 14): $77.5k established.
»» Say thank you, sincerely and Increase social media participative democracy
wherever possible. Creativity OR Problem solving by November 2014.
Gisborne’s deprivation statistics and late kick- »» Gigatown Facebook posts achieved 2–5k
Implementation/tactics start meant it had to get creative. Dunedin comments each.
The Giga-Army was born. Its mission: Become was a formidable opponent, four times »» GDC Facebook followers doubled, now
an unstoppable force. Gisborne’s population with big budgets and one of the highest followed council pages
The challenge was maintaining high levels of university networks. in New Zealand.
engagement. Multiplication was crucial. A Examples of creative problem solving »» Showcase Gisborne as a great place to
fun, military campaign was embraced whole- Problem: No signage budget. live, throughout the competition.
heartedly, involving:
Solution: “Paint the town Giga.” »» Gisborne’s digital strategy video received
Marshalls: The steering committee, to which 7386 plays.
the major general reported. Hundreds of soldiers met in camouflage,
armed with art supplies and homemade signs »» Gisborne received the most national
Major General: Project manager, responsible to “Paint the town Giga”, led by Gisborne’s coverage including two TV appearances.
for strategy and stakeholder management. mayor. Retailers and GDC pre-approved »» Mind Lab invested technology and
Colonels: Ambassadors and activators – the town’s overnight transformation teaching scholarships.
report to the major general. including replacing “Gisborne” signs with
“Gig‑Borne”. »» Chorus have promised local investment.
Platoons: A drafted organisation. Platoons
represented all community sectors. Problem: Gisborne’s small in comparison Gisborne exceeded its expectations, punching
population size. well above its weight with engagement far
Captains: Platoon representatives responsible greater than its population size.
for activating soldiers, supported by other Solution: The “Hundy Club.”
captains, reporting to the major general. PR Objectives:
Social media badges were awarded to
Soldiers: Platoon members who earn points soldiers tweeting 100, 200 and 500 times Increase awareness of the competition and
as instructed by their captain. daily. Recipients wore their badge as their UFB benefits among 90% of the community
profile picture. by November 18, 2014.
Ammunition
Problem: Low internet accessibility. »» Almost 100% of community sectors
The Giga-Army needed ammunition. reached by the Giga-Army.
This included: Solution One: “10@10.”
»» Engagement unlike anything before.
»» A website. Businesses permitted employees to use social Gisborne shut down in the final days with
»» Printed marketing collateral and digital media for 10 minutes at 10am using work community-wide focus.
templates. time and technology. In its peak, hours were
donated with factories halting production, »» Over $15,000 (cash and in kind) donated
»» 4G tablets. retailers closing, even Tairāwhiti District by the community.
Media Health and GDC staff tweeted. »» An estimated 1000 people celebrated
The Gisborne Herald, renamed The Gig-Borne Solution Two: “The Gig-Shed.” making the finale at the Gig-Shed. The
Herald, regularly printed media releases, grand finale was live streamed with
Open 24/7, The Gig-Shed provided access to thousands watching.
often front page. Gisborne received the most technology, internet and training.
national media coverage. »» Over $100,000 advertising was donated
Problem: Poor digital literacy and social by The Gig-Borne Herald.
media knowledge.
11GOVERNMENT OR QUASI GOVERNMENT PUBLIC RELATIONS
»» The Gig-Shed was manned 24/7 by Success of social media tactics was analysed Acknowledgement of other
over 200 soldiers, constantly hosting using this real time information and adjusted communication disciplines
20–100 people. accordingly to maximise engagement,
The Gigatown Gisborne campaign was
Increase engagement to 40% of Gisborne’s making every point count. It also became
a people management and community
population by November 18, 2014. the benchmark for future GDC social media
engagement programme build around
engagement tactics.
»» Gigatown Gisborne Facebook grew networking, positive media coverage,
from 1200 – 13,000, achieving 491% Physical community engagement effective use of social media (the foundation
growth in month one, the largest regional The project was evaluated by: of the entire competition) and providing the
Facebook page. »» Attendance at events, training and Giga-Army with the tools they needed enlist
»» Facebook posts achieved 40–60,000 reach meetings. support.
(Gisborne’s population – 36,000). Posts »» Amount of donated media coverage. Tools included a website, and limited printed
generated up to 5,000 link clicks and material such as flyers, stickers, posters
2,000–5,000 comments each. »» Gig-Shed foot traffic. and t-shirts, designed by ExpressPR. The
»» 100–500 people posted 100–1000 »» Number of platoons drafted. Giga-Army was often seen at public events,
tweets daily. What happens next? armed with tablets to recruit volunteers and
registrations.
»» 1500–3000 quiz entries, monthly. The community is still fired up, engaged and
working to execute its Plan for Gig Success. There was no newspaper spend, however
»» Over 50 community-driven events. The Gisborne Herald became heavily
The original marshals have been joined by
»» Approximately 500 new Twitter other community leaders and meet monthly engaged and donated over $100,000 in
registrations. to govern the implementation of key digital free advertising and support with regular
initiatives. The project, now labelled the media updates.
Evaluation and follow-up Digital Strategy, has been formally adopted Many businesses used tools developed by
Measuring success was easy, through real by Activate Tairāwhiti (Gisborne’s economic ExpressPR for the campaign to reach out to
time monitoring of social media hashtags. development agency) and a digital strategy their networks, including electronic direct
One correctly used hashtag earned the manager has been employed. mail templates and e-signatures.
community one point. The Giga-Army has begun initial discussion ExpressPR would like to sincerely thank
Social Media around sourcing crowd-funding for specific the following Marshalls of the Giga-
initiatives and will continue to play a key role Army: Gisborne District Council, Eastland
»» The Gigatown website (www.gigatown.
in community development. Community Trust, The Gisborne Herald and
co.nz) kept track of each town’s overall
Gisborne has joined forces with other finalist Pultron Composites. Their foresight, tireless
progress.
towns to work towards becoming a Gig- support and guidance was invaluable.
»» A supporting website (ur.co.nz/Gigatown.
Nation, supporting New Zealand’s drive for
php) measured results specific to each
digital excellence. It aims to join the global
platform. Tweeters used this site to
digital conversation and become part of the
track daily performance and stay within
gig city network.
competition rules.
The overall community feeling is that
»» Hashtags.org measured frequency of
Gisborne are true winners, receiving wide
hashtags at specific times of the day.
reaching benefits that far extend the scope of
»» Facebook analytics measured success the competition.
of each post by reach, link clicks
and comments.
12GOVERNMENT OR QUASI GOVERNMENT
PUBLIC RELATIONS
‘Are you that someone?’ – Preventing sexual violence
Hanna Kilpin, Janice Rodenburg: Ideas Shop
New Zealanders were shocked to hear of ’Roast Busters’ – a group of teenage boys who were
boasting online about getting girls drunk and raping them. Media coverage of the scandal
and public debate reinforced the need to raise awareness among young people about what
constitutes sexual violence, and to equip them with the confidence and knowledge to safely
intervene to stop it happening. The Ministry of Social Development and Ideas Shop developed
a pilot campaign targeting young people aged 16–21 years old to help them see the signs,
safely speak up and step in to prevent sexual violence.
Background New Zealanders aged 16–21 years in a conversation
about how and when they could speak up and step in
The ‘Roast Busters’ controversy highlighted that many
to stop sexual violence. The campaign needed to be
young New Zealanders are confused about what is and
developed and go live within three months, prior to the
isn’t appropriate sexual behaviour, with one in five female
election campaign period.
and one in 10 male high school students in New Zealand
reporting unwanted sexual contact or being made to do
unwanted sexual things (Source: ACC). Those working Preliminary research
with victims of sexual violence report that victims usually Our preliminary research focused on gaining an in-depth
know the perpetrators, and the events leading up to the knowledge of the audience, the way they communicate
assault are often witnessed by others. However many and their understanding of sexual violence. This
bystanders do not feel confident to intervene. information was critical to developing the right tone and
As a first step in the Government’s broader sexual style for the campaign.
violence prevention strategy, the Ministry of Social Three focus groups were held with representatives of the
Development (MSD) wanted to move quickly to help target audience, providing us with:
young people become active bystanders by providing »» current attitudes and understanding of sexual violence
them with the knowledge and confidence to recognise
and react to inappropriate sexual behaviour. »» barriers to stepping in to prevent it
Ideas Shop was commissioned to work with MSD to »» common areas of misinformation
develop and implement a 10 week campaign to engage We consulted with sector groups working with victims
of sexual violence, to draw on their experiences with the
audience and test the approach of the campaign through
its development.
We recognised that social media was a key
communication channel for the demographic and
conducted desktop research into trends and the
audience’s preferred social media platforms and usage.
Due to the limited time frame and budget we could not
undertake research to set benchmarks of awareness or
behaviour prior to the campaign beginning.
Objectives
The campaign needed to support the Government’s
broader sexual violence prevention strategy and
complement other MSD social marketing campaigns.
The overall goal of the campaign was to initiate
behaviour change by giving young New Zealanders the
knowledge and confidence to recognise and respond to
inappropriate sexual behaviour. The campaign objectives
were to:
»» Create awareness about what constitutes sexual
violence and how to safely intervene, with a target of
reaching 10% of the target audience. Targets were
based on a proportion of the reach of other MSD
social marketing activity.
»» Generate online conversation to prompt and influence
positive behaviour change, with a target of 10,000
conversations over the 10-week campaign (measured
through Facebook and Twitter engagement statistics).
13GOVERNMENT OR QUASI GOVERNMENT PUBLIC RELATIONS
Audiences reference group in the target age group. At language were all tested with focus groups to
the same time, experienced senior advisors ensure they were relevant and recognisable.
Our primary audience for the campaign
were on the lookout for any unintended As a result of the feedback, we used actors,
was New Zealanders aged 16–21 years,
consequences from the messaging, for rather than models, so that we could be sure
approximately 444,000 people.
example making sure there was no sense of the facial expressions and body language
Research shows that this age group is ‘victim blaming’. of everyone in the framed scenario clearly
statistically at the highest risk of sexual signalled the behaviour was unacceptable.
assault, particularly as they are in the The visuals were complemented by the four
process of learning about sexuality and
Strategy
key messages (see above).
managing sexual relationships. They are Our strategy had to engage the audience,
show them what to look for and suggest Our images were displayed as posters around
also experimenting with alcohol, which is
ways to speak up and step in safely when areas frequented by young people – near bars
a known risk factor for sexual violence and
seeing sexual violence. and entertainment venues and on campuses,
unwanted sexual experiences.
with a call to action to visit the Facebook
Our focus group findings told us that there To do this in the most effective way and
page or Twitter account.
was a desire and feeling of obligation enable conversation with the target audience,
we developed a primarily social media Social media:
to intervene in potentially dangerous
situations, but they struggled to know based campaign, supported by visual paid We set up Facebook and Twitter accounts
which situations warranted intervention, advertising and non-paid media. where we shared the images, asked
noting that there were consequences from High impact visuals: questions and encouraged comments and
misreading situations. discussion about ways to intervene safely. A
The campaign material needed to be
conversation calendar was developed which
We also knew this audience is strongly simple and highly visual, grab the attention
covered a range of elements dealing with
influenced by their peers, and use social of the audience, and be confronting by
sexual violence and included crowd-sourcing
media as a primary communication channel reflecting ‘real life’ situations that they would
‘real life’ situations the audience found
to connect and share information. find themselves in. The catchphrase and
themselves in, and facilitated conversation
Given the sensitive nature of the material messaging were integrated into these visuals.
around these situations. We also included
and substantial public interest in the topic, It was important that these could translate references to relevant pop-culture and
it was important to reach a secondary across the ‘real world’ and our digital encouraged participation by giving away
audience including stakeholders such as key platforms, and drive the audience to the small vouchers.
community and sector groups working with campaign’s social media pages.
We monitored the impact of each post and
victims of sexual violence, and parents and Social media: applied the lessons learnt; for example we
families ensuring they were prepared should
Key to our strategy was using social media found pop-culture references were popular so
young people come to them with issues
as a campaign information hub, where we emphasised those. In addition to our own
prompted by the campaign material.
the audience could actively participate in content, we linked to relevant material from
conversations, access tools to help them around the world to keep the page fresh and
Messages safely intervene, and share experiences and broaden the appeal.
The campaign’s messages needed be ideas on how to step in safely and stop Prior to going live, the Ideas Shop team
authentic and relevant to our target sexual violence. was trained to be able to respond
audience. MSD recognised this and was appropriately to sensitive issues, such as
Digital meets the real world:
willing to push boundaries and use a disclosures from victims of sexual violence,
deliberately edgy bold look and feel. We knew from previous social marketing
or naming perpetrators. Understanding
experience that the campaign could not be
Working collaboratively with the client and that responsiveness was a key to success,
solely digitally based and needed a physical
a design agency, we developed the ‘Are you Ideas Shop scenario-planned responses
presence. To deliver this and drive the
that someone? Let’s stop sexual violence’ and actions, which also helped to mitigate
audience to the campaign’s social media
catchphrase, aimed at prompting reflection the impact of people posting difficult or
channels, universities and specialist sexual
and discussion when confronted with inappropriate comments.
violence prevention educators were given
inappropriate sexual behaviour. This was Digital meets the real world:
tools and collateral to run student-led events
followed by the tagline, ‘See the signs, speak
throughout the country. At the same time, Working with tertiary institutions and
up, step in safely, stop sexual violence’.
posters were displayed in areas that the campaign partners such as Rape Prevention
We also developed four key messages target audience frequent including pubs, Education (RPE), we held events on six
to draw the audience into the visuals. tertiary and secondary campuses. campuses to help crowd-source content for
These were: the social media channels and engage directly
»» Someone should tell him he’s being a dick Implementation/tactics with the target audience. Using a pop-up
– Are you that someone? The total budget for the campaign was photo booth, we photographed students
»» Someone should tell him to back off – $290,000, with $154,000 of the budget holding up a white board displaying their
Are you that someone? dedicated to public relations. personal strategy to prevent sexual violence,
with a statement beginning ‘I am someone
»» Someone should check she’s OK with High impact visuals: who…’ Participants shared their photos
that – Are you that someone? We developed four visually arresting images across social media, broadening the reach of
»» Someone should stop them, she’s too showing scenarios where a young woman is the campaign messages and influencing their
wasted – Are you that someone? at risk of sexual violence or unwanted sexual peers to get behind the campaign.
Supporting messages included practical tips contact is taking place. In each scenario Refocussing activity:
to help the audience safely step in or speak the body language and messaging makes
it clear that the behaviour is not acceptable Despite research showing that Twitter was
up against sexual violence. a channel used frequently by the target
and suggests that ‘someone’ should
To get an authentic voice, all content was audience, the campaign’s Twitter audience
do something.
written by younger members of staff who appeared to be older and primarily interested
then tested messaging with an informal The proposed approach, scenarios and the observers, such as people working with
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