PRINZ Awards Case Studies 'best of' 2016
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PRINZ Awards Case Studies ‘best of’ 2016
CORPORATE PUBLIC RELATIONS
It All Starts Here – Challenging public
perceptions of SKYCITY
Colin Espiner, Kelly Armitage, Rebecca Foote
and Jade Lucas, SKYCITY Entertainment Group
When most people think of SKYCITY they often only think
about a casino. The ‘It All Starts Here’ campaign challenged
that perception and revealed the breadth of SKYCITY’s
commercial, community, and charitable involvement.
This was SKYCITY’s first ever corporate reputation campaign,
told through the eyes and voices of our staff, sharing the
story of SKYCITY as an employer of choice and a generous
corporate citizen, as well as an entertainment and quality
dining destination.
The SKYCITY Communications Team developed and
implemented a corporate reputation campaign aimed
at winning hearts and minds and answering our
many detractors.
2
CORPORATE PUBLIC RELATIONS
The Game Changer
Kirsten Robinson and Emilia Mazur,
Lotto New Zealand
After 28 years of changing the lives of Kiwis
around the country, Lotto New Zealand was facing
a major change of its own – saying goodbye to
Big Wednesday and bringing Lotto, Powerball
and Strike to Wednesday and Saturday. As the
largest game change in the organisation’s history,
it was paramount that Lotto NZ retained the
support of players and retailers throughout this
period of change. The solution? A three-staged
communications strategy to inform, educate
and, finally, engage key stakeholders as Lotto NZ
prepared to launch the changes and make more
winners and more millionaires than ever before.
3
GOVERNMENT OR QUASI GOVERNMENT
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Dogs with jobs…and business cards
Michael Richards, Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand
There are two types of children – those who love dogs and those who are a bit
intimidated by them.
The New Zealand Aviation Security Service (Avsec) wanted to help both types by
familiarising children at airports with their explosive detector dogs, ensuring that
the airport experience is an enjoyable one, and that our dog teams can do their job
efficiently and effectively when around the public.
Designed for children, yet loved by young and old, Avsec’s ‘detective dog cards’ are
fun, engaging, informative and a great tool for our handlers to interact with the public.
Background handlers. This was identified by our handlers as an
The New Zealand Aviation Security Service’s (Avsec) ongoing frustration and risk to their ability to do their
explosive detector dogs (EDD) are trained to sniff for jobs properly and efficiently, as the dogs cannot be patted
explosives and explosive materials, not drugs or food while working. Our astute handlers also worried that
like Customs and biosecurity dogs. Each EDD team their lack of engagement with travellers could appear
consists of one dog and one handler. as impatient or unfriendly and were concerned by the
potential negative effect on Avsec’s reputation.
Based at the main airports: Auckland, Wellington,
Christchurch, and Queenstown, these teams do a very Conversely, many people are anxious about the presence
important job protecting travellers, airline crew, airport of working dogs who behave purposefully for their job
workers and New Zealand at large by ensuring that and can be vigorous in their movements.
no dangerous materials are present on aircraft, In summary, the two main factors which risked disruption
or in or around our airports. to Avsec’s service to the public and detriment to the
Naturally, travellers and others in the airport environment public perception of Avsec were:
– children and adults alike – are curious about working 1. Desire among travellers, particularly children,
dogs and often try to engage with our dogs and to engage with the dog teams.
4
GOVERNMENT OR QUASI GOVERNMENT PUBLIC RELATIONS
2. Uncertainty or fear, particularly among prior to the school holiday peak travel period making the dogs seem friendly and familiar.
children, of the dogs which get close commencing 4 July 2015. It needed to be colourful and image-heavy.
to people and property, and move 2. Generate ‘buzz’ around the launch of the It needed to be easy for handlers to carry and
purposefully while they are working. tool to obtain coverage by a mainstream give out, and also easy for children to receive
The risk posed by these factors was TV media outlet of 30 seconds duration, and keep with them throughout their journey
exacerbated by an operational decision promoting the difference between through the airport i.e. not onerous in size
by Avsec to use the dog teams more our dogs and those from other border or weight.
visibly around the airport – both as a visual agencies, prior to the school holiday peak The collateral would then be “launched” at
deterrent for those seeking to do harm, and travel period commencing 4 July 2015. an event, allowing for TV media to be invited,
to expand explosive detection work beyond 3. Obtain mainstream print or online and the government (Ministry of Transport)
cargo warehouses and hold baggage areas. coverage by two different outlets, to endow it with the mana/authority of
The question for Avsec was, “what can we via press release, within a week after the government. This ‘launch’ would then
do to address this disruption to our handlers the launch. create an occasion for an event-based press
and mitigate the risk of it getting worse with release and further coverage by online and
increased visibility of our EDD teams?”. Audiences press media.
Our primary audience was school-aged
Preliminary research children (i.e. who are able to read) who Implementation/tactics
Our research to confirm the existence of travel through or are otherwise present It was decided that Avsec could implement
an issue consisted of talking to our dog (e.g. to farewell family members) at the above strategy and achieve its objectives
handlers and observing dog teams in training NZ airports where our dogs work. by creating a series of collectible ‘detective
around the airport. While this did not This audience is best engaged with minimal, dog cards’.
involve quantitative data collection, it was easy-to-comprehend messages and bold Each dog would have its own trading
appropriately narrow for this issue, given that visual stimuli to capture and hold attention. card‑sized card, profiling its personality
the main issue was the disrupted operations They also place value on the tactile and (unique traits, pre-Avsec life) and working
of our dog teams. the collectible (as evidenced by the latest details (birthday, location, start date with
The handlers were able to tell us first-hand commercial mini kitchen/supermarket and Avsec, etc.) with an interesting photo of the
about their experiences of being approached Disney dominoes campaigns). dog working or training.
at the airport by children and members of Our secondary audience was therefore Each handler could then carry cards for
the public wanting to talk about the dog, or parents of school-aged children travelling his/her dog and hand these out to children as
alternatively, spending time to put at ease through or otherwise present at NZ airports an ‘icebreaker and escape tool’. For example,
those who were anxious around the dog. where our dogs work. a card could be given to children who are
We also found that it is widely acknowledged This audience prioritises the safety, happiness clearly uncomfortable with the presence of
and reported by government and other non- and education of their children. the dog to familiarise them with the dog and
governmental organisations advocating for ‘de-mystify’ any perception that the dogs
With the sometimes busy and stressful nature are intimidating or scary. On the other hand,
children and dogs that anxiety around dogs of the airport and travelling, this audience
is common. This was supported by a number the cards allow the handler to engage with
is unlikely to want their children to be given
of people with whom we spoke informally children wanting to pat or interact with the
high-value, breakable or large collateral
about the project, who referenced their own dog and ‘let them down gently’. For example,
which would interfere with baggage
the card empowers the handler to say
children or those of family and friends as allowances or physical movement through
“Unfortunately, you can’t pat the dog while
being anxious about having working dogs the airport. They appreciate educational,
we are working and I can’t stop to talk, but
near them at the airport. high-quality but low-value, and inoffensively-
I’d like you to have one of his special cards
sized collateral given to their children.
Objectives and read all about him”.
With an overall mission to ensure ‘safe Messages Creation of the cards involved the collation
and secure skies to help NZ fly’, Avsec is • Our dogs do an important job protecting of each dog’s unique information from
mandated to promote civil aviation safety travellers and other members of the their handlers, photographing the dogs at
and security in New Zealand by the Civil NZ public on aircraft and at airports. work (undertaken by budding hobbyists
Aviation Act 1990, and by the Civil Aviation from within Avsec) and design of the cards
• Our dogs are very happy and non-
Authority’s Statement of Intent 2014–18. undertaken by Avsec’s long-term design
aggressive, but they are highly trained
agency (conveniently called ‘Samdog’!).
Aligned with this mandate, our and focused while working so cannot
operational objectives were to: be patted. For the launch event, we sought Minister
• They have a great life as working dogs of Transport Simon Bridges to hand out
• protect our dog teams from preventable
– they enjoy their work and have loving the cards, along with two EDD teams, at
disruption by the public while they are
homes where their unique and friendly Wellington Airport on a weekday morning
working
personalities are treasured. (30 June 2015). Two banners featuring
• protect the reputation and promote the large images of our dogs were produced to
work of Avsec as a public service. match the design theme of the cards and
Strategy
Specifically, our communications Our strategy was to design and produce draw attention. However, as per our original
objectives were to: tangible collateral that our handlers could problem, the presence of dogs alone seems
1. Provide a tangible tool (collateral) for use to interact with children at airports. to draw enough attention!
handlers to interact easily and quickly This collateral needed to be informative and Despite having no PR budget to promote the
with the public, and allay the fears of reflect that the dogs do an important job, cards, we obtained invaluable public coverage
those who are anxious around dogs, while also being fun and engaging, and through news media.
5
GOVERNMENT OR QUASI GOVERNMENT PUBLIC RELATIONS
One News filmed a significant piece on agencies, prior to the school holiday peak needed to reprint after our first 4,400
the dog cards – including Minister Bridges’ travel period commencing 4 July 2015. cards were handed out within two months
handing out of cards, and interviews with The ‘launch’ event was successful in gaining (July–August), suggested to us that (a) our
Avsec’s General Manager Operations and one mainstream TV media coverage with One handlers found the cards effective and (b) the
of our EDD teams – which aired on TV One’s News’ piece on the dog cards far exceeding cards were being well-received.
Breakfast. This was the ideal channel to reach our target of 30 seconds’ duration (it was Avsec used an online reporting tool provided
our secondary audience: parents. 3 minutes and 37 seconds-long piece on TV by media coverage service, Isentia, to gauge
One’s Breakfast, including comment from the the overall news media coverage of the dog
Creativity OR Problem solving in-studio hosts). This was the ideal channel cards and their launch. This reporting tool
The creation of the detective dog cards to reach our secondary audience: parents. showed us that we had surpassed our media
was innovative for an organisation, and Supporting this notion, Avsec’s National goals of achieving a 30 seconds-long TV
specifically an explosive detector dog unit, Office received at least four direct requests news piece and coverage by two mainstream
that has typically worked in the background for cards from parents of soon-to-be- print/online news channels.
and is unknown or unidentifiable by most travelling children who were anxious around The direct requests for cards that we
of the travelling public. dogs. We mailed cards out to these families, received from parents of children who were
Handlers in the EDD unit have previously and were able to circumvent potential soon-to-travel and nervous about the dogs
been nervous about ‘trivialising’ their dogs disruption to our EDD teams (as well as testified to the reach and effectiveness of
which are highly trained and specialised providing a positive experience of Avsec this coverage.
members of the organisation, and therefore as a public service for travellers).
have been sceptical about public relations Objective 3: Obtain mainstream print or Next steps
and communications activities. However, online coverage by two different outlets, via Our next steps were to develop the Avsec
their cards came to be something that they press release, within a week after the launch. website to include a section dedicated to
were excited about and proud to give out. the explosive detector dogs, where we could
The day after the launch event, we sent
Involving the handlers in developing the include more in-depth information about
out a press release detailing the launch
‘fun’ stories and information about their why we need these dogs, what they do and
of the cards and their purpose, subsequently
dogs’ hobbies and personality, helped this ‘who’ they are. This section also included a
obtaining coverage by four different
shift. This was an innovative step for the digital version of each of the dog cards, as
print/online news channels, including stuff.
organisation which undertakes very serious well as a range of photos pertaining to each
co.nz and the NZ Herald. Total media
and important work to maintain the safety particular dog that users could scroll through.
coverage about the dogs during the time
and security of the NZ public. See: http://www.avsec.govt.nz/travellers/
period 22 April 2015 and 4 July 2015 –
Our photography of the dogs to go on the which involved two proactive campaigns: explosive-detector-dogs/meet-the-detectives/
cards was particularly innovative – from the graduation of four rehomed dogs Late last year Avsec set up a Facebook page
the public’s perspective at least – taken in on 30 April 2015 and the launch of the for its explosive detector dogs, which is a
secure areas of the airport with which most dog cards on 30 June 2015 – reached a useful, engaging tool to communicate tips
people are unfamiliar e.g. on the tarmac, at cumulative audience of 398,137 and had and information for travellers. Already, the
holdstow baggage screening, underneath an advertising space rate of NZD 33,185. page is liked by a small but actively loyal
aircraft, etc. We purposely took ‘action- group of over 400 people. Their engagement
The benefit of such coverage was
oriented’ photographs, rather than static with the page (via sharing and commenting)
communication of our key messages to
portraits of the dogs, so that we would means that we can reach audiences in the
our secondary audience of parents, who
be offering the recipients of the cards thousands. We will continue to nurture and
then relay that messaging to their children
something new, exciting and engaging. grow this channel.
and guide behaviour around our dogs at
the airport.
Results Acknowledgement of other
Objective 1: Provide a tangible tool Evaluation and follow-up communication disciplines
(collateral) for handlers to interact easily and This was not highly relevant in our
Measurement and evaluation of our EDD
quickly with the public, and allay the fears programme as Avsec’s has a small two-person
cards and launch involved seeking – and
of those who are anxious around dogs, prior team responsible for all communications,
being voluntarily given – qualitative feedback
to the school holiday peak travel period media and corporate identity matters.
from our handlers and station staff (Avsec
commencing 4 July 2015. Mike Richards (PRINZ member) and Jess
managers and sergeants at each of our
Reports from our handlers about the airport locations) which were overwhelmingly Jennings (non PRINZ member) make up
helpfulness of the cards to interact with positive. Handlers reported that the cards this team and lead Avsec’s collectible dog
children at the airport – preventing patting significantly helped them efficiently manage card project.
and avoiding disruption – were hugely public approaches on the front line, which is Jess Jennings, Avsec’s Communications
positive. This was measurably demonstrated what the cards were designed to do. This was Advisor, facilitated the development of the
by the fact that most of the first limited print especially the case in Queenstown, where cards, and Karen Urwin, Avsec’s Group
run of 4,400 cards was handed out within the EDD unit was established at the end of Manager Operations sanctioned and
two months (July-August), with a second July 2015 – an exciting event for all. Because oversaw their development as the explosive
print run of 22,000 ordered at the end of Queenstown Airport staff and travellers were detector dog unit operates within the
August to cater to the peak school holiday unfamiliar with the EDD teams, the handlers Operations group.
period commencing 26 September 2015. experienced a high number of approaches.
Acknowledgements also go to the Avsec
Objective 2: Generate ‘buzz’ around the The cards were an excellent way for the
dog handlers who provided information
launch of the tool to obtain coverage by a teams to meet and greet people and become
about their dogs, Avsec staff members
mainstream TV media outlet of 30 seconds integrated in the airport environment.
Leanne Muir and Craig Bishop who took
duration, promoting the difference between Another useful measure was the number photos, and design agency Samdog who
our dogs and those from other border of cards distributed. The fact that we made the cards look so great!
6
GOVERNMENT OR QUASI GOVERNMENT
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Helping New Zealanders play a part in shaping ACC
Michael Player, Gemma Bevan and Laura Barlow, Accident
Compensation Corporation (ACC)
ACC is part of New Zealand’s DNA. It touches the lives of all citizens; injured people
and their family and friends, community groups, health providers, businesses, self-
employed people and car owners – however many don’t feel like they have ownership
of the Scheme. Every year the public have an opportunity to give their feedback on ACC
during consultation. The ACC Corporate Communications Team saw an opportunity to
transform the 2016/17 levy consultation from a legislative exercise into a transparent
two-way conversation. This conversation had tangible impacts on the ACC Scheme and
how our target audiences perceive us
Background Preliminary research
Each year ACC seeks feedback from the public on its Our research included:
proposed levies. Until recently, we had never properly • Running external focus groups to understand whether
leveraged levy consultation as an opportunity for customers are aware of the consultation process and
proactive brand building; the business traditionally their initial perceptions of how it works.
viewed it merely as a legislative requirement. Corporate
• Reviewing our regular customer feedback from our
Communications saw this four-week consultation period
business call centre, through social media, our business
as an opportunity to improve transparency, understanding
relationship managers and other customer‑facing staff.
and engagement with New Zealanders in order to
improve trust and confidence in ACC. We realised we • Drawing on research undertaken in 2014 from over
needed to do more to help our customers understand the 5000 customers that addressed a range of concerns
levy-setting process, the part it plays in the wider ACC and personas.
story and the value they receive in return. Our channel • Analysing the public submissions from the last two
to do this would be the 2016/17 levy consultation. years of consultation.
Our key research findings:
• Most New Zealanders are unaware of the levy
consultation process, are not sure how they could
contribute and didn’t believe their feedback would
make a difference.
• They were uncertain how claim numbers/cost is
related to the levies they pay, and what they get in
return for this ‘tax’.
• Common issues identified such as the lack of
transparency in levy-setting, misunderstanding of the
‘no-fault’ nature of ACC, and access/clarity of data.
Objectives
Organisation objectives:
• Ensure we meet our legislative responsibilities in
running the 2016/17 levy consultation where the
public could give feedback on ACC’s proposals.
• Demonstrates how the levy-setting process aligns
to ACC’s strategic direction.
• Increase customer understanding of the levy-setting
process and improve participation/engagement in
levy consultation.
Communication objectives:
When setting our SMART communication objectives,
we analysed last years’ campaign to establish realistic
benchmarks and areas for improvements. All objectives
were to be achieved during the consultation period
1–30 October 2015.
7
GOVERNMENT OR QUASI GOVERNMENT PUBLIC RELATIONS
Objective 1: New Zealanders feel ownership we introduced a new system for levying To host a proactive and meaningful
of the ACC Scheme and believe their vehicles called ‘vehicle risk rating’ which conversation with customers, our primary
feedback makes a difference. received some negative media/customer focus was to create an easy to digest
Measure 1: Demonstrated through increase feedback. Success would be if this audience platform that presented our proposals in
in submissions by 20% and unique web showed an understanding of the vehicle risk an easy to understand, customer-focused
views by 40% from 2014 consultation rating and provided feedback demonstrating format. We also needed to make it easy for
process (425 submissions and 5,009 unique this. This audience are also very concerned people to get involved and submit feedback.
web views in 2014). about transparency of data used to set their To achieve transparency, it was important
ACC rego levies. that submissions and decisions were easily
Objective driver 1: Demonstrates that
people have received communications Target audience 3: Motorcyclists, groups accessible. This would give our customers an
messages, feel compelled to actively seek and clubs. Motorcyclists are very vocal in opportunity to read other people’s feedback
more information and make their voice heard their objection to high levies on motorcycle to inform their submissions. Visible feedback
by making a submission. rego. The levies are high because the cost of would help ensure the ACC Board provide the
covering motorcycle injuries is also extremely reasons behind their final decisions – especially
Objective 2: Improve public perception of high and the majority are cross-subsidised if it differed to public opinion. It also helps
ACC helping rectify misconceptions about by other road users. We know that they like customers feel like there’s more accountability
the Scheme. data and statistics. They use online forums on the Board to use their levies appropriately
Measure 2: Positive media coverage of levy and frequently discuss ACC levies and the and justify their strategic direction.
consultation over 50% (compared to annual ‘unfairness’ of the Scheme. Success would As this was one of the first times a
average). Positive social media sentiment be if they referred to relevant consultation Government agency had created an interactive
exceeds negative social media sentiment context rather than basing opinions customer engagement tool, we opted for a
throughout the consultation period. on misconceptions. soft external communications approach. The
Objective driver 2: Direct correlation majority of the budget would be invested into
to the businesses objective of increasing Messages the web platform to ensure this was a success.
public understanding of the ACC Scheme. When creating our messages, we wanted It was therefore crucial that we leveraged our
Increase in positive sentiment indicates our our audiences to understand what proposals existing channels and key stakeholders.
customers are engaging with consultation may affect them, address misconceptions of
and believe we are consulting in a genuine the Scheme and give them a personal driver Implementation/tactics
and transparent manner; this improves to play an active role in the outcome of External communications
public perception. the consultation. Budget: $389,400:
Objective 3: Audiences demonstrate desire All audiences: • www.ShapeyourACC.co.nz: Develop an
for ongoing engagement about the levy- • This is your ACC – have a hand in interactive web platform with summary
setting process. shaping it. ACC belongs to every proposals written in plain English with
Measure 3: Demonstrated through 10% New Zealander and levy consultation is supporting data/statistics.
of submitters choosing to subscribe to an your chance to tell us what you think at • Media release: Announcing the opening
optional levies e-newsletter. www.ShapeyourACC.co.nz of consultation and resulting coverage,
Objective driver 3: Demonstrates genuine • Your feedback is extremely valuable to us. including the NZ Gazette.
engagement with the campaign and the levy- It helps us confirm our proposals as well • Newspaper advertisements: Ad’s in
setting process, proving they have found our as challenge our thinking around others. major and regional papers featuring the
proposals informative and easy to understand. Businesses and employers: infographics.
• Have we got your Work levy right? • Develop an optional e-newsletter:
Audiences We want to drop levies for businesses. Promotes ongoing communications about
While we have legislatively prescribed the Let us know your thoughts. the levy-setting process.
target audience of ‘all New Zealanders’
Car owners: Leveraging existing channels
we were specifically focused on actively
engaging with three distinct audience • Did you know that you pay a levy through Budget $3,500:
segments. These audiences were your petrol? This helps cover accidental • Front-line staff: Provided with key
identified based on their common injuries that happen on our roads. messages, FAQs and presentation.
issues/misconceptions and likelihood Find out why we think you can pay less • ACC social media channels: We utilised
of participation. for the same cover. our well-established social media channels
Target audience 1: Businesses and Motorcyclists: including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
employers (self-employed, small-to-medium • Do you have a good idea about ways Direct access to all target audiences/
enterprises, large employers, employees, we could set motorcycle levies? We want tailored messages as appropriate.
and agents/advisors). This is a significant to hear it! Join this conversation. • Key stakeholders: Industry groups and
stakeholder group because collectively other Govt. agencies who already
this group represents a large number of Strategy have access to target audience groups.
New Zealanders. Their primary driver to Our research showed that the three biggest For example, NZ Transport Agency (car
engage is to understand how the levies barriers for our audiences engaging in this owners), Business.govt (businesses) and
affect them personally. They’re concerned campaign were as follows: the Motorcycle Advisory Council.
about transparency of the levy-setting. 1. Couldn’t understand actuarial-based • ACC phones lines: Created hold
Target audience 2: Includes all proposals. messages encouraging people to join
New Zealanders who are car owners and 2. Felt the process for setting levies wasn’t the conversation when it was relevant to
are affected by vehicle risk rating. This also transparent and therefore not worthwhile. them (businesses/tax agents).
included vehicle manufacturers. In 2015,
3. Unaware that levy consultation existed.
8
GOVERNMENT OR QUASI GOVERNMENT PUBLIC RELATIONS
Creativity OR Problem solving 67% positive. During the levy consultation By engaging with the public on a regular
Creativity example 1: period, positive social media mentions far basis, and in a conversational yet constructive
outweighed negative mentions (120 more way, we will be able to provide the business
Traditionally levy consultation proposals
positive mentions than negative). The week with information they can use to enhance the
were presented in a 300 page actuarial PDF
consultation launched was the Social Media way they work. This in turn will further help
that was hosted on acc.co.nz. Based on the
Team’s most successful week ever (most to build trust and confidence in ACC.
submissions we received, it was clear that this
positive sentiment). In addition, 571 people
approach wasn’t enough to influence public Acknowledgement of other
commented on ACC’s social media content
participation and understanding of ACC.
about levies and the content was viewed communication disciplines
By creating ShapeYourACC, an interactive
498,952 times. The ACC Corporate Communications
web platform specifically for consultation,
we could make our proposals more Outcome 3: Of all those customers who Insurance and Injury Prevention Team created
accessible, easier to digest, with a simplified submitted, 617 people (55%) requested the overall strategy, led the implementation
feedback tool. to be kept up to date with levy and project managed all communications
announcements through the levies update aspects of the integrated 2016/17 levy
Creativity example 2: consultation campaign. The core members
e-newsletter. Significantly more than our
The process of collating the submissions 10% target. of this team included the following people:
into themes for analysis is an extremely • Michael Player, Corporate
manual process, taking 3 FTE 3 weeks to Evaluation and follow-up Communications Manager
complete. As part of the development of Once consultation closed, we continued
the ShapeYourACC website, we created • Gemma Bevan, Account Manager
analysing the online submissions and Corporate Communications
a backend that could automatically group extrapolating the customer insights.
submissions into multiple categories e.g. The feedback and ideas we received were • Laura Barlow, Senior Communications
ACC Account, customer type/demographics so valuable they influenced changes to the Advisor
and proposal. This has freed up significant ACC Board’s initial proposals to the Minister. • Stephanie Brunt, Senior Communications
resource, long-term project costs and For example, we received overwhelming Advisor
legislative time constraints. feedback that the public wanted us to place We also received some help along the way
Creativity example 3: more emphasis on the user-pays aspect of from the following teams. We received
Once we’ve collected the levies we place the Motor Vehicle levy – the more you drive support from the following external providers:
them into one of ACC’s five Accounts, the more you should pay. As a result, we
• Initial inspiration from Wellington City
each used to help provide support for changed our original proposal of reducing
Council’s Ten Year Plan.
people under specific circumstances the petrol levy and instead applied the
e.g. Work Account covers work-related discount to the rego levy portion. • DNA Wellington providing invaluable
injuries. Previously, we’ve ordered the customer-experience advice, design and
The feedback also emphasised the need to
proposals by Account assuming that our web development support.
host a second consultation specifically for
customers will know how to find proposals vehicle risk rating from December–January. • Ocean Design created beautiful simplistic
relevant to them. To a customer-focused In December, we published feedback graphics and design for print advertising.
approach, we created customer buttons summaries and our final recommendations • Y&R who successful managed our print
on the homepage that filters the relevant on the website as well as explained the placements.
proposals. For example, if you selected self- next steps for each proposal. Our results
• Mobilize Mail who managed our ad-hoc
employed and motorcyclist, the proposals clearly indicate that once we presented the
e-newsletters and reporting.
than may affect you would appear. proposals through a customer focused lens,
our audiences were highly engaged and • Within the Corporate Communications
Creativity example 4:
welcomed a two-way dialogue. Team, we utilised the expertise of:
Due to the negative media attention we
received from vehicle risk rating in early 2015, The end-to-end levy-setting process is a • Our Social Media Team who lead the
there was some concern about customers year long cycle which requires consistent supporting social media campaign, our
‘clogging’ ShapeYourACC with negative measurement and evaluation. This gives most successful channel.
comments. To mitigate this concern, we us plenty of opportunity to measure • The Media Team who crafted press
ensured the proposal information was easy engagement across each step through releases responded to reactive media and
to understand, helping customers make more web clicks, social and media sentiment and analysed sentiment.
constructive submissions. We introduced e-newsletter open rates. We know from our All the amazing and diverse internal
moderation tools to ensure feedback would activity that our target audiences are still teams involved in the annual levy
comply with ACC’s social media guidelines highly engaged. Our final recommendations consultation process:
(inappropriate submissions would not e-newsletter had a unique open rate of 57%
and a further 44% took action by clicking • Website Development and Content Teams
be visible).
through to ShapeyourACC. We also received • Actuarial Services Team
Results over 11,000 unique webpage views and • Strategic Advisor
Outcome 1: We received 1,119 submissions, 250 submissions to our second round of
• Operations Insurance Delivery
an increase of 148% from 2014. Over 92% vehicle risk rating consultation which ran
of these submissions came through the from 15 December 2015–29 January 2016. • Government Services
website. We received over 32,219 unique Our long-term vision for this campaign is • Insurance Product Teams
web views (excluding staff), a massive to develop ShapeyourACC into a platform • Policy Team
increase of over 540%. where we can continually gather feedback
Outcome 2: Our traditional media and insight from our customers throughout
coverage during levy consultation was the year on all aspects of the Scheme.
9
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
Bringing our people leaders together
Michelle Quirke, Inland Revenue
At Inland Revenue, we’re making things simple, open and certain for our
customers and our people as we go through unprecedented transformation
of our organisation and the New Zealand tax system. Every day our 700
managers and team leaders are deluged with email, must-dos and requests
– how could we cut the clutter? We created the People Leaders Space –
an online one-stop-shop where managers and team leaders in more than
20 sites from Whangarei to Invercargill find everything they need to know
and share with their people, connect with each other, and get leadership
inspiration, tips and tools.
10INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
“But it’s always been free!” – Communicating the
introduction of paid parking at the University of Waikato
Peta Goldsworthy, Mike Watson and
Megan Burton-Brown, University of Waikato
When the University of Waikato decided to charge for parking for the first time in
its 52-year history, it was bound to ruffle a few feathers. While the reasons were
economically and environmentally sound, calls of “but it’s always been free” echoed
across campus. Communicating the change was never going to be easy, given that the
university was already undergoing significant change. From the initial announcement
through to implementation, the Communications team ensured the messaging was
clear and consistent, the technical information was simple and that people paying for
parking for the first time were greeted with a friendly face.
The nominal rate of $2 a day for general/casual
parking was set early. Further discounts were introduced,
bringing the student rate down to as low as 0.66
cents a day in some cases, and $1.20 a day for staff.
A discounted permit for staff earning less than $50k/year
was also introduced.
The university’s Communications team was tasked
with communicating the announcement to the university
community, working closely with the parking steering
group on logistics, and making sure staff and students
were well informed and ready at the start of 2016.
Preliminary research
Initial research focused on what others were doing.
Cost comparisons were made with all other New Zealand
universities and other large Hamilton employers. Waikato
was one of only two New Zealand universities not
charging for parking; the other being Lincoln. These
Background comparisons became part of the ongoing conversation
The University of Waikato leases its land from Tainui – with students; a cost comparison table was presented
it’s the only New Zealand university that doesn’t own on the paid parking landing page indicating that Waikato
its land. There are roughly 3000 parking spaces on was at the lower extreme of parking fees.
the Hamilton campus, costing the university $500,000 Research into how to communicate the introduction
a year to lease and that figure increases to almost of parking fees on a university campus proved helpful
$750,000 when maintenance, depreciation, and and surprisingly abundant. The University of Canterbury
monitoring for compliance are added. The costs had had carried out a similar initiative in recent years and
become unsustainable. offered suggestions, including making sure to package
The decision to charge for parking had been continually the communications together with reasoning for the
deferred since 1994. In mid-2015 new Vice-Chancellor decision. A paper from a Canadian university backed
Professor Neil Quigley announced parking fees would up the research.
apply, beginning 2016. These suggestions helped form part of the ongoing
The reasoning was simple: the university could no communications tactics, ensuring weight was given
longer afford to pay for people to park on campus, as to the reasons for moving to paid parking, as much as
the provision of parking was paid for by fees and other information on how to pay, where to park, and what it
university income. Coupled with this was the concept would cost. Mid-way through 2015, the Sustainability
that a parking fee could encourage more staff and Committee on campus conducted a survey of campus
students to use alternative forms of transport; aligning commuters about perceptions of transport costs, parking
with the university’s commitment to sustainability. fees, car-pooling, public transport and alternative forms
of transport. A head-count to measure single-occupancy
Paid parking is not a revenue-generating exercise;
vehicles was also done.
something the university was careful to communicate
clearly, especially in light of ongoing media reporting The survey proved some assumptions held; that there was
on the increased costs for students. plenty of support among staff and students for parking
11INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
fees (with certain caveats, e.g. that it should was also important to inform this group that that a wave of negativity would follow
make parking easier to find), and that there there were other options; including walking/ while audiences came to terms with the
was a willingness to use other forms of cycling, public transport, car-pooling, and decision, therefore the communications
transport, given the proper incentive to do so. parking off campus on surrounding streets. focus would be firmly around the key
Community campus users and visitors: messages about why the change was
Objectives This group included members of the UniRec necessary and unavoidable.
The decision to introduce parking fees was gym, people coming to campus during the 2. The logistics: It was a long time between
considered well overdue and therefore the day for events/meetings, and visitors on announcement and implementation,
university community was not consulted. official university business. This group was, so regular communications were
It was anticipated the decision would and still is, the most difficult to communicate important to keep staff and students
be widely unpopular, but given time, with as they are not our regular, captured engaged; ensuring the idea was well-
eventually accepted. audience. Good on-campus signage has cemented in people’s minds come
1. The initial objective, following the been a factor for capturing non-regular implementation. After things had cooled
announcement mid-2015, was to campus visitors. off, regular communications began
minimise potential negative feedback Media: to focus on how paid parking would
from staff and students, and to attract work in practice and when it would
Essentially an internal communications
minimal negative coverage from the begin. The date, 2 February 2016,
project, the introduction of parking fees
media. Part of this objective was clearly was a key piece of information in all
had the potential to spill over into the media.
articulating the need to introduce parking communications, as well as the costs and
While there was very little media uptake,
fees; that it was a case of when, not if. mechanisms for payment and monitoring.
there was the potential for this group to
2. Following the initial announcement, the Key to this period was keeping
cause the biggest issue for the university from
objective was to communicate how paid communications regular and consistent.
a reputational perspective. This was handled
parking would work in practice. This proactively by fronting the issue and using 3. The implementation: Just prior to, and
was an incremental process, as decisions the VC as spokesperson. during the first weeks of implementation,
about logistics continued to be made the strategy was to ensure everyone was
throughout the rest of 2015. Staff had Messages well aware of what they needed to do
various permit options, with different The key messages for the announcement when they first arrived on campus. Key
price points. centred on the reasoning for the introduction to this phase was the friendly face to
3. At the beginning of 2016, the objective of paid parking to help ensure buy-in from greet and help people using the parking
was to ensure staff and students had our audience: payment system for the first time.
considered how they were getting to • The cost of providing parking on the
campus and, if by car, where they would
Implementation/tactics
Hamilton campus is considerable,
park and how they would pay. This With no communications budget, and being
increasing, and no longer sustainable
was measured through registrations for predominantly an internal communications
• As part of the university’s commitment to project, communications mostly involved
permits, which opened in October 2015.
sustainability, more staff and students are using existing channels to communicate
Part of this conversation was around
encouraged to use alternative transport directly with our audiences. Facilities
highlighting different forms of transport
to campus Management paid for some items, such
to campus; that alternatives existed and
were worth considering. • The university is out of step with other as temporary signage.
universities and large Hamilton employers 1. The announcement: The Vice-Chancellor
4. As February approached, the objective
who charge for parking fronted the initial announcement;
shifted to ensuring all people entering
campus were aware that parking fees had • It is not a ‘revenue grabbing’ exercise introducing the initiative in his regular
begun, and that they would need to take • The university will investigate the column in the staff newsletter. This
some kind of action. possibility of bus subsidies for students was followed up with an official
or point-to-point buses announcement about eight weeks later,
Audiences giving staff time to consider the idea.
Closer to the implementation of paid parking, He also dealt directly with initial staff
The university community is made up of the messages became aligned with the core
various groups with different needs: feedback. The VC addressed staff about
information people needed to know. For the decision at all-staff meetings shortly
Staff: staff this included information about how to afterwards, and fronted student meetings
As the most consistent users of car parks, purchase and display permits and where they run by the students’ union. This gave the
staff were the most affected by the could park. For students this included where decision authority and the VC was able to
introduction of paid parking. They needed to park, what it would cost, and how the deliver sound reasoning.
to be made aware of the reasons for the payment machines worked.
Students were informed through a regular
shift to paid parking to ensure there was A key part of the communications about email newsletter and a weekly news
minimal unrest. paid parking was that it always promoted page in the student magazine Nexus.
Students: alternative transport as an option. After the initial announcement, the
Making students pay for something else, communications team dealt quickly with
in the current climate of student loans and
Strategy any enquiries from individuals and media.
increasing tertiary fees, was a tough sell. The strategy was broken into three main
The ‘Getting-to-Campus’ landing page
They are sporadic users of car parks. phases:
(www.waikato.ac.nz/go/parking) was
The university ensured there were various 1. The announcement: This was the ‘ripping quickly set up on the university’s website.
discounted options for students to pay, such off the band aid’ moment and essentially Initially it contained information about the
as a one-off semester concession for $60. It covered the “why”. It was anticipated decision to introduce parking fees and a
12INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
list of FAQs for staff and students. It also • In a few cases, it provided people a Evaluation and follow up
promoted and encouraged alternative sounding-board and a way to vent their As of Monday 29 February (day one of
transport options and included links to frustrations. A Semester) the car parks at the Hamilton
local bus routes and cycle paths, and • Constructive feedback was taken campus were full and it was business as usual
mobile apps for car-pooling. on board and reported back to the for staff and students. The introduction of
2. The logistics: Regular communications parking committee. paid parking has largely been implemented
through email newsletters kept staff • Potential problems or technical issues without any major complications.
and students up to date with the ‘nuts were identified in advance and dealt One of the key elements of the success of this
and bolts’ of how parking would work with quickly. campaign is that Communications staff had
come February 2016. All communications input at every step of the decision-making
throughout this lead-in period linked back Results process; helping bring ideas to the table and
to the landing page, which was updated While the objectives above are not strictly assisting with the day-to-day implementation.
constantly as new information was quantitative, a level of measurement was This included decisions on costs and payment
released. offered early on in the amount and types lengths (tariffs), the user-interface of the
Use of externally facing tools such as of questions parking staff received, vocal payment machines, the display method for
social media were kept to a minimum opposition at staff and student meetings, staff permits, writing FAQs for the website,
throughout this period, due to relevance and anecdotal feedback. replying to emails from staff/students, right
to the audience and to minimise potential In a nutshell, this campaign was about down to wording the infringement notices
for negative flare-ups. ensuring the smooth transition into a new put on staff vehicles. As Communications
3. The implementation: Closer to era of paid parking on the Hamilton campus. staff always considered the experience of the
the introduction of paid parking, The following align with the objectives above: customer first, this helped ensure a smooth
communications became more frequent, and consistent campaign.
1. Negative feedback was kept to a relative
ensuring staff had obtained permits and minimum. Complaints from staff were The university will continue to monitor car
students were aware of the change, dealt with on an individual basis, usually park usage and will make necessary changes
where they could park, and how to pay. directly by the Vice-Chancellor, and stayed to parking areas, such as redistributing
Communications remained largely via within the university. Students set up a staff/general parking spaces depending
email and regular newsletters and the use boycott parking Facebook page, which on which get more use.
of social media became more frequent as gathered little momentum – this was As messages about parking become
February approached and new students monitored by communications staff and ingrained, student communications
(who would not have been receiving the appeared to display a balanced view by will continue for a short time and
regular updates prior to starting study) students. Media mentions were few, then taper off to a minimum, as is the
were getting ready to begin. and did not generate any further stories case with staff communications. Only
Upon implementation, temporary signage or questions. major changes/updates will warrant
was placed at entrances and throughout 2. Between announcement and ongoing communications.
carparks reminding drivers about parking implementation, uptake of staff permits The sustainability committee is planning to
fees. One of the key messages on the was steady and questions fairly sporadic, run a follow-up survey of staff and students’
signage was reminding drivers to take indicating the majority of staff were perceptions of transport to campus during
note of their licence plate number for getting the message. winter to see what difference parking
payment at the pay-by-plate machines. An unexpected result was a high uptake fees have had on uptake of alternative
Staff and student ambassadors in of Numbered (reserved) Parks, traditionally transport options.
University of Waikato branded t-shirts only entitled for senior staff. All staff *Additional follow up – Friday 18 March
welcomed drivers and ensured students now have the opportunity to secure a 2016
were comfortable with how to use the favourable park if they wish to pay extra. The PRINZ award entry closed during the
payment machines, or in the case of staff, 3. Anecdotally, several staff indicated that implementation phase of paid parking.
that permits were displayed properly. they were planning to make a lifestyle As an addition it is worth noting that during
change and use alternative transport week three of semester, when immobilisation
Creativity OR Problem solving to campus. This can be seen partly of non-paying vehicles began, security staff
Key to this campaign was ensuring people as a communications success, and were happy to report that in Gate 10, the
coming to campus for the first time after the confirmation that financial incentives largest carpark, there were only four cars
implementation of parking fees were greeted are a good way to change behaviours. identified by the plate recognition software
with a friendly face and some helpful advice as not paying. In Gate 1, the second largest
from a real person. This is often unexpected, 4. Ambassadors reported that drivers
entering campus for the first time carpark, there was only one non-complying
especially for something as mundane as vehicle. At such an early stage in the roll-out
paying for parking. were mostly well-informed about the
introduction of parking fees, where they of parking fees, and given the hundreds
The ambassador roles became a key part of could park and how to pay. of parking spaces monitored, this is an
the strategy: outstanding result. It was noted that the total
• Anecdotally we saw the ‘real person’ number of clamped vehicles is actually less
approach had a positive effect on first- under paid parking than it was this time last
time parkers. year when parking was free.
13INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
Vodafone New Zealand – A journey to pride
Marie Hodson and Sarah Newcombe, Vodafone New Zealand
2015 was a pivotal year in Vodafone’s transformation, a year in which we
embarked on making a step change in our customers’ experience.
Our recipe for success was mobilising all our people at every level of the business
to drive change, because with great processes and passionate people we knew we
could deliver great experiences for our customers.
Background We also reached out across the Vodafone world
In 2012 Vodafone New Zealand acquired TelstraClear and identified best practice engagement techniques
in a move which transformed it from a predominately in Ireland to replicate New Zealand.
mobile consumer business to a truly national, full service
communications company. Objectives
Proud 2 aimed to strengthen our customer centric
The following year saw more intense competition in
culture, create a best-in-class customer experience
the New Zealand communications market than ever
and rebuild our people’s commitment to Vodafone.
before, with analysts picking the market to decline by
Internally, our goals were a four point uplift in Employee
around 2.5% during the year. Vodafone was competing
Engagement; a 16 point uplift in Employee Net Promoter
hard while also integrating two complementary yet
Score; and a four point uplift in the Customer Index via
very different businesses with very separate systems
the 2015 People Survey.
and processes. Customers quite rightly expected to be
able to call Vodafone to have all their queries resolved Communications objectives:
promptly, however frontline call centre and retail staff had • Engage Vodafone people in the Proud 2 programme,
to access multiple systems depending on the customer’s with the goal of engaging 80% of staff in the launch
history and product set. in April 2015.
As a result, customer service was suffering with an • Create an ongoing programme of engagement
average speed of answer in the call centre increasing through communications to embed Proud 2
to unacceptable levels, and negative media stories about messaging – reaching 80% of people consistently
Vodafone’s customer service. throughout the year, and achieving a five point
Unsurprisingly, the results of Vodafone’s annual employee uplift in the communications question of the 2015
engagement survey in 2014 also fell dramatically. People Survey.
The Engagement Index fell by 10 points and Employee
Net Promoter Score (the extent to which employees
promote Vodafone’s products and services) fell 16 points.
We had a big challenge – turn around customer
experience and rebuild belief and pride in the business.
In simple terms, we needed our people to fall in love
with Vodafone again, and we launched a company-wide
programme, called Proud 2, to do just that.
Preliminary research
Vodafone’s annual People Survey tracks engagement,
manager effectiveness, employee net promoter score,
customer obsession, communications effectiveness
and a range of other topics. It has the same questions
every year.
When asked “what’s the one thing you would change
to make Vodafone a better place to work?”, most
people in 2014 said “customer service”. This, in addition
to the results showing a year-on-year drop in overall
engagement and Employee Net Promoter Score,
gave us a very clear direction for our programme.
Following the survey, we ran staff discussion groups in
each functional area to understand the specific concerns
for that function, so that targeted action plans could
be developed.
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