In a world gone social, influence is critical. And Telecom is bolstering its earned media credentials with the launch of Smart Network, a new online hub that showcases the work of a bunch of creative Kiwis.
The hub, which ties in nicely to Saatchi & Saatchi’s latest mobile push and the ‘from here we can do anything’ tagline, encompasses blogs, video and other creative editorial content from the likes of Huffer founder Steve Dunstan, hairstylist Richard Kavanagh, Idealog co-founder David Macgregor, Sweet Shoppers Mark & Louis, fashion photographer David Shields, DJ and TV show host Nick Dwyer (his latest project, Beats in our Backyard, was created as part of the network) and up-and-coming musicians Junica and Zowie.
There’s no blatant Telecom branding on display. It simply aims to bask in the reflected glow of the contributors’ creativity and awesomeness, as well as trying to show that smarter, faster mobile technology brings people together, connects communities and allows these Kiwis to do more and more of what they are good at.
The idea was devised by Post Creative, which is made up of ex M&C Saatchi chief executive Nick Baylis, ex-Meares Taine managing director Mike Watkins and Adam Bryce, a Kiwi who has been working in the US for years. The agency has been in operation for around seven months but, as Baylis says, they don’t make ads. Their model is to communicate with influencers, either online or offline, by creating editorial content.
“Basically we tell clients they don’t need to pay for media and they quite like that,” he says.
While he wasn’t too keen on discussing its client list, he says they’re “doing some fairly major stuff with some fairly major clients”.
