May the fourth be with you as Contagion announces a creative promotion and a new piece of business, McDonald’s adds two to the grill, Rawdon Christie makes it an English breakfast, nzgirl finds its new general manager, Datamine welcomes a new geek, Sir Dryden Spring steps down and Phantom Billstickers crows about a new Auckland site.
The Phantom Billstickers Poems on Posters initiative has seen posters of Kiwi poetry pasted up all over the world; in London, Glasgow, Paris, Austria, Australia and the United States. It’s the brainchild of Jim Wilson, who started the project in 2009. His aim is to use posters to share the heart of the Kiwi poet with people outside of New Zealand, and to that effect, eight Kiwi poets are flying to New York next week for a live poetry performance at Saatchi & Saatchi on 28 February. To help spread the word about the event, Phantom have put Janet Frame’s poetry poster, The End, up in bright lights on a billboard in Times Square.
One of the few positive aspects of the Christchurch earthquakes is that those from the region seem to have banded together in an effort to try and get their city back on its feet. And Phantom Billstickers, which started in Christchurch in 1982, is doing its bit by offering existing businesses that are moving to new premises, new start-ups, bands, arts groups, or “anyone with something to say” a leg up. Phantom’s Robin McDonnell says there are no complicated conditions. It’s just their way of helping. So Christchurch folks just need to bring in 100 A3 posters to the Sydenham office and they’ll stick ‘em up on their high profile sites around the city.
There’s been some major consolidation in the outdoor sector of late. APN bought Oggi and submissions are currently open should you want to have your say to the Commerce Commission about iSite’s bid to buy OTW. But while the big two fight it out, the smaller guys keep trucking on and Phantom Billstickers has added one of the country’s premier street poster sites at the corner of Symonds and Alex Evans St in Auckland to its arsenal. And it’s kicked it off with a nice bit of creative self-promotion.