Industry happenings at NZME, Lotto NZ, Skoda, Film Construction, Vodafone and DB Breweries.
Browsing: Vodafone
In a new TVC, which appears to borrow from the long run scene in Forest Gump, a dishevelled and impressively bearded James Rolleston is depicted walking with a smartphone in hand while watching online video clips, before an on-screen notification informs him that he has reached the end of the internet. As with several of Vodafone’s recent campaigns, this ad again draws attention to the fact that Vodafone’s major point of difference lies in the extent and reach of its 4G network. But how much longer will Vodafone be able to rely on 4G as a point of difference?
A glut of goodness this week from New World, Contact, Samsung, Vodafone, Spark and Rebel Sport.
Since its launch only two years ago, Wellington-based tech start-up Showcase Workshop has grown quickly, picking up major Kiwi clients such as Spark, NZTE, Z Energy and The Warehouse, and now the company is expanding into Europe after winning a new client in Vodafone UK.
As part of our series dedicated to celebrating good work and inspiring a bit more generosity, Mark Easterbrook, executive creative director at Goodfolk, plumps for Vodafone’s Mother’s Day tear-jerker at a Warriors game.
Vodafone has collaborated with Image Centre-owned* digital media agency Ngage and APN Outdoor to launch a series of interactive LED billboards that members of the public will be able to engage with via their mobile phones. The content displayed on each of the three billboards, currently on display in Ponsonby, Eden Terrace and Parnell, is delivered in real time via Vodafone’s machine-to-machine technology, which negates the need for additional cabling and infrastructure.
Following its identity change on Friday, Spark released its first ad campaign over the weekend. Dubbed ‘never stop starting’ and created by Saatchi & Saatchi NZ, the campaign’s first 60-second TVC brings the imagery used in the teaser posters to life by featuring a protagonist walking toward and talking to the camera. As the ad progresses, the actor takes on a variety of different characters and speaks about the importance of starting anew.
As Telecom poises to jettison its three-syllable moniker for the punchier Spark title, it’s worth looking at Vodafone’s 1998 rebrand that saw the company change its nationwide identity almost overnight, a move that is today considered by some as one of the best examples of rebranding in the nation’s history.
Telecom and Designworks unveiled Telecom’s new spark logo in 2009, and the move to fully rebrand as Spark—and change the orientation of the business from home phones and dumb pipes to a technology company and business enabler—has been out in the open for a few months. But now it actually has to make the change, and it’s taken the first, very symbolic step by removing the name from its HQ in Auckland.
Last week, Vodafone released its Fantastic Fridays TVC, a creative effort that stoked the dying embers of hate that viewers still held for Rebecca Black’s 2011 viral song while simultaneously introducing the telco’s new reward programme. And while the spot was greeted with revile from some quarters, there were few complaints from the Vodafone customers who stand to receive rewards as part of the programme. Here’s a breakdown of how Fantastic Fridays has been incorporated into Vodafone’s existing MyVodafone app.
Vodafone has dug into the annals of recent pop culture and emerged with what is often referred to as the worst song ever made, Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’. And rather than keeping the nauseatingly catchy tune restricted to a private boardroom listen between the marketing managers, the telco has decided to unleash a cover of it through a new TVC by FCB.
Where once social media was seen as a harbinger of doom for traditional media, the enthusiasm has been tempered somewhat in recent years as algorithms have changed and questions have been asked about the return on investment. But there are still plenty of success stories, often from a customer service point of view, and Amanda Sachtleben went along to the #NZSOMO conference to find out about a few of them from New Zealand.
True opened its doors in 2011 after a few senior protagonists from .99 felt the need to go it alone and break away from the nurturing bosom of The Clemenger Group. Like any new business, the first few years were tough going and it focused on growth rather than profit, but it’s gaining momentum, it’s working with big brands like Air New Zealand and Vodafone, it’s moving into areas outside traditional advertising and it currently employs 25 staff. Managing director Matt Dickinson spills the beans on its philosophy.
Since first launching 4G connectivity last year, Vodafone’s network has stretched to over 47 regions throughout the nation. And now, in an effort to take this a step further, the red telco is adding a little international flavour to its offering by extending this service to several international destinations. Speaking at a conference held this morning at the Air New Zealand Customer Innovation and Collaboration Centre, Vodafone’s chief executive Russell Stanners and consumer director Matt Williams announced that the telecommunications company was launching two new initiatives: daily roaming packages in 17 countries throughout the world; and 4G connectivity in five countries. PLUS: see the new TVC.
E-commerce is booming—and it’s becoming increasingly mobile. So domestic retailers will need to invest in this area if they hope to compete with international retailers, writes Geri Ellis.
While Telecom finds itself in identity limbo and as 2degrees makes its first foray into the high-value business-owner market, Vodafone continues to sit atop the Kiwi telco pile as the network with the most active users. So, following Sunday’s release of Vodafone’s bowl cut TVC featuring James Rolleston, StopPress had a quick chat with the red network’s consumer director Matt Williams on the company’s consistency in an increasingly diversified and competitive market.
A gold star for Vodafone, Rebel Sport, McDonald’s, Rinnai and Samsung this week.
Last month, when Vodafone launched its Gold Rush campaign for the release of the Samsung Galaxy S5, StopPress commented on how fortunate James Rolleston was to not have been given the same sadistic treatment as that thrown at Guy Williams for Telecom’s promotion of the snazzy phone. However, this observation may have been slightly pre-emptive because Vodafone’s latest spot, which although not resorting to physical abuse, will likely cause the actor a lingering sense of shame that can only come with seeing oneself—at primetime every night—with a bowl cut.
Earlier this month, Telecom opted for a sadistic promotional approach by forcing comedian Guy Williams to endure a range of painful experiences as part of its ‘Extreme Unboxing’ campaign for the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S5. And while this certainly generated quite a few laughs and YouTube hits for Telecom, actor Cliff Curtis will no doubt feel relieved that FCB veered away from schadenfreude when developing a campaign dedicated to the technological device for Vodafone. Rather than harming anyone in the making of its campaign, Vodafone is instead offering to reward one lucky subscriber with $100,000 worth of gold. Updated with comments from a Vodafone spokesperson.
Following last month’s announcement that Vodafone was undergoing the process of reviewing its global media account (worth about US$950 million), it has now been reported that WPP’s MEC has won the final round of pitching, which was contested between MEC and Carat (part of the Dentsu Aegis network). So what does this mean from a New Zealand perspective?
Vodafone is making sure it doesn’t miss out on its share of sales of Samsung’s latest generation Galaxy smartphone, the S5, with a hint of gold fever. It negotiated to offer the gold variant of the device and is putting up a bunch of swag to enthusiasts who can’t resist being first to get the new tech.
When a company grows its revenue 1116 percent in three years it’s obviously young. But software developer Alphero is wise beyond its years thanks to co-founders Caroline Dewe and Kostia Shinderman, well used to specialising at the big end of town.
Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.
In January, Vodafone announced that it was reviewing its global media account, which has been held by Omnicom’s OMD for half a decade. And this process could have repercussions for local account holders.
In this series, we talk to Kiwi keyboard tappers that have managed to shift from the personal realm of blogging to create online media brands that are widely read (and in some cases profitable). In this segment, we chat to Mauricio Freitas, the founder of Geekzone.
Moves and shakes at the Retailers Association, Facebook NZ, George FM, Porter Novelli and STW.
Vodafone has renewed its naming rights sponsorship deal with the Vodafone Warriors until 2018, taking the partnership, which started in 1999, to 20 years and making it the longest of its kind in New Zealand. And the Herald has also followed suit by renewing its deal with the team until 2016.
Having already established a strong foothold in the personal consumer market, 2degrees has now set its sights on business clients with an online and outdoor campaign via new account holders Special Group. In addition to featuring the faces of several prominent business owners on billboards, the campaign has also resulted in several updates to the mobile service provider’s website. PLUS: find out why 2degrees is so keen to tap into the business market.
Clink your glasses for Holden’s heart racing, Vodafone’s period drama, Hallenstein’s kaleidoscope and Whittaker’s chocolate art.