Aggressive retail pricing of fixed, mobile and data services is regularly offered by NZ Telecom market participants in an effort to win a greater share of customers*.

Against this backdrop Telecom needed to raise awareness of its latest products and services amongst a youth target and enhance their brand perceptions.

Objectives

• Create an event with high visibility amongst a youth audience.
• Create talkability and excitement around Telecom and its latest product offerings.

Why Branded Content?

• Branded content works cohesively with radio allowing advertisers to reach their audience through multiple touchpoints – On Air, Online, Text, and on the street.
• Radio and online are used together as complimentary media. Around 20% of people online are also listening to the radio at the same time**.

• Radio drives online response. Over a third of radio listeners have searched for a website after hearing it on the radio**.

Integrated Strategy

• The Edge created a social networking phenomenon for Telecom by locking 10 contestants in a house for a month. Their mission was to acquire as many cyber friends as possible to win $10,000. There was 24 hour audio-visual surveillance and all their movements were streamed to the world via the web.
• Telecom was able to create touch points throughout key social networking sites Facebook, Bebo, Myspace and Youtube and of course theedge.co.nz.
• Telecom products were integrated into all the content. Telecom Broadband T Sticks connected contestants to the web and Telecom LG Groove Mobile Phones were used to upload videos and pictures to their social networking pages. A Telecom free 0800 number was used so listeners could call the contestants on their mobiles. Giveaways included T Sticks, Mobiles, Air-time credit, T Clips and promotions were created around Telecom 99c Sundays and ‘My Favourites’.
• Telecom were incorporated into The Next Top Friend Micro-site through T Stick TVC’s (created by the contestants), 60” Video on Demand Pre-rolls, Buttons, Banners, Logos and the 5 Webcam streams were powered by Telecom.
• Telecom also created their own Micro-site to further promote the various products. This was built in the same style as the Next Top Friend microsite.
• Street giveaways included T Clips, Telecom flyers and tickets to Telecom Events.

Results

• Telecom said “The Edge were pro-active in assisting to ensure Telecom products were seamlessly interwoven into the fabric of this competition. We were particularly impressed at the innovative approach by The Edge to incorporate online activity in this competition. The level of interest around this promotion well surpassed our expectations and we feel our involvement positively impacted Telecom brand perceptions with the target audience.”
• The Edge website had 2,261,767 Page Impressions (213% increase) and 134,396 unique browsers (58% increase) during the promotion.
• 78,000 Cyber friends were added on social networking sites
• From an on-line Survey, 87% said they knew Telecom was involved with the promotion, 71% said it made sense to get Telecom involved and 96% said Telecom made it easy and simple for the contestants to stay connected

*Telecom Business Overview 2008 ** RAB “Word of Mouse” Study 2007