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Home / Venture  / Case study: Behind the 2013 TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards

Case study: Behind the 2013 TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards

?The TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards combined DM, print advertising, magazine editorial, online video, web apps, branded table cloths, customised magazines and of course one big night to become the biggest awards in its 22 year history – and in the words of one sponsor, the awards were ‘the best ever’. How did it succeed?

Start with a solid partnership

It starts with good foundations. The awards are a joint venture between the Marketing Association of New Zealand and NZ Marketing magazine, which is owned by Image Centre Group.

Working together since 2009, the partners have revived the awards to become the industry’s most prestigious of their kind.

“Getting a good working partnership has been the key to our success,” says Sue McCarty, chief executive of the Marketing Association. “We are quite different organisations with very different skills but we share a vision to celebrate great marketing. It’s been amazing to have Image Centre throw its collective power behind the already successful programme.”

Make it an integrated effort

Image Centre Group deployed six of its eight subsidiaries to help pull off the big night: Tangible Media, &some, OnDigital, Boston Print, Dpod and Image Print – which all work together under the same roof in Auckland’s Mount Albert.

2013 tvnz-nz marketing awards behind the scenesThe leg-work began with a relaunch of awards in 2012. Working closely with the teams at the MA and NZ Marketing magazine, &some repositioned the awards as ‘Everything Marketing’, redesigning the look, website and trophy.

The look was refreshed for 2013, and a ‘call for entries’ campaign was launched consisting of targeted DM to the MA and Tangible databases and above- the-line advertising across Tangible’s magazines and websites.

Leads fed into an MA database and their team followed with a telemarketing campaign. Result: a record number of entries.

On judging day, OnDigital filmed the judges’ comments on winners, which were condensed into videos for show on the awards night, with the script written in-house. The site was then re-skinned to pink and finalists were notified and publicised. Ticket sales began, with Stoppress and eDMs pushing purchases. Certificates were printed by Dpod.

It culminates in the big night

Meanwhile, the events team at the MA were co-ordinating the big night like an orchestra conductor.

On the night of the awards, glamour shots taken in front of the giant 3D logo built by ICG’s in-house cardboard engineer Mat Bogust. Photos were later turned into customised photo books for sponsors and award winners, using Tangible Media’s design capabilities and the HP Indigo printer.

2013 tvnz-nzmarketing awards behind the scenesThe 71 tables each had a 3D cardboard logo of their own (printed, die-cut and shaped at ICG) inside a clear box filled with faux-ice. Fabric table runners were printed with the logo, and branded table number cards sat on top. A 20-page programme glittered with a metal stock cover.

The marble walls and programmes held a QR code decal that led to a mobile web app, where guests entered a draw to win an HP tablet and a bottle of champagne, awarded at the end of the night. Personal information was collected through this app and guests’ names were printed by the HP Indigo onto the cover of the new issue of NZ Marketing, to be posted out the next day. This turned out to be a huge hit with guests.

NZ Marketing magazine editor Ben Fahy says as well as seeing ICG companies work together, from a marketing point of view the personalisation demonstrated an interesting quirk in human nature “of loving it when you see your name on something”.

The awards showed the value of a collaborative set-up, says Dave Atkins, managing director of Image Centre. “Events are the ultimate multi-channel challenge and so this was a match made in heaven for Image Centre.” 

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