Safe text this summer with The Hyperfactory and Tauranga City Council

The kids of Tauranga and Mt Maunganui were better informed and safer this summer thanks to an initiative developed between Tauranga City Council and interactive mobile marketing specialists, The Hyperfactory. The campaign centred around a ‘Live it, Survive it’ passport aimed to provide youth in the area with all the information they needed to survive the summer; no-liquor zones, all the party hot spots and bus timetable information.

During the course of the initiative, which ran from 26th December to the 5th January, more than 10,000 passports were distributed. The mobile element of the campaign allowed kids to sign up to receive information and alerts by text. Seven separate alerts were sent during the course of the programme, each providing the recipient with up to date information about events happening in the region. The culmination of these events was the New Year’s Eve party, which more than 30,000 people attended.

The Hyperfactory worked with the interactive communications team at Tauranga City Council to develop the mobile element of the campaign. General Manager of New Zealand, Darnell Dixon explains, “Mobile interaction is such an integral part of everyday life for these kids, it is an entirely natural progression to include mobile in the ‘Live it, Survive it’ programme.”

Frank Begley, programme director at Tauranga City Council adds, “This is the fifth year we have run the ‘Live it, Survive it’ initiative and it has always proven a great success with the local population. We have always been looking for innovative ways to communicate the message of how to have fun safely and txt is an entirely appropriate channel for this audience.”

“This was the first time we had included a txt channel in the programme,” continues Frank, “and indeed, we are the first Council in New Zealand to run such a campaign using an SMS channel. We found it to be a great success, to such an extent that other councils in New Zealand have decided to replicate the programme locally.”

Darnell concludes, “It is always refreshing to see how mobile technology and txt can be used to real effect in a community environment. The Tauranga City Council ‘Live it, Survive it’ programme is a great example of how receptive the public are to SMS initiatives.”

About The Hyperfactory

The Hyperfactory was founded in New Zealand in 2000 and now has offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, New York, India and New Zealand, with a network of operations spanning the Asia Pacific and American regions. In addition to ranking in the top 50 Fastest Growing Companies in the 2004 Deloitte Asia Pacific Fast 500, The Hyperfactory has received a number of prestigious international accolades, including winner of the Best Use of Wireless category at the 2005 ad:tech awards for Coke Play, finalist at the 2005 ad:tech awards for Adidas Real Madrid Tour of China, finalist at the 2004 ad:tech awards for Coke XLR8 and finalists at the 2004 and 2005 Global Messaging Awards, London.

The Hyperfactory continues to pioneer the production of world class interactive mobile marketing and business initiatives which promote connectivity between people and brands. By embracing new telecommunication technology, The Hyperfactory enhances the interactive mobile media experience for consumers across Asia Pacific and American markets.

Providing strategic counsel at every stage of the campaign, from conceptual ideas to execution; The Hyperfactory works in close partnership with all major global agency partners such as Saatchi & Saatchi, FCB, Ogilvy and WPP. Its clients include Vodafone, L’Oreal, Coca-Cola, Adidas, Sony Playstation, Burger King, Subway Sandwiches, McDonalds, Unilever, and GlaxoSmithKline.

ENDS

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