The Brief

Hutchwilco are NZ’s oldest manufacturer of life jackets. The only problem is their customers keep dying, because the target audience of recreational fishermen don’t tell anyone where they’re going when they go fishing. The problem is no matter how good Hutchwilco’s lifejackets are, if no one knows where fishermen go, the likelihood of finding them if they get in trouble is close to impossible. We needed to change the way fishermen behave.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

We came up with Secret Fishing Spots, an iPhone app for fishermen to log their secret spots without giving them away to everyone. When they go fishing, all they do is drop GPS pins on the map at their favourite spots, then select the spots they’re going to each time they head out. If they don’t come home, a loved one they’ve nominated can log on to secretfishingspots.co.nz and see all their spots, and send these coordinates to emergency services. We hoped to get several thousand people to log spots, and opt in to a database that hutchwilco could leverage.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

Over the summer the target audience have kept the app consistently in the top 10 of free sporting apps on itunes. On the app itself, over 2,000 spots have been registered - a big deal for a demographic who tend not to tell a soul where they go. For Hutchwilco it’s built up a new database, with 50% of those registering opting in to be contacted directly by the company through this new channel. Most importantly it’s changed the way fishermen behave, providing them and their families with a valuable tool to keep themselves safe, that they’re actually using.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

It’s a part of boatie folklore not to share their favourite spots. The app lets them keep their spots secret from all their mates while still providing a comprehensive database to be accessed, should they strike trouble. The app also helps fishermen do what they do best – boast. They can use it to connect to facebook and boast about the fish they’ve caught at which secret spots. Without revealing the location of said spots, of course.