Results and Effectiveness

We received over 7,900 reasons to love Auckland’s CBD – the equivalent of 48,000 if the same campaign had run in NYC. The campaign improved key perception scores, particularly in the wealthier Northern & Eastern suburbs: • “Exciting”: North+15%, East+44%, West+3%, South-15% • “Full of things to do”: North+16%, East+15%, West+5%, South-8% • “Something I am proud of: North+13%, East+15%, West+6%, South-15% Retail sales were up 6% meaning Aucklanders were not only spending more time in the CBD, but also spending more money. Handing control of our marketing to real people successfully made Aucklanders re-look at their CBD.

Creative Execution

Next we worked with well-known cool & hip Auckland celebrities to seed the campaign idea through their own social networks. Then we partnered with Auckland’s largest daily newspaper – the New Zealand Herald. They amplified the groundswell of our celebrities by having their team of journalists publish their own personal reasons for loving Auckland’s CBD. This became our ‘Urban Journeys’: a series of editorial content that was extended across all the NZ Herald’s print & digital assets. This inspired even greater consumer participation, allowing us to share an additional 500 reasons for loving Auckland’s CBD across city-wide street furniture To conclude the campaign we held an outdoor art exhibition of the top 100 Instagram images as part of Auckland’s Art Week Event.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Auckland City is consistently ranked as a Top 10 city in the world to live. Despite international recognition, all is not well in paradise. Indeed, most Aucklanders think the city’s CBD is the exact opposite to that of a vibrant and world class destination. We were challenged to change negative perceptions and increase three key measures by a minimum of 10% each over the campaign period: 1) exciting; 2) full of things to do; 3) something I am proud of So we handed over the CBD’s marketing to the people of Auckland. We asked the small minority – our 1% - already convinced that Auckland’s CBD is a great place to live work and play – to inspire their fellow citizens by showcasing a fresh, new and authentic perspective to the CBD Our idea was to curate real content from real people, activated through Instagram via: #loveyourcityblc