Helping Vodafone bring humanity to technology
Tell the story. Then, and only then, sell the tech.
Listen. I’m a huge fan of technology. Anything that’s a tool for making the world a better place, I’m all for it. Cows carrying RFID tags to help reduce the nitrogen load in rivers. Microswitches and microchips triggering airbags in microseconds. Tuning voice recognition to local accents, making ICE systems easier to control and less distracting to use. Smartphone operating systems you can adjust as your kids grow up. Highly, highly embraceable. But very, very technical.
The trick with technology, as with all things, is to rise above the data. To add life. Add understandability. Add stories, interest, and emotion.
I spent nearly five years as Creative Director and Strategist for Vodafone New Zealand*, simplifying technology and making it feel good. This is small a selection of that work.
*(and IBM, and EMC, and Microsoft, and Nokia before that)
Reflecting on possibilities
Vodafone commissioned a range of corporate videos to explain the intricacies of mobility engineering. But all that explaining wasn’t helping anyone feel anything. I wrote and directed a TVC to add a sense of power and intrigue to the category.
Getting Vodafone into the zone
There were two problems with Vodafone as a brand in New Zealand: it was seen as “consumer-first” (a legacy of launching as a mobile brand), and a bit slow and inflexible (not true, but perception is reality). Not a lot of small businesses tended to trust the brand to help them grow. I lead the creative teams and our clients through the launch of a platform designed to change that perception.
It’s called Vodafone xone: a collaborative acceleration programme for startups.
We designed and built the web presence — including lead generation, portfolio management, event management, and webinar capabilities. We helped shoot and edit profiles of the startups (including an art direction specification for promotional shots), and gave them PR advice. We engaged journalists to write about their success, thanks to Vodafone. And we developed launch campaigns tailored to applicants.
Strong art directional guidance helps startups look professional, entrepreneurial — and just plain old interesting.
Vodafone New Zealand’s numbers prove the direct worth of backing startups — without even looking at the value of improved brand preference amongst the wider business community.
Helping families navigate the future
When you’re the company responsible for feeding technology into people’s lives faster than they can keep up with the ramifications, you might suddenly find yourself in a position of authority.
What to do? Empathise. Then advise.
That’s the strategic approach we took to launching Vodafone Digi-Parenting: a complete platform from storytelling to counselling to downloadable Teen Phone Contracts to product and service recommendations.
Whimsical, wonderful, emotional — and helpful: the film we created at FCB to introduce Vodafone Digi-Parenting.
“Back when I was a kid, we didn’t have these fancy iPhones, life was so much better, you went out into the world and went exploring, and if you got lost or fell in a river, that was it, game over…”
I lead the creative and strategic approach to building the Digi-Parenting platform. Based on empathy for parents and their kids — and helping support and educate everyone on what approach to technology suits their family best — we partnered with NetSafe and The Parenting Place to produce brand films, a playlist of helpful videos, a comprehensive blog explaining and discussing issues, and a huge volume of syndicated content published in magazines and online, all leading to a set of products and services recommended for families.
In this example, “Dave” from The Parenting Place (a real life parent and counsellor) walks parents through managing all kinds of issues — from screen time to cyber bullying. He references the “Vodafone Ninjas” — Vodafone’s trained experts — and their ability to help parents set data limits, with links to specific how-to instructional videos (see below).
The content has evolved over time as partnerships have come and gone, but the foundation is sound.
