NZI launches a fresh view on Kiwi culture in a new brand campaign via DraftFCB Auckland

NZI (New Zealand Insurance), via DraftFCB Auckland, launched its long-anticipated brand campaign on the weekend for the business insurance market.

This is the first television campaign for NZI for eight years.

A celebration of a typical New Zealand port town, Draftfcb and animators, Assembly, have created a different lens through which to tell the story of businesses experiencing the unexpected. The goal of the campaign is to demonstrate NZI’s understanding of the challenges business owners face, and that it will support business sustainability even when the very unexpected happens.

VIEW THE SPOT

Says Karl Armstrong, executive general manager NZI: “NZI is New Zealand’s leading business insurer but many business customers don’t necessarily know us by name because we do not deal with them directly.”

To create cut-through, the story telling device in the campaign needed to be extreme without being frightening. It also needed to reflect the cultural ‘norms’ New Zealanders recognise as their own and to be quintessentially New Zealand without being cliché. Animation proved to be the perfect technique to achieve this goal, while creating a high level of engagement with the audience.

Launching with a 60-second TVC, viewers will enter a unique world that feels very familiar yet blurs the boundaries between what is real and imaginary.

Says Donna Williams, marketing and communications manager, NZI: ” The challenge we set for Draftfcb was to ensure the campaign demonstrated our deep understanding and appreciation for small business in New Zealand, and encouraged businesses to ask their broker for NZI by name. We’re excited by the result and believe it will resonate well with our target market.”  

In an innovative approach to insurance category advertising, the ever-present risk faced by Kiwi businesses has been symbolised by a ‘possessed’ office chair that moves from business to business, creating havoc at every step. The outtake is that bad things happen when least expected so it’s important to be prepared in advance and to be supported by a trusted insurance partner.

The animated town, ‘Port Avon’, has allowed the creation of a wealth of assets to deploy through an integrated campaign across multiple media channels.  The richness of the creative execution will also give the campaign longevity, allowing NZI to use it as a platform to further engage customers into the future.

Says Toby Sellers, group account director, DraftFCB” “DraftFCB has prioritised getting under the skin of Kiwi culture. We use these insights to create engaging story telling that helps our clients to connect in real and powerful ways with their audiences and motivate change.

“With NZI, we set out to celebrate life in a contemporary New Zealand town and to demonstrate an understanding of the many risks faced by small business – NZI’s core customer base and the backbone of the country’s economy.”

The campaign aired across New Zealand TV on Sunday 25th August across all channels. The visual world from the TV spot will be translated into other campaign assets such as digital, print, direct and ambient

Amanda Cater – Media Director