Telling the untold story of Sky City and its central role in Auckland's community is behind the entertainment group's new advertising campaign which uses staff as storytellers.
SkyCity's head of communications, Colin Espiner, says the new "It All Starts Here" brand campaign includes television and radio as well as print and digital advertising and strives to show how SkyCity is embedded within the social, economic and cultural fabric of Auckland.
He says the campaign, created by Colenso BBDO and produced by Auckland company Finch Productions, is a radical departure from previous advertising by the entertainment company.
"We want to show we are more than just a casino," he says. "We are really trying to get that across to people as we believe they often don't see any further than that; they don't see just how far we reach into the community; how many people we employ and how much we support local businesses."
Espiner says the ads demonstrate SkyCity's value as an employer, a community benefactor, an entertainment option popular with Aucklanders and visitors, a sponsor, and a supporter of local businesses. They also show the pride the company's staff has in working there.
He says SkyCity:
• Donates nearly $40 million to charity through its three community trusts since 1996.
• Spends more than $30 million on food and beverages each year for its two hotels and 20 bars and restaurants
• Sources more than 96 per cent of products sold in those outlets from Kiwi businesses, contributing significantly to the livelihood of New Zealand suppliers like Akaroa Salmon and Mahurangi Oysters.
• Employs around 4000 New Zealanders, paying $168 million in wages and are Auckland CBD's largest ratepayer and largest single-site employer. SkyCity has one of the biggest 'back of house' training facilities in the country and is one of the country's largest hospitality employers, with more than 370 chefs.
• Pays taxes of $162 million to central government and another $4m in rates.
• Sponsors a range of local and national sports teams, including the SkyCity Breakers, the Vodafone Warriors and the Blues, on top of financially supporting the NZ International Comedy Festival, the Chinese New Year Festival, Market Day and fireworks displays at the recent Auckland 175th anniversary.
"From any angle, we are a significant force in Auckland and New Zealand - but that story is seldom told. We never hear, for example, that the Federal St restaurants and bars and all the other SkyCity restaurants buy almost all their products from local suppliers - or that they are amongst New Zealand's most awarded and lauded restaurants."
Espiner says the new campaign is not a visitation or marketing exercise but a brand campaign. "The Sky Tower is attracting 15,000 visitors a week and the hotels are running at over 90 per cent occupancy.
"Sometimes it's a struggle to accommodate our sponsored sports teams as the hotels are so full and the casino is also doing well.
"So this is not a numbers game; nor are we trying to attract people into the area so they will go to the casino - many people who choose to dine out on Federal Street will never set foot in our casino, and vice versa. The Sky City restaurants, fopr example, are so popular they turn over $40 million a year.
"We want to provide another perspective of SkyCity to the public who may not know that much about us beyond what they read in the paper. A large percentage of the community doesn't know that much about us; we want to give them more information so they can make more informed decisions."
Nick Worthington, Creative Chair for Colenso BBDO, said of the new campaign: "When we started working on this, we had no idea that Depot, The Sugar Club, Masu, The Grill or Gusto were all part of SkyCity nor that the whole of Federal St was effectively run by them.
We didn't know 96 per cent of the food was locally grown, caught or sourced - and no idea they trained and employed 4,000 people, mostly Aucklanders; nor that they put so much back into the community in donations to charity, sports sponsorship and training. It's the kind of stuff you only find out by taking the time to talk to people."
Espiner says the new campaign also attempted to balance a ledger which often had SkyCity associated with negative issues.
"People just hear about us around issues like gambling or the New Zealand International Convention Centre and we often feel we don't get a fair hearing from the mainstream media. Hopefully anyone who catches the new advertisements on TV or sees the billboards might think twice before they make up their minds."
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