Selling NZ will be the story

By ELLEN READ

It's not quite "One Ring to Rule Them All" but the challenge taken on by Wellington company StoryInc is almost as great.

The company that produced the Lord of the Rings exhibition, now pulling record crowds worldwide, is hard at work preparing to sell New Zealand at the World Expo in Japan next year.

Their task this time is more like "Seven minutes to sell New Zealand" to the millions of visitors expected at Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan.

Going by past numbers, visitors will spend on average less than 10 minutes in the pavilion.

"We need to give a visceral feel for what New Zealand is all about without [people] having to read too much or linger too long," says StoryInc director Steve La Hood.

"It's an idealised picture - what New Zealand aspires to be, making it motivational."

StoryInc, which specialises in producing displays and exhibitions, got the job of creating New Zealand's expo message late last year.

Their plan is to use lots of film footage and interactive screens to give visitors a glimpse of New Zealand through the theme "nature's wisdom".

"We've interpreted this as how New Zealanders interact with their environment," La Hood says.

"We are the guardians of the nature we inherited."

The concept features footage of New Zealand's natural environment and is delivered through the latest technology.

It will convey the messages from the two clients - New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, which promotes "New thinking NZ", and Tourism NZ, which sells "100% pure".

Announcing the Government's funding earlier in the year, Prime Minister Helen Clark said New Zealand would use the themes of environment and technology to promote "New Zealand Inc". The footage will give a bird's-eye view, travelling the length of the country through the four seasons and from dusk to dawn.

Footage will include people in suburban sites showing high-tech New Zealand companies and engineering.

"We're trying to make something refreshing visually but we don't want to portray ourselves as happy little peasants in a bucolic paradise," says StoryInc director James McLean.

New Zealand's ambassador to Japan, Phillip Gibson, says this country has a good brand image in Japan - green, beautiful and pure - but that it is also important to show there is more on offer here.

The Expo building is a standardised cube, and can be decorated only on the inside. StoryInc will use a cloud hanging from the ceiling which "follows" visitors through the exhibition.

Lit from inside, it will portray the legendary land of the long white cloud.

Water will flow from a fountain on to a piece of New Zealand rock which visitors will be able to touch.

On the technical front, the film footage will run on three screens, each 12m wide and 3m high.

There will be no narrative because of the different languages of the visitors, but there will be Pacific-influenced music.

"It will also be a looping thing where people can come in at any time because we can't afford to have them waste two or three minutes waiting for the thing to start," La Hood said.

For those who want to spend more time at the display, there will be more information available through 60 whiteboard-sized touch screens.

StoryInc's team have been working on the stand throughout the year.

The structural side is already in place in Aichi. Because of the ecological theme of Expo 2005, the pavilions are standardised and understated. "It will be simple, as that will appeal to the Japanese aesthetic," says Lahood. "It will be like a haven."

So far, 125 countries, eight international organisations and numerous Japanese Government, corporate and non-Government organisations have signed up for Expo 2005.

It is expected to attract 15 million visitors between March 25 and September 25. Seven million tickets have already been sold.

The Government has committed $8.5 million to the New Zealand pavilion at Aichi. An extra $3.5 million has been allocated over four years to capitalise on opportunities presented by the expo, with a particular focus on business, trade, science and technology, education, tourism and cultural exchanges.

Sponsors are also expected to give $1.5 million. Zespri and Toyota have already committed about $300,000 each.


Expo 2005

* Expo 2005 is being built 20km east of Nagoya's central railway station.

* Japan hopes to "bring a smile to the face of the Earth" with its eco-

* friendly theme.

* About 7000 events will be held on 185 days next year.

* Expo is projected to have combined costs and revenue of 330 billion ($4.6 billion).

* Work on New Zealand's pavilion in a global precinct is well under way.

* Expo will run from March 25 to September 25.