Going a bit Square in Wellington - Lambton Square Shopping Centre Redevelopment

Immersion pitched for and won the branding and signage contract for the multi-million dollar re-development of Lambton Square Shopping Centre. The new site will become the flagship for the retailing landscape around Lambton Quay. Competition was fierce, and a few eyebrows were raised when a Dunedin based company beat out the ‘Capital City’ marketing teams.

Sarah Girvan will now be out of the office every Wednesday and putting her knowledge of international shopping centre marketing to good use. As part of the project Development Team she will be working with representatives from AMP Capital, Jasmax Architects (the same architects that designed Forsyth Barr Stadium), and Demografik Design. Another, ‘watch this space’ project, that is going to be BIG!

View the redevelopment photos here...

Going a bit Square in Wellington - Lambton Square Shopping Centre Redevelopment

 Foodhall

 Foodhall

 Upstairs

Downstairs

Redevelopment designs by Jasmax Architects. 

How Hot Are You? Ethos Woodfires

Ethos Woodfires are based in Christchurch and their patented wood fires are sold nation-wide. Ethos approached Immersion Marketing wanting assistance to develop a marketing strategy and refreshed brand that would help them to increase sales and distribution nationwide.

Immersion’s first task was to determine Ethos’s value proposition and appropriate positioning strategy. The team became engrossed in the Ethos brand, statistics were analysed, retailers interviewed, customers surveyed and a focus groups held. As a company, Ethos Woodfires began the process of reflecting on what they have achieved so far and rejuvenating their brand for the future.

We partnered with Christchurch based Demografik Design to create a new logo and simplified colour palette that presents a consumer facing brand.

We identified that Ethos has the hottest lowest emission fireplace on the market, and Demografik created a brand identity that focused on people rather than fires, and the emotional decisions tied to a wood fire purchase. With the black and white photographs, a strong logo and an emotive play on words, Ethos Woodfires has claimed their market position as an expert in clean heat. ‘What’s your Ethos?’

The importance of supporting retailers was also identified during the brand positioning phase. Co-branded marketing packages have been developed, along with in-store information packs, technical specifications and digital displays. To enable effective consumer decisions, this information is also available online and backed up by the Ethos sales support team.

Client feedback: – “Love it, Immersion Marketing nailed it!”

Pacific Edge Limited - Saving Lives Worldwide from Dunedin

Cancer is a pandemic disease; as a Dunedin based company that is developing cancer diagnostic technologies, Pacific Edge is saving lives on a world scale. By combining exacting scientific research and analytical software, Pacific Edge has created easy to use early cancer detection tests that allows for better cancer management.

Sarah Girvan says, “It’s easy to admire what Pacific Edge has achieved, and they back their own creations. They haven’t sold their technologies to a manufacturer, they have patented their products, and are overseeing their delivery to markets around the world. They are producing exceptionally innovative products and it has been a priviledge to work with such a forward thinking company.”

Spot Bob! - How do you market a bladder cancer detection test?

Cxbladder® is a non-invasive, simple-to-use urine test that detects bladder cancer.

The Challenge: To develop a marketing campaign that would connect with two distinct audiences: medical professionals and their patients. Finding the balance between medical ‘tech speak’ and ‘do this because it could save your life’ was a challenge in itself.

The Creation: Immersion partnered with Strategy Design & Advertising, from Christchurch, to reposition the brand and develop an innovative information pack for medical professionals (predominately urologists) and patients.

Read more and check out the collateral...

Spot Bob! - How do you market a bladder cancer detection test?

Cxbladder® is a non-invasive, simple-to-use urine test that detects bladder cancer.  

The Challenge: To develop a marketing campaign that would connect with two distinct audiences: medical professionals and their patients. Finding the balance between medical ‘tech speak’ and ‘do this because it could save your life’ was a challenge in itself.

The Creation: Immersion partnered with Strategy Design & Advertising, from Christchurch, to reposition the brand and develop an innovative information pack for medical professionals (predominately urologists) and patients.

Whilst Immersion was instrumental in identifying the appropriate positioning strategy and translating technical content into plain language, Strategy Design & Advertising introduced a fresh new professional look, with a fun twist - a challenge to ‘Spot the bladder cancer patient’, on the front cover!

Thanks to Dunedin based Taieri Print, the design became a reality, a challenging print job, it's finished to the highest possible quality (Sarah spent 3.5 hours press checking the job onsite, thanks for your patience Taieri Print!).

The health professional information packs feature a high quality, custom three panel folder that reveals an information guide, supporting research papers, and sample wire bound patient case studies in a clean, uncluttered format. A leaflet with its own free-standing display will also be displayed in waiting rooms as an educational aid for patients.

The Result: Feedback from the Pacific Edge team, stakeholders and prospects in New Zealand and internationally has been excellent. The direct mail launch to urologists and GPs will will be happening early in 2012, whilst the re-branded design has also appeared in KiaOra magazine advertising, on the Cxbladder® website, trade displays in North America and Australia, and will soon feature in a nationwide advertising campaign.  

EVENT: The Doddsy International

Lake Wanaka Contact Tri Series – Elite Race, 20^th January 2012

Late last year in an effort to increase the number of elite competitors and support the Contact Tri’s continued presence in Wanaka, local Wanaka triathlete and Olympic hopeful Doddsy (Tony Dodds) laid down the ‘Doddsy International’ challenge.

In a quest to bring more world class athletes to the race, Doddsy announced he would double the prize money from his own pocket if anyone could beat him. This generated a huge amount of media coverage, increased local spectator turnout with thousands showing up chanting ‘Doddsy, Doddsy’ and attracted several international triathletes including World Number 5 Frenchman Laurent Vidal who ended up narrowly beating Doddsy for first place in a nail biting race!

This year the event is recognised as an official ITU World Series race, meaning valuable points are on the board for international triathletes. Creating added incentive to come, but there’s more.....

Read more here...

EVENT: The Doddsy International

Lake Wanaka Contact Tri Series – Elite Race, 20^th January 2012 

Late last year in an effort to increase the number of elite competitors and support the Contact Tri’s continued presence in Wanaka, local Wanaka triathlete and Olympic hopeful Doddsy (Tony Dodds) laid down the ‘Doddsy International’ challenge.

In a quest to bring more world class athletes to the race, Doddsy announced he would double the prize money from his own pocket if anyone could beat him. This generated a huge amount of media coverage, increased local spectator turnout with thousands showing up chanting ‘Doddsy, Doddsy’ and attracted several international triathletes including World Number 5 Frenchman Laurent Vidal who ended up narrowly beating Doddsy for first place in a nail biting race!

This year the event is recognised as an official ITU World Series race, meaning valuable points are on the board for international triathletes. Creating added incentive to come, but there’s more.....

$10,000 for first place! 

In 2012 the stakes are increased, to attract the big boys, we also need the big prize pot.

Our audacious Doddsy International mission is to Quintruple the prize pot and raise $10,000!  The first place prize has been set at $2k, one anonymous sponsor has already contributed $2k and we have another $1k pledged, so only $5k to go!

That’s your bit. We are asking sponsors, fans and local businesses to get involved. The bigger the prize, the bigger the turnout and the bigger the flow-on benefit for Wanaka’s community.

What we need from you

We are looking for contributions towards the prize pot, all businesses and fans that put forward prize money will be mentioned on Doddsy’s website and via Doddsy’s Facebook and Twitter profiles (over 1,300 fans).  

We are asking businesses for minimum contributions of only $200 each.

If cash isn’t something that you can offer we are also on the lookout for some ‘uniquely Wanaka’ prizes. Something that showcases Wanaka and attracts athletes not just for the $$ but for the awesome time they can have in Wanaka afterwards.

For any businesses interested in a major contribution ($500+) we would definitely be interested in discussing a way Doddsy could work with you to maximise your marketing exposure.

What happens if Doddsy wins? 

Doddsy is a man of his word and doesn’t think it would be fair if he took the additional prize money himself should he win – which he is aiming for!

He has pledged that should he win, he will donate all the prize money raised to Cystic Fibrosis.

What’s planned? 

We’ve already managed to secure lot’s of interest in the lead-up to the event and hope the following will help to maximise attendance, thanks very very much to everyone who has helped us get this far:

- Doddsy International Video Challenge, to be filmed and released late November. Thanks to Lake Wanaka Tourism. 
- Doddsy International Media Release, to be distributed via national and international sports media with the assistance of Triathlon NZ and SportConnect.
- Doddsy profile in the Otago Daily Times, profiling both Doddsy and the upcoming race.
- New Doddsy website launching early November, thanks to NV Interactive.
- A triathlete dinner at the Lake Hawea Tavern the night before. The Tavern will be putting on a feed for all of the elite competitors, this is open to the public to come and meet and mingle with the athletes.
- We are also working on a ‘Wanaka Day Out’ for athletes, showing off the sights and activities in Wanaka, including helicopter rides, claybird shooting and hopefully lots more.

This year the race will again be broadcast LIVE on TV1. The day before TV1 also run interviews featuring Doddsy and fellow triathletes taking in the sites and activities Wanaka has on offer.

Contact

Tony Dodds – tony.dodds@gmail.com

Sarah Girvan, Publicist – 021 552 240 or sarah@immersionmarketing.co.nz

Follow Doddsy
Website: www.tonydodds.com    -    Facebook: ‘Tony Dodds aka Doddsy’    -    Twitter: @doddsy_nz

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Shhhhh it’s Secret Squirrel! – An Eye on Market Research

WHK Dunedin has been Immersion Marketing’s company accountant right from the start. They understand the importance of a professional marketing team; have used Immersion’s services, and recommended Immersion to their clients.

Accurate market research is essential for any new venture, and we have just completed a feasibility study investigating market potential for one of WHK’s largest clients. There is nothing like being part of a brand new idea and working with an Australasian company listed on the NZX, so thanks WHK for recommending us.

Introducing... Cannon Hill Gourmet Foods!

Conducting product testing for our new client, Cannon Hill Gourmet Foods proved to be just another hard day at the Immersion Marketing office... It was a unanimous decision that the aioli, and the saffron, dill and mustard mayonnaise are to die for!

Cannon Hill creators, Tony Elliott (a practising chef) and his wife Karen have created a range of deli-quality fine foods. By delivering products to supermarkets that would normally be found in quality restaurants, their goal is to spark everyone’s culinary creativity so everyone can go on gastronomic adventures in their own kitchen.

Immersion has completed their marketing strategy,  and is in the process of rolling it out so keep an eye out for them in a supermarket near you soon! 

Check out Cannon Hill's fantastic products here. 

TracMap Website: GPS Made Easy

Colin Brown and Grant Gibson from TracMap are on Immersion Marketing’s AAA+ client list. According to Sarah, “They are great to work with, know exactly what they want, give direct instructions, and they’ve got an innovative product.” Immersion Marketing took a strategic approach to the site development, undertaking research and extensive website architecture and planning.

We gathered data from clients and prospects, and began to understand exactly what the market wanted. We then made the important distinction that prospects and clients search by industry first, and application of the product is also of equal importance. This became the basis for the new TracMap website.

In collaboration with NV Interactive, Immersion Marketing has recently re-launched TracMap’s website. The critical aspect to developing the website has been usability. The product range have been re-organised by function into clearly defined channels. Each landing page is clear and uncluttered with detailed information just a few clicks away.

TracMap's innovative products do have extensive technical specifications, and it is up to the client to choose how much information they need to see.

The website is also reactive to the needs of each international market. The customers IP address determines their landing page and graphics. In North America, the Rescue and Emergency Services products pop up first, while Aerial Agriculture take the lead in Australia.

Of course, the results are commercially sensitive, but let us just say that the reconfigured website has not only authenticated TracMap’s brand identity, it has also increased product sales from around the world.

Check out the new site here.

It's all on at Lambton Square!

The Challenge:

Create an engaging Rugby World Cup installation that would increase the foot traffic and retail sales in Lambton Square Shopping Centre. With their experience in Shopping Centre marketing, of course Immersion Marketing was up for the challenge! The concept needed to be approved by the twenty-four retailers, the property manager, CB Richard Ellis, and meet the Rugby World Cup strict marketing specifications. On the practical side, it needed to be portable, durable and stand-alone so it would not hinder customer sight lines within the centre and could be rolled inside the centre barriers outside of hours to prevent vandalism.

The Concept: 

We created a 3m x 4 ½m scale photo backdrop of a rugby crowd. Passersby could dress up in their favourite rugby colours and have a ‘crowd shot’ taken.

Each participant received a card with directions to www.lambton-square.co.nz, where they could view their photo, and a $5 gift voucher that could be used at any of the Centre’s retailers. The stand is being managed by a promotional staff member/photographer from Friday to Sunday throughout the RWC programme.

The Results:

To ensure transparency and evaluate the return on investment each retailer is returning the redeemed vouchers and purchase receipt. The foot and website traffic generated will not be quantified until the end of the RWC; however, the response to date has been excellent - website traffic is up significantly, we have lots of fun content on the website and one of Centre retailers has given the project the ultimate compliment - ‘Can you do something like it for my other down town store?’

Check out some of the fantastic shots here.

Extreme Makeover: Office Edition!

The blank canvas that was our office has recently been treated to an extreme makeover as part of the first stage in transforming Immersion's office into a funky creative space!



A painter was called in, furniture was covered and within minutes the the once white walls were blasted with some colour, (correction: A LOT of colour). Our office now sports a bright green on the lower level, a blackboard covering the entire meeting area and of course we couldn't resist adding a splash of "Immersion Red" to the space.

The installation of a new heat pump also saw us able to quit huddling around our heaters, coffees and hotties; a welcome addition to the team!

We feel the space now suits our personality much better, and will assist in letting the creative juices flow...

With more transformations to come, watch this space...















Check out more images of the transformation in progress here.

Extreme Makeover: Office Edition!

Steve, the painter, gets stuck in!

The fresh blackboard gets it's first scribbles... 

Our fresh faced office! 

Venture Partners: An innovative branding strategy, for an innovative client.

Venture Partners are exactly the type of client we love working with - we love getting our teeth into new markets, and the carbon market is certainly that!

An innovative new business concept, with a focus on the rapidly growing carbon trading market, they came to us in June to assist with developing a branding strategy. The brief was to develop a flexible and scalable branding structure, one that could grow and adapt as their business also inevitably will. 

We worked with them to develop the parent brand and underlying sub-brands, using a logo device and creative that's flexible, scalable and importantly, recognisable both in isolation and clustered together.

View the final website here.


"We engaged Immersion Marketing to deliver a versatile brand, website design and marketing collateral, all in a tight frame. We're delighted with the results. Immersion delivered a first class job, on time and within budget. It's been a pleasure working with Sarah and the team and I'd be happy to recommend them." - Greg Fahey, Managing Director

True Grit Photography

True Grit hair spa bounce back with ultra stylish photoshoot...

Jacqui and her super styling team of stylists at True Grit hair spa have had a pretty rough ride over the past year.

First their Manchester St salon was damaged in September's quake, so they located to temporary premises in Tuam St, then the February quake demolished what was left of 'Old Grit'. 

Much of True Grit's original branding creative focused on the unique and plush decor of Manchester St. Our brief was to develop a new positioning strategy for 2011/2012 that reflected 'New Grit'. 

Although the décor in True Grit's Tuam St salon is just as plush, we beleived that the real brand lay within the heart, passion and skills of team True Grit. So, our first step was to arrange a photoshoot with Dunedin photographer Emily Hlavac-Green - and wow, does the real 'True Grit' really show through!

Here's a sneak peak of some of the fantastic photography...

A huge thank you also to Donna Tulloch of Mild Red, for providing the clothing for the shoot. Donna’s ‘Black Knight’ Collection was perfect for the ‘Gritty’ Christchurch backdrop.

Testimonial - Venture Partners

We engaged Immersion Marketing to deliver a versatile brand, website design and marketing collateral, all in a tight frame. We're delighted with the results. Immersion delivered a first class job, on time and within budget. It's been a pleasure working with Sarah and the team and I'd be happy to recommend them.


Greg Fahey, Managing Director - Venture Parters

Welcome to our new office...

Welcome to our new office...

Due to the Immersion team's recent growth, it was recognised that an upgrade from the shoebox office space on George Street was needed.

We have been in our new office on Bond Street for a few months now, but have yet to show it off officially! So for those of you that have not been introduced to our new space yet - this is for you. 

Immersion is now located in the beautiful Dunedin Heritage building, Salisbury House, at 104 Bond Street. For many years this was the location of Forno's Auctioneers, but is now shaping up to be quite the creative hub! Owners of the building, Hayden Cawt and Sheryl McPherson, have opened an innovative fashion and design store, Salisbury Boutique, beside us, while other tenants include Dunedin jeweller Henry Deveraux, Otago Polytech grads Rachel Webb and Elise Barnes and their fashion label, Undone and business group, Venture Partners.

In the future we hope to combine creative forces and really take advantage of this beautiful Dunedin location, so watch this space... 


Check out some more imagery of our fantastic new space here. It's very "industrial/minimalist chic" at the moment, but we've got some pretty exciting plans for making it befitting of a funky marketing agency space!

Testimonial - Demografik

Moving from supplier to client of Immersion was an easy choice for Demografik….we knew from experience that the way the team work, and the results we have seen the achieve would be a perfect fit for our business. 

Sarah’s depth of knowledge and ability to get the right information from us to turn into a targeted marketing strategy has been very impressive, in particular the way she invested time up front really getting to know us and our business. 

We now have a solid plan going forward and some great tools to drive growth for Demografik. Thanks very much!!

Nicholas Carter, Ideas Man - Demografik

MEDIA RELEASE: New Zealand Elite Triathlete Tony Dodds (aka Doddsy) remarkably unscathed after crash in Germany

New Zealand Elite Triathlete and Wanaka local Tony Dodds has been involved in a car crash in Germany whilst training for this weekend’s ITU World Series race in Hamburg. 

Tony was out training on his own on the narrow European roads when a car unexpectedly braked in-front of him. Tony has flown through the back windscreen.

Tony has emerged miraculously well considering the potential of the situation. He has 12 stiches to his arm, nicked an artery, but thankfully no broken bones.

“I was concerned about overtraining in the lead up to the London Olympic trials. So I’m seeing the silver lining in the situation! Potentially this is actually an opportunity to rest and be well prepared for August” said Tony with his characteristic optimism!

More updates on Tony’s progress will be posted to www.tonydodds.com, or via his Twitter account @doddsy_nz.

END

MEDIA RELEASE: 2011 Dunedin Midwinter Carnival Update

Public Lantern Making Workshops Booked Out for the first time ever!


If the uptake of this year’s public lantern making workshops is anything to go by, the 2011 Midwinter Carnival Procession promises to be one of the best ever!

“The response to the workshops is unprecedented. We have had to work hard to fit people in by asking them to make fewer lanterns per family and many people have had to miss out, but we just can’t fit anyone else in!” said Festival Event Manager Paul Smith.

Over 150 brightly coloured bumble bee and lady-bird lanterns have been made by local children and their parents over the last two weekends. Insect ‘cocoons’ are being made at the St Paul’s Cathedral Crypt this weekend.

Everyone who makes a lantern will proudly carry them around the Octagon as part of the 2011 Midwinter Carnival Procession – showing off their achievements to thousands of other Dunedinites.

The Dunedin Midwinter Carnival will take place at 5.30pm on Saturday 25th June in the Octagon. The theme is ‘Night Creatures’, New Zealand’s unique insect fairytale, featuring giant moths, spiders and slaters, spectacular stilt walking creatures, street performers and hundreds of community made lanterns.

“Last year we had a record turnout so people will need to get there early to get a good spot,” said Mr Smith. “We have also put on extra stalls as there was such high demand for them.”

People are encouraged to come early to soak up the carnival atmosphere provided by braziers, live music and food stalls. World music act Mama Yeva, from Dunedin, will be performing prior and following the Carnival Procession.

A community run event the Dunedin Midwinter Carnival brings families together to celebrate winter and the creative culture that is so unique to Dunedin. The lanterns aptly represent returning light, creativity, and community. The Dunedin Midwinter Carnival is organised by the Dunedin Midwinter Celebrations Trust. Spectators are requested to support the sustainability of this event by making a donation as they arrive or leave the event.
www.midwintercarnival.co.nz 


END
PHOTOS: Children and their families busy making ‘Buzzy Bees’ at the Dunedin North workshop on Saturday 12th June.

Tourism Dunedin - Campaign Creative