Daring to be different
Vodafone New Zealand wins Creative New Zealand Award for Bravery
Vodafone New Zealand has won the 2002 Creative New Zealand Award for Bravery for its partnership with the Auckland War
Memorial Museum and its exhibition, Vodafone Body Art. Presented tonight at the National Business Review Awards for
Business Sponsorship of the Arts, the annual Creative New Zealand Award for Bravery is about encouraging and recognising
arts and business partnerships that involve elements of risk, daring and the unusual.
Vodafone Body Art, held from December 2001 to March 2002, was a ground-breaking display of tattoo art, body piercing and
body painting that attracted 20,000 visitors.
“As with other brave and risk-taking ventures, the exhibition was controversial and extremely successful in achieving
the aims of both Vodafone and the Auckland Museum,” said Peter Biggs, Chair of Creative New Zealand.
The Vodafone brand promise is “continually pushing the boundaries to find new ways to thrill you”.
“This was an excellent fit with the exhibition,” Peter Biggs continued. “The exhibition reinforced the Vodafone brand
promise while building loyalty among key customer groups. The sponsorship also helped the Auckland Museum fulfil its aim
of attracting a new, young and savvy audience.”
Vodafone New Zealand took a creative approach to its sponsorship of Vodafone Body Art, promoting the event via text
messaging and offering free downloadable screensaver tattoos to Vodafone customers.
The technology, which it introduced specifically for this project, allowed the company to set up a fee-paying version of
this service at the conclusion of the exhibition.
“As with all true partnerships, the benefits to both parties were mutual,” Peter Biggs said. “Commerce and culture
combined, providing a wonderful example of what can be achieved if we dare to be different, to be innovative and take
risks.”
Creative New Zealand supports three annual awards to acknowledge the contribution that other sectors make to the arts
sector. The organisation initiated the Creative Places Award in 1999 to recognise local government’s critical
involvement in the arts. It also sponsors the Creative New Zealand Award for Bravery and the arts journalism categories
in the Qantas Media Awards.