PRESS RELEASE
Innovative Motorola Launch a Winner
Auckland based Extra Mile Company scoops international award
AUCKLAND 22 DECEMBER 2005: Tasked with boosting the New Zealand market share of mobile phone brand Motorola The Extra
Mile Company achieved its goal within budget and won an international award for its efforts.
The innovative Motorola campaign and its launch - achieved by The Extra Mile Company (EMC) within a US$80,000 launch
budget – sent sales soaring and successfully revived Motorola’s New Zealand market share.
“Sales went through the roof, temporarily stalling when Motorola ran out of phones, but as soon as they restocked sales
continued to climb,” says John Honeycombe, The Extra Mile Company, Auckland. “Needless to say Motorola were very pleased
and people within the industry raved about the launch and campaign.”
EMC’s innovation and flair – within the tight budget – was recognised by winning a 2005 Crystal Award from the Society
of Incentive and Travel Executives (SITE). The award was presented at the annual SITE conference recently in Toronto,
Canada and EMC was up against tough competition from companies representing 82 countries around the globe.
“This is actually the fourth time we have won a SITE award and we are very pleased to bring one home again. We have
entered four times and won every time, which is a great tribute to the hard work of everyone at EMC,” Honeycombe says.
The aim of the Motorola campaign was to increase reseller loyalty and build excitement around the Motorola brand,
increase sales and educate the target market (18 to 26-year-olds) about the technological advances of the brand and they
needed a cost-effective marketing campaign to do it.
EMC created MOTOway as a theme using funky, hip tools to communicate and reinforce the program as well as the brand.
Based around the trading card concept eight MOTOway characters were created for the cards, each featuring a unique
character that offered different rewards to participants.
The trading cards earned with the sale of eligible Motorola mobile phone hand sets and accessories performed three key
tasks – to communicate essential Motorola product information; change re-seller behaviour through the encouragement of
sales of higher-end models and they could be redeemed online for rewards or traded for other MOTOway information,
rewards or cards.
The MOTOway campaign was launched with a function at Auckland’s Studio nightclub with California based Steriogram the
star billing.
“If you get 200 people along to a launch these days you’re doing very well, we ended up with 600 which was amazing and
everyone partied until the early hours. The Motorola emblem was beamed across the skies in spotlights and the trading
card characters were brought to life and arrived in ‘jumping’ Cadillacs that paraded down Karangahape Road to the
venue,” Honeycombe says.
The hype continued well after the launch with trading cards furiously swapped and redeemed for prizes. Resellers were
also encouraged to access the special MOTOway section on the Motorola website to trade cards as well as product updates.
ENDS