‘Orange Guy’ the centre of Saatchi & Saatch’s 2011 NZ general election & referendum campaign
Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand is behind the launch of the enrolment and information campaign for the 2011 General Election and Referendum, recognised globally as one of the most successful electoral campaigns by level of voter enrolment.
The iconic ‘Orange Guy’ remains centre stage while new iconography, educational and interactive platforms create a clean, fresh look and feel.
The launch marks one of the largest government campaigns of 2011, and has involved a comprehensive strategic review to accommodate a campaign that includes both New Zealand’s 50th general election and a public information campaign for a referendum on the future of the country’s voting system.
The integrated campaign has been designed for the Electoral Commission and Electoral Enrolment Centre with a clear brief – simplify the campaign messaging and identify new opportunities to connect and engage more effectively with voters online, particularly young and hard to reach audiences.
A primary objective was to retain the well-recognised colour and identity, but introduce new life and energy to the campaign. This has led Saatchi & Saatchi to introduce fresh iconography and music into the TVCs, and throughout the integrated campaign.
Murray Wicks, of the Electoral Enrolment Centre said: “Saatchi’s has introduced subtle but very clever changes to meet our needs. ‘Orange Guy’ presents the fundamental campaign identity across traditional media, and he’s now unleashing his personality on Facebook as well, gaining over a thousand fans in the first week alone.The brilliance of the new iconography is that it reduces the amount of content required to convey what is a reasonably complex process. Based on the number of online, text and phone enquiries we’ve received already, these subtle changes are proving very effective.”
The integrated campaign is managed by Saatchi & Saatchi’s Wellington office, and led by group account director, Tim Dixon and digital creative director, Scott Heubscher.
“The last New Zealand electoral campaign resulted in 95.3% of eligible voters being enrolled to vote, which is recognised as one of the highest in the world. It means we need to get the strategy and creative right to ensure we can build on this performance, especially in a year with so many other distractions,” said Saatchi & Saatchi’s Wellington general manager, Livia Esterhazy.
“Within the coming months, Scott and his team will be rolling out a range of interactive and educational platforms as part of a comprehensive social media strategy, designed to engage and entertain. We’re also really excited about another platform in the pipeline, where voters will be able to take part in creating a piece of history.”