AUCKLAND, Today: NZ agencies Assignment Group, MediaCom, EightyOne and MBM worked with the Building & Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO) to understand the barriers young people face to taking on an apprenticeship.
The agency combo, with a marketing team from BCITO | Te Pūkenga/NZ Institute of Skills & Technology, created the Tricky Chat Trilogy mockumentary series (2019-2021), which won the Excellence in Long-Term Marketing Strategy Award at this year’s TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards. The work is classic Kiwi and seriously funny (scroll down for a link).
The research they produced found there was a significant difference between the perceptions of the trades by parents of school leavers, and the realities of what a career in the trades can deliver.
BCITO set out to challenge and change these perceptions. It developed the mockumentary series, which followed the story of Michael, an aspiring Kiwi tradie and his accountant father, who struggled to accept his son’s career choice.
“Across TV, outdoor and social media, and radio, humour was used to reflect the outdated views of parents, while highlighting the benefits of a career in the trades.”
Across TV, outdoor and social media, and radio, humour was used to reflect the outdated views of parents, while highlighting the benefits of a career in the trades.
BCITO head of marketing & communications Asharie Martelletti said: “The campaign has helped shift the perception of the industry and helped bring a career in construction to the forefront for many of our rangatahi and those looking at a change in career.
“Among our core target audience of parents/whānau, ratings of the trades as a good career doubled from 25% to 50% between March 2018 and November 2021, while parents rating the trades as a poor choice halved from 60% to 32%.
“School leaver opinions also improved steadily – those with a positive impression were up 43% and those rating the trades negatively were down 20% compared to pre-campaign levels.
“Another key objective for BCITO is to increase the number of Māori and Pasifika peoples in the trades.”
THE PLAYERS
- EightyOne: Matt West, Emma Chote, Chris Bleackley, James Henderson, Chris Appelros
- MediaCom: Richard Robson
- MBM: Matt Bale, Alex Tennant, Lisa Armour
- Assignment Group: Kate Miller, Jennifer Orsatti, Chris Bleackley, James Henderson, Chris Appelros
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