Seen by many as the NZ Tech Story, the marketing campaign is designed to provide a leg-up to Aotearoa’s IT companies as they seek to take on the world. Simply put, it does this by highlighting Kiwi tech capabilities. Indeed, such a move could attract various technology companies to Christchurch, pumping millions of dollars into the local economy in the process.
Officially titled the “We See Tomorrow First” campaign, the global initiative is a collaboration between the industry and the government. By putting the focus on its tech capabilities to the world, the nation hopes to attract both talent and investment from overseas.
The campaign is definitely putting the best of what New Zealand as a tech-savvy country has to offer. David Downs, Chief Executive of NZ Story, the government agency handling the campaign, said the funding would pay for the likes of brochures, videos, seminars and a website that would highlight the achievements of the nation’s most successful tech companies.
At the centre of it all is the website seetomorrowfirst.nz which highlight the nation’s tech strong tech points. Moreover, the site reveals New Zealand’s strong position in surveys ranking the ease of doing business internationally and its collaborative work culture.
Downs acknowledges the country’s need for fresh talent. The NZ Tech Story should be able to provide it and persuade skilled workers to consider New Zealand as an attractive place to pursue a career, given the global competition for talent in the sector.
“The big barrier to growth for the tech sector in New Zealand is talent,” Downs added.
It’s not the first time the New Zealand government is doing its part to promote the local economy worldwide. Downs shared that the government had just done a major campaign in the food sector, ‘Made With Care’, to better position the nation’s products in 12 overseas markets. This campaign allowed New Zealand businesses to sell as much in a month as they would usually do in a year online in some markets such as the UK.
Local tech businesses are welcoming their government’s bold marketing strategy. The results should speak for themselves. One successful NZ company featured in the NZ Tech Story campaign has just received $105 million in fresh funding. Its Chief Executive is confident in the initiative saying, “As the world’s borders come down, people will look at where they want to live and who they want to work for.
He went on to add that highlighting some of the things New Zealand has to offer for talent and showcasing the successes technology companies have had in attracting top venture capital and high-value exits are stories worth reinforcing, given the amount of change we are going to see over the next couple of years.
The island country with a population of over 5 million people is holding its own as a nation. It may not be as massive as many countries in the world are. But its marketing and business savvy should put it on the map along with the most developed nations of the world.
Another concrete example of how New Zealand has exceeded expectations by leading the charge is its recent trust towards developing lithium – “white gold”. As reported on OneGov Asia, it’s also a collaboration between the government and the private sector, showing how technologically-adept the nation is.
