A selection of films from 'Digital Boost' series 1, 2 & 3
'Digital Boost' series 3 trailer
We worked with MBIE to create a video series to help give New Zealand small businesses a boost to go digital when they needed it the most.
With Covid-19 massively disrupting everyday life and business, the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) needed to increase awareness of the benefits of ‘going digital’ to build competency and resilience in small businesses. Digital resources, tools, and technology can save businesses time, money, and stress. But how could we best help small owners find and apply the right digital approach for them?
We developed a documentary-style series to harness small business owners’ appetite for learning from peers with similar goals and barriers. Travelling all over Aotearoa, we spoke to 24 businesses from a range of industries, regions and who had very different questions and hesitations about digital technology, and created 68 videos over three ‘Digital Boost Spotlight’ series.
After focusing on individual stories in series one and two, in round three we carefully paired up business owners so people new to digital tools could learn from those further along the journey. We took care to recruit and match businesses with different levels of experience so the audience could relate and gain from the content whether they were just starting to think about going digital or wondering how to improve existing digital approaches.
Talking to and featuring a wide range of businesses meant we could reach and connect with all kinds of small business owners and their different needs, and clearly demonstrate the accessibility and transformative potential of going digital. Focusing on real people with real challenges meant small business owners and operators had faith in the tips, tricks, and recommendations shared throughout the series.
Working with our friends at The Media Lab, the Digital Boost Spotlight Series campaign rolled out in three phases between November 2020 and October 2021, with paid media across digital and social channels. Overall the campaign had 49 million views across all channels, with a completion rate of 52%, and delivered 82,506 clicks to the MBIE website where all videos of the Spotlight Series were available to view. All of this working to help give NZ small businesses a digital boost when they needed it the most.