Tribute08
From dark to light
Tribute08 was a commemoration and reunion event held in Wellington on Queens Birthday weekend 2008. It was an event that put a public face on a wide ranging push by Vietnam veterans and their families for recognition from the Government, New Zealand Defence Force and the public.
The relevant functional challenges were:
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To make registrations easy and accessible to a large number of people, some known and some unknown.
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To conduct the entire programme, registration-drive and communications within a finite budget.
The event ran a spread of communications conceived and run by FRESCO, which included press and online advertising, media relations activity, print, mailings, television, and direct networking. At the heart of the strategy was a particular focused on the internet as a crucial new and unique factor in achieving objectives – see the work undertaken on the website here.
Measures for success
In simple measurable terms, Tribute08 achieved and exceeded its number one objective by attracting more than 2,500 veterans and family members to Wellington.
However the real success is less tangible. Tribute08 and the veterans dominated the news and current affairs channels for the last week in May 2008. Those who attended the event were overwhelmed by the power and emotion that took place and this carried over to the general public, particularly in Wellington where they supported Tribute08 generously.
Conclusion
The internet is rightly increasingly regarded as the 'infrastructure tool of the coming age'. Tribute08 was one of the first events in New Zealand to place the internet at the centre of its strategy and activity. Other activity and communications activity, such as free media, advertising, mailings, etc, provided much of the primary exposure and impetus, but they nevertheless played a supporting role to the internet strategy, rather than the reverse.
Where events are regarded as brief experiences for people, a fully functioning website and internet strategy, of the type conceived for Tribute08, might have seemed impossible. However our approach turned this on its head and made it achievable, affordable and the key component for success.
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