Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre.

The Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre has been described internationally as the world's best World War 1 aviation museum. Due to its somewhat remote location, however, it has poor awareness in New Zealand. To coincide with Omaka's one-year anniversary, they wanted everyone in Wellington to realise that the most authentic WW1 aviation experience on earth was right here in New Zealand. To highlight how authentic Omaka is, they created a low-budget campaign that was itself an authentic World War 1 experience. In this era of new technologies and new media, their solution was low-tech: they sent their message out using carrier pigeons. To achieve this we employed 289 prized racing pigeons to transport a billboard from Omaka in the South Island of New Zealand, across the notoriously wild Cook Straight to Wellington in the North Island. The billboard was built message-by-message in a campaign designed to generate as much buzz and PR as possible. The idea was perfect for the product because it required the message to be sent in the exact same way they sent out important messages in World War 1 - the era depicted in the exhibition. It was every bit as authentic as the exhibition itself. The campaign was an enormous success, turning a humble little billboard into an international news story. It was covered in Australia and the US, but most importantly generated constant coverage in New Zealand on TV, print, radio and online. And although the entire campaign cost just $12,000, Omaka has enjoyed an incredible 30-percent increase in visitors since the promotion began. Silver Promo Lions Winner.

Agency: Clemenger BBDO Wellington, New Zealand.