Pedal to the Meddle

NEW YORK, Today: The AME Awards has this morning honoured Special Group NZ with the Regional Platinum Award (Asia Pacific) for Meddle in the NZ Election for client Every Kiwi Vote Counts. The agency also earned two Golds for Meddle, and a Gold for Tourism NZ Good Morning World.

AME, a division of New York Festivals, rewards global campaigns “that triumph in both creativity and effectiveness”.

The judges said: Special Group’s Platinum-winning campaign used powerful strategic insights to mobilise overseas New Zealanders to vote in New Zealand’s 2020 national election.

“The winning strategy overcame the barrier of overseas Kiwis believing their votes didn’t matter.

“The campaign utilised Russian spokesperson ‘Viktor’ to encourage overseas Kiwis to vote by infiltrating their social networks and news feeds. The social-led campaign reached 1 in 2.5 overseas Kiwis in just 18 days.

“It’s an honour to have The Meddler recognised by the AME in celebrating brave and effective campaigns – never more so than when that effectiveness is for impact on democracy and culture.”

“The click-thru to the NZ voting site from everykiwivotecounts.nz represented 67% of the additional overseas resident votes.

Special Group NZ chief strategy officer Rory Gallery said: “I’m so thrilled to be recognised by our peers around the world.

“To win a platinum for APAC at the AME is a true honour. Thank you to our amazing client who strove for greatness. And congratulations to all of the winners on their success.”

Every Kiwi Vote Counts strategic lead Tracey Lee said: “It is an honour to have The Meddler recognised by the AME in celebrating brave and effective campaigns.

“Never more so than when that effectiveness is for impact on democracy and culture. There has never been a more crucial time for creative problem solving.

“Heartfelt thanks to my fearless partners in meddling, Special New Zealand. And I challenge you all to make good trouble in 2022.”

• View all winners here
• www.newyorkfestivals.com