Toni Childs – three-time Grammy nominated recording artist and Emmy winner – arrived in New Zealand this week to begin nine shows of her ‘Unplugged & Intimate’ tour.

Toni is a celebrated singer/songwriter known for her powerful voice and inspiring independent spirit. With fans around the world, she has produced a list of international hits such as Don’t Walk Away, Stop Your Fussin’, I’ve Got to Go Now, and Because You’re Beautiful.

This tour is unusual in that it is being planned and driven entirely through support by Childs’ enthusiastic fan base in this country. With several mad Toni Childs fans in the team, Bullet PR lent a hand with publicity, securing TV coverage for Toni on both major NZ stations.

Click here for the TVNZ clip, and here for the TV3 clip.

Toni is showcasing several new songs from her soon-to-be-released independent album Citizens of the Planet on this tour. She is performing in intimate venues in Matakana, central Auckland, Greymouth, Nelson, Timaru, Dunedin, Queenstown, Christchurch and Masterton.

In keeping with its position as a challenger brand, Kiwibank is launching a cheeky new ‘bank switching’ initiative for consumers today, which is less like a traditional ad campaign and more like a film launch.

Unlike traditional approaches to bank advertising, Kiwibank’s new ‘Easyswitch’ campaign, encouraging consumers to switch to Kiwibank, is focusing primarily around a unique interactive online channel called ‘Green Ops’, with the look and feel of a ‘first-person POV’ styled online game.

Nicky Ashton, Head of Brand & Marketing Communications for Kiwibank, says that the ‘gamification’ approach of the web site aims to provide a richer and more engaging experience for consumers.

“Kiwibank needs to stand out from the competition, so it’s our job to continually find new ways to connect with new customers” says Ms Ashton.

Hosted on a bespoke YouTube channel, the site is built around a loose narrative of an elite team within Kiwibank whose mission it is to help rescue customers from bad banking experiences.

“It’s kind of like ‘Get Smart’ meets the ‘Bourne Identity’, as the Kiwibank ‘Green Ops’ team goes around making it easier for people to switch to Kiwibank. Just one signature and Green Ops will deal with the rest,” says Ms Ashton.

Visitors to the channel can hunt for screen ‘hotspots’ where they will encounter random moments of humour and discovery amidst the pitch for them to switch banks, including some tongue-in-cheek references to Kiwibank’s competitors.

The channel also features a number of interactive elements that will allow users to share their experience with friends via various social media platforms, such as Facebook.

One top secret campaign element will remain under wraps until the 9th of September when a lucky new Kiwibank customer stands to be significantly rewarded.

Ms Ashton says the Green Ops site will be supported by an above-the-line media campaign with all the elements of a blockbuster movie launch, including cinema trailers, movie posters with QR codes, outdoor and dramatic cinema styled voiceovers on radio, online advertising and TV spots, all produced by ad agency Ogilvy.

Teasers for the campaign are running now on radio and outdoor, and the site will go live on Monday 15th August.

To preview the Green Ops site, visit http://youtube.com/kiwibankgreenops

At a press conference today, Rebel Sport’s Managing Director Rod Duke announced the company will reduce the cost of the overpriced All Blacks replica jersey from $189.99 to just $149.50.

Here is a statement by Mr Duke:

“The Rugby World Cup is the biggest sporting event this country has ever hosted.
It’s my view that this is an event that every New Zealander has the right to share in.
These are exciting times for us all.

At Rebel Sport we know only too well that times are tough for many Kiwis.
We’ve always set out to make sporting goods readily available at prices that work for the average Kiwi household.

Imagine our dismay when we discovered that All Black rugby jerseys were available for a lower price online than in retail stores in this country. We happen to believe that this jersey belongs to the New Zealand rugby public. The NZRU are custodians on behalf of all of us and Adidas for the time being are the sponsors of this jersey. They don’t own it. We all do. We cannot have a situation where New Zealanders would pay more for All Black jerseys than almost any other country in the world. Quite frankly, this is an intolerable circumstance and we will not accept it.

Yesterday afternoon I met with Adidas in an attempt to convince them to reduce the price down to a level below the online price. They point blank refused to reduce the price by even one cent. I just don’t understand this position and have decided to make a stand for the benefit of the New Zealand sporting public.

I am here today to announce that Rebel Sport will, with immediate effect, reduce the price of the All Black replica players jersey from $189.99 to $149.50. (That is $130 pre GST.)Further, we have opted to reduce the price of the Rugby World Cup replica All Black jersey from $220 down to $170 (or $147.80 pre GST).

Adidas are in the process of delivering more stock to our stores. We’re inviting customers to purchase now, and if there’s no stock, to accept a rain check because stock will be in our stores by Saturday.

And for those customers who have purchased an All Black jersey from Rebel Sport before this price reduction, we will issue a Rebel Sport gift voucher for the price difference as compensation upon presentation of a receipt. We want no one be disadvantaged.

I am confident that this price reduction, which is entirely funded by Rebel Sport, will enable thousands of kiwis to enjoy, what we all know, will be a wonderful rugby tournament.”

The first certified homes assessed under the Homestar™ residential rating tool were unveiled today at an event supported by online property market portal Realestate.co.nz.

Homestar™ is the comprehensive home rating system developed by the New Zealand building industry and backed by the Government that aims to help Kiwis create healthier, more comfortable and energy-efficient living spaces.

Alex Cutler, CEO of Homestar, announced the first certified homes located nationally that achieved Homestar ratings of between 4 and 7 stars, including several homes that are on the market.

“We are delighted to now have homes with official Homestar ratings available on the property market. This is an important developmental step in the process of improving the overall stock of New Zealand homes. ”

These homes also received enthusiastic support today from Alistair Helm, CEO of Realestate.co.nz. Mr Helm says that from today, Homestar Certified properties for sale will have their ratings featured on the Realestate.co.nz property portal to show buyers that these homes have an added value in terms of performance and comfort.

“Houses that are warmer, drier and more energy efficient will always be more appealing to buyers. In this way, Homestar has the potential to be a great service to homeowners, real estate agents and the whole New Zealand community,” says Mr Helm.

Mr Helm presented international research at the event that showed a direct correlation between homes with high performance ratings and higher property prices. He said Homestar will provide vendors and real estate agents with a direct competitive edge when marketing properties.

Support for Homestar was also received from Hon. Maurice Williamson, the Minister for Building and Construction.

“I would like to extend my warm congratulations today to Alex Cutler and the team at Homestar on the work they have done towards realising this achievement today. The unveiling of the first Certified Homes today is the result of many years of hard work, research and development to bring to the New Zealand market a home rating tool that is comprehensive, robust and accurate,” said Mr Williamson in a statement.

“Homestar provides homebuyers, sellers and especially real estate agents a benchmark for rating the environmental attributes of New Zealand homes to increase their comfort, appeal and value. I warmly commend the Homestar tool to the real estate industry, and encourage agents to educate themselves about it.”

To achieve a certified rating, Homestar Assessors typically spend a few hours at the home measuring in detail the attributes that contribute to its comfort, health and performance. The Assessor performs a comprehensive assessment of features such as the level of insulation, type of heating, water use, waste, ventilation and indoor air quality, among other things, and calculates a rating from one to ten stars, based on these factors. The homeowner then receives a Homestar™ Certified Rating, along with a unique registration number for authentication purposes.

“When you are selling or renting a home a Homestar Certified Rating will provide a greater level of credibility and assurance for any prospective home owner or tenant,” says Ms Cutler.

“The assessment is not compulsory, though over time it is expected that market forces will encourage more home owners to obtain a Homestar Certified Rating when buying or selling a home. We expect Homestar to have a growing impact on property values, with higher star ratings providing a competitive edge for some houses on the market.”

For more information, please visit www.homestar.org.nz, or to view Homestar Certified properties for sale visit www.realestate.co.nz.

All Black legend and DHL Rugby World Cup 2011 global ambassador Sean Fitzpatrick recently spoke at an American Chamber of Commerce event in Auckland.

Sean talked to a packed room of export-focused business leaders about the long-term impact the tournament will have on New Zealand business as the eyes of the world are on our country.

To leverage DHL’s sponsorship of Rugby World Cup 2011, Bullet PR invited Grant Bradley, Deputy Business Editor of the NZ Herald, to chat to Sean before the event started. The result was a huge splash on the front page of the NZ Herald’s Business section, including several references to DHL.

Homestar.org.nz was launched yesterday in Wellington by Hon Maurice Williamson MP and industry leaders.

Backed by the government and supported across the building industry, Homestar.org.nz is set to become the standard by which Kiwi’s measure and improve home performance.

The free online residential rating tool allows the consumer to get a better idea of the inefficiencies around their home. This could mean anything from poor insulation to having an unnecessary beer fridge in the basement that uses lots of extra power.

Coverage appeared on Radio NZ’s Nine to Noon, TVNZ 6pm News, TV3 6pm News, TVNZ Breakfast, Newstalk ZB, Easy Mix and in the NZ Herald and The Dominion Post.

Part of the launch event involved a demo video, written and directed by Bullet PR, which you can view here.

Bullet PR held an experiential marketing event to launch Contiki’s new European tours for Summer 2011.

The iconic New Zealand brand is approaching its busiest time of year for bookings as Kiwis arrange trips for when the southern hemisphere cools down again next year. To help drive promotion, Bullet PR hired No.1 Queen St cafe, the busiest foot traffic spot in the country, and gave away free cups of coffee and pastries to passers by. To help attract awareness, promotional staff were dressed in the attires of various European countries.

So that everyone went away with Contiki on their minds, Bullet PR ensured every cup of coffee had a ‘Contiki.com’ sticker on top.

The event was very successful, with over 500 branded cups of coffee and 500 pastries given to consumers. Next up is the trade shows to make sure all the travel agents get the same message!

Bullet PR client 2degrees mobile today officially launched its 3G network.

The event was held at the Viaduct Harbour Marine Village and it created a great atmosphere for the assortment of journalists and stakeholders in attendance.

In addition to the 3G network, 2degrees also launched a range of data plans to offer New Zealanders more affordable mobile broadband rates.

Finally, there were some new handsets on display and a hint towards the Post-Pay service on the horizon.

Coverage has already appeared on the NZHerald.co.nz, Stuff.co.nz, TVNZ.co.nz and TV3.co.nz as well as on Radio NZ and Newstalk ZB.

Bullet PR client Vista Entertainment Solutions featured on TVNZ’s ‘NZI Business’ on Wednesday 15th July.

Vista CEO Murray Holdaway talked with host Corin Dann about how Vista has recently entered the Mexican cinema market and how the company now has offices in LA, London, Shanghai and Auckland.

Vista Entertainment Solutions is a global leader in entertainment software solutions, including much of the behind-the-scenes technology for cinemas, such as point of sale and back office logistics.

TVNZ’s NZI Business screens every weekday morning from 6am, bringing viewers the business news and analysis of the day.

Student Job Search is New Zealand’s only free student employment service for casual, part-time and summer work.  It needed to increase its profile and spread the word that it has more than just menial, household jobs on its books. Bullet PR found some of the wackiest jobs listed with Student Job Search, liaised with employees and employers and secured coverage in The Sunday Star Times as well as a prime-time hit on TV3′s Campbell Live.