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MAR 2009 - Winning Student Marketers Use Vodafone Warriors Cards to Improve Youth Literacy

Two Massey University students were named the 2008 New Zealand Post Mail Marketing Service Student Marketers of the Year on Friday, for an initiative centred on the Vodafone Warriors, designed to encourage Kiwi children to read more.  
 
Phoebe Smith and Nicole Yeoman created a small folder containing collectible reading cards, each featuring a short story about a Vodafone Warriors player, player profiles and photos.  The ‘Field Folder’ will be distributed in May to around 2000 students at 20 participating schools, with each student receiving weekly reading cards.  Tips for parents will also be sent out and the participating students and schools can win prizes by earning points for cards read.
 
The Student Marketer of The Year Awards honour excellence in marketing strategy, creativity and innovative thinking in tertiary students and, along with prizes including a $1,000 travel allowance and trophy, offer students the chance to work on live briefs and have their name in lights in front of a room of prospective employers. The 2008 winners were announced at the 2008 RSVP and Nexus Awards on Friday night.
 
Entrants were given a brief from the Vodafone Warriors to develop a direct marketing programme to bring to life a One Community initiative, “Rugby League Reads”, which aims to increase literacy in primary schools by positioning reading as a fun and cool thing to do. 
 
The winning duo said the motivation for the entry was to make reading interactive, innovative and fun.  “We made sure that the ‘Field Folder’ and reading cards used the tactile qualities of a book in a fresh way, to make reading exciting to students through a new medium.  We also created a challenge for parents to become involved with their children’s learning by providing them tips to give them confidence,” Nicole Yeoman says.
 
New Zealand Post Mail Marketing Service Education Manager Jo Murphy says, “The finalists produced an array of thoughtful and creative ways to help improve literacy in New Zealand schools - the judges were very impressed with the calibre of entries.
 
“We look forward to seeing the ‘Field Folder’ concept come to life and hope it will make a real difference to youth reading levels of New Zealand children.” 
 
Other entries ranged from an innovative “book bags” programme where players and children are supplied the same book bags, a comic book series that brings to life the Vodafone Warriors NRL Mascot ‘Toki’, and a campaign utilising interactive mediums including playground art.