Stonewall+ created the custom-built website,
www.hn9.co.za to become a communication platform for the Hectic Nine-9 audience, drawing on the growing local popularity of social networking platforms like MySpace and Facebook, and inspired by the millions of conversations happening amongst South African youth on their cellphones.
www.hn9.co.za will launch on 16 October 2007.
“The hn9.co.za website is a vital part of the Hectic Nine-9 concept - it's an exciting digital platform which takes the show beyond the television screen and into an engaging and immersive interactive realm. The website adds a two-way dimension to the traditional one-way communication of television and means that the Hectic Nine-9 viewers become participants. There's also a second-phase in the pipeline with added features and a few surprises that will reinforce the TV-internet interaction and mean that Hectic Nine-9 users can truly ‘Kick it forward',” says Adam Whitehouse, Creative Director of Stonewall+.
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The website incorporates revolutionary design elements, a robust content management system and easy-to-use interactive features which allow users to voice their opinions and make contributions – all in a secure and safe environment. The collaboration of the show and the website was crucial to ensure that Hectic Nine-9 becomes the most interactive television show ever produced for South African television.
www.hn9.co.za will also be integrated with a mobile platform to ensure a 360? digital marketing approach for the innovative television show.
One of the key challenges faced by Stonewall+ was in finding a way to appeal to the wide range of tastes and interests in the 9 to 15 age group, a time when young people are experiencing rapid changes, eager to try out new things and developing a keen interest in social interactions. The website was designed to incorporate a funky and appealing Flash application that will allow each user to have a unique experience. Customization tools allow individuals to personalise the Hectic Nine-9 experience for their homepage. Users will be able to drag and resize icons, change the background colours and customize this as their default page.
The
www.hn9.co.za interactive platform relates to daily show content and encourages users to upload video footage and make suggestions on future content for the show. It is a modern website created to meet the needs of the modern television audience, therefore setting the overall tone and pace for the Hectic Nine-9 digital communications campaign.
The Lifestyle section of the show - an insert on Mondays - is a platform where teens can share what they do at home, in malls, on the beach, after school or on the sports field. “15 seconds of Fame”, the insert on Fridays, will encourage users to send footage of themselves singing, dancing, or just doing crazy things with a friend - and if it's good enough, the footage will appear on TV.
In addition users can enter competitions, comment on presenter blogs and cast their vote in youth-targeted opinion polls.
www.hn9.co.za is a place where today's youth can voice their likes and dislikes. It was therefore crucial for Stonewall+ to create a platform that appeals to the target audience and provide them with tools to interact.
About Stonewall+Stonewall+, the digital marketing agency, serves world-class companies and marketers such as Anglo American, Aspen Pharmacare, First National Bank, General Motors, Investec, JSE, Miller Genuine Draft, Nepad, Old Mutual, SA Tourism, Siemens, and Red Bull.
Stonewall+ engages with clients to effect change on a strategic level first, before creating user-centric experiences that build brands and transform the way in which people interact with them. Founded in 1997, Stonewall+ has been highly acknowledged for broadcast and interactive projects locally and internationally, whilst been published in three international Taschen publications.
With offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg, Stonewall+ makes it possible for businesses around South Africa, and the world, to strengthen their brands in the digital and online environment.
