
Andrew Lewis
Managing Director
Our Manifesto
Manifesto
A modern guide to how insight grows business
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Tel. +64 9 377 8129
TRA
+64 9 377 8129
Post:
PO Box 826
Shortland Street
Auckland 1140
New Zealand
Level 4 Quay Building
106-108 Quay Street
Britomart
Auckland 1010
Australia
Level 4 80 Market St
South Melbourne
Australia VIC 3205
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TRA Labs is our in-house innovation accelerator that develops data-driven AI solutions for complex business problems.
Paydar levels the playing field for retail and hospitality businesses, providing the power of AI and data-driven decision making for the price of a monthly power bill. Paydar gives businesses absolute clarity on their performance against their competitors, and the direct actions they require to grow.
Zavy provides brands with a strategic view of their performance across social and digital media, and gives direction to optimise social activity.
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We are an insight agency intent on solving the complex problems organisations face today.
We put people at the heart of the organisations we work with through extensive use of research, analytics, strategy and culture.
ESOMAR Research Effectiveness Awards, Gold 2018
Australian Financial Review's Most Innovative Companies Awards, Best Innovation Program 2018 & 2020
Australian Financial Review's 28th Most Innovative Company, 2018
Westpac Auckland Business Awards Finalist, Excellence in Innovation 2018
Westpac Auckland Business Awards Finalist, Employer of the Year 2017 & 2018
Research Association Effectiveness Awards, winner Innovation Award 2016
NZ Direct Marketing Awards, Nexus Bronze 2016
Australian Financial Review, 5th Most Innovative Media and Marketing Company in Australasia
Research Association Effectiveness Awards 2016, winner Platinum - Social & Community
AUT Business School 2016 Excellence in Business Support Awards, winner Business
$5M - $20M T/O category
Research Association Effectiveness Awards 2016, winner Gold - Media & Advertising
IBM Kenexa Best Workplace Awards, Finalist 2015 & 2016
AUT Excellence in Business Support Awards 2014, winner Sales & Marketing
Research Association Effectiveness Award 2014, Gold - Consumer Services
Research Association Effectiveness Awards 2014, Gold - Media and Advertising
Research Association Effectiveness Awards 2014, winner Data Insight Visualisation Award
ESOMAR Award for Best Paper, Market Research Society NZ 2013 Conference
Insight at TRA is not any one thing, and it’s informed by the passion and skills of our team as much as any organisational process.
Our approaches are diverse, but fundamentally we understand, on an empathic and intellectual level, how brands fit into people’s lives and how this can create change for our clients.
Partners
Andrew Lewis
Managing Director
Amber Coulter
Partner
Connon Bray
Partner
Antony Ede
Partner
Shaun Fitzgibbon
Partner
Karin Glucina
Partner
Colleen Ryan
Partner
EECA
How do you solve a problem like climate change? A cornerstone objective for the New Zealand government is to reduce carbon emissions and by ratifying the Paris Climate Change agreement, the New Zealand Government committed to having an emissions reduction target and regularly updating it.
EECA, NZ’s government agency responsible for promoting energy efficiency and conservation needed to understand the problem through strategic insights – to get to know the barriers and levers and to identify where to focus, what could be achieved and how to go about it. They partnered with TRA to develop insight and strategy to pull together many angles on the problem into a very clear pathway forward. We took a holistic approach employing semiotics, systems thinking, unstructured and structured data, ethnography and cultural analysis.
We would love to say we have solved the problem of climate change, but of course we have not. However, we have solved the problem of where and how to focus resources to achieve significant reduction in carbon emissions. Furthermore, by using multiple data sources we have given confidence, inspiration and direction to the EECA team.
Joylab
In 2016 we partnered with Joylab to transform an existing hospitality location in Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour into what is known today as The Lula Inn. Joylab commissioned TRA to develop a strategy on how to transform the location into a commercially successful bar and eatery.
Through a mixture of methodologies including cultural scraping, focus groups and co-creation, TRA were able to uncover the industry trends driving relevance with the core audience, determine elements that would make the location a success and ultimately develop a comprehensive proposition for Joylab. TRA formed the creative concept of a “beautiful collision” and the idea of a garden lounge at the water’s edge; this single-minded idea was the backbone of the location’s redevelopment, and is still evident throughout the establishment today.
In The Lula Inn’s first year of launch, they managed to increase revenue by 27% from the previous baseline, and since launch, has managed to maintain revenue growth by an average of 13% year on year.
Lion
Lion needed to identify the next big thing for their largest brand Steinlager. It had been 10 years since the launch of Steinlager Pure, so ensuring continued brand relevance was key. Through two separate waves of customer co-creation sessions involving the Lion team and Steinlager's target market, an opportunity space emerged for a Japanese-style beer - Steinlager Tokyo Dry.
There was a chance to stand out in the market through packaging, and by communicating to a new beer drinking audience in a way that was not only relevant to, but which differentiated from more traditional green bottle lagers. TRA ran a strategy workshop to set a go to market strategy for the new Steinlager Tokyo Dry offering. The business results from the launch of Tokyo Dry have been outstanding, with $4.9m sales in the first year putting the Steinlager brand back in growth. Tokyo Dry became Lion's fastest new product to reach 1 million litres of sales in over a decade, achieving this in only 10 weeks.
Paymark
Paymark's core business model was under threat from disruption. There was a need to future-proof the organisation by becoming more customer-centric to help build relationships and achieve commercial objectives.
We worked with Paymark to build a data-driven customer segmentation that blended a range of techniques including big data analytics, third party data enrichment, quantitative and qualitative research. The outcome was the largest and most accurate segmentation of the New Zealand retail market, enabling Paymark to become a truly customer obsessed organisation. As a result, Paymark have seen a 40% reduction in customer churn.
Mercury
Two years ago Mercury as we know it today did not exist. There were two brands – Mercury Energy the retailer, and the generation and share market listed brand Mighty River Power. While both were focused on their relevant stakeholders, there was not a single overarching purpose.
We worked with Mercury to define this purpose and choose a single brand to move forward with. We needed to give people a reason why they should value the Mercury brand, that was clearly articulated, transparent and authentic. We helped Mercury define a brand territory that straddled New Zealand’s cultural and social context. The result was Mercury's "Energy Made Wonderful" - a brand transformation that has seen Mercury reduce customer churn by 16%.
Auckland Transport
Increasing pressure on Auckland's roading infrastructure has seen Auckland Transport investigate new ways to reduce the number of peak hour single car journeys. Auckland Transport commissioned TRA to develop a strategy to get Aucklanders using cycling and walking as a mode of transport, as opposed to reaching for the car keys.
The insights gained by TRA enabled Auckland Transport to develop a new marketing strategy that focuses on removing mental barriers to walking and cycling and normalising behaviour. Since then Auckland Transport have seen a 41% increase in cycling in Auckland, with 52,800 new cyclists in 2018 alone.
We’re defined by ambition, restlessness, resilience, unity, innovation, warmth and respect; for ourselves and for others. We don’t stand on ceremony and certainly don’t stand and wait for things to happen. We’re influential, in touch, intrepid and incomparable. And on a good day, we’re untouchable.