Although MOTAT is a beloved Auckland institution, it is not something that is top of mind with parents when thinking about a day out. To be honest, the Museum of Transport and Technology is a bit confusing and people did struggle where to place this in their 'places to visit' and 'things to do'. An abiding memory for most adults is that they went when they were kids and there wasn't much to do apart from the tram.
MOTAT & Contagion have had a partnership for a long time, and we were all ambitious to reposition this fantastic public treasure for the A1 age. It needed to find a place in peoples' hearts and wallets that was out of the ordinary. From research, people wanted a sci-tech experience that could stimulate learning in a fun way. We worked with the whole organisation on the repositioning of MOTAT to 'The Science & Technology Playground of Aotearoa.' MOTAT is unique in that you can interact with exhibits in a unique playground setting. This was a monumental collaborative effort by everyone involved, including curators of the collection, marketers, educators and the leadership team. We knew that Science and Technology were key drivers for getting interest and this was something we had been doing all along, but could now really focus on it.
Investment in the site was key; this came in the form of plans for the new Te Puawänanga Science and Technology Centre, which would be the centrepiece of the new repositioning, to members and the wider public. We launched a new look and feel for MOTAT, along with a new endline that reflected the experience 'Science + Tech + Play.' Whilst the build for the centre was going on we created an extensive communications platform based on the idea of 'More to do.' We didn't just say we had a new positioning, we showed it in the fantastic new attraction, which had also already picked up a design award for the MOTAT team. The campaign is ongoing and across all channels. This is something we can all be proud of along with the next generation of little geniuses.
