To increase market share, niche TV music channel C4 decided to re-brand as a mass entertainment channel, FOUR. The challenge was to get across their philosophy of 'fun' to a broad audience in a cluttered media environment. Plus other TV channels would not run ads for a new rival.So we flew in Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman to build us an enormous 40 foot high inflatable rubber duck and release it into Auckland Harbour.

The news broke immediately on national TV, newspapers, online and radio - completing the communication by explaining the story behind the duck. The next day we ran a full page newspaper ad, launching FOUR.

The duck bobbed around Auckland's busy harbour for a week, making hundreds of thousands of new friends. It became the most photographed object in New Zealand. And the most tweeted about.

We then turned these interactions into TV ads and idents to run on FOUR. Print, digital and outdoor media took the message to other parts of the country.Viewership went up by 228% on the night of the channel's launch. Ad revenue increased by 48% from the same time last year. So in the end, everyone had something to smile about.

So we flew in Dutch artist and smile expert Florentijn Hofman to build us an enormous 40 foot high inflatable rubber duck and release it into Auckland Harbour.From the second it appeared, people couldn't keep their eyes off it. It was a colossal yellow attention magnet.The eager news media completed the loop by explaining the story behind the duck. The story broke on national news, national press, online and radio.

Now we had the country's attention, we ran a full page newspaper ads, launching FOUR. The duck bobbed around Auckland's busy harbour for a week, making hundreds of thousands of new friends.

It became the most photographed object in New Zealand. And the most tweeted about.We then turned these magic interactions into TV ads and idents to run on FOURPrint, digital and outdoor media then took the message to other parts of the country.

The giant duck wasn't just an ad, it was an event.

The story broke instantly across all national media - TV, press, online and radio generating nearly $500,000 worth of measurable editorial coverage in just over a week. Hundreds of thousands saw the duck in the flesh, and spread the word via social networks. Everyone was talking about the FOUR duck and for anniversary week it became New Zealand’s most photographed object.FOUR’s launch was an instant success too - with viewership up228% on launch night, and ad revenue 50% up after the first month on air.For the week it appeared, it was the most photographed object in New Zealand.