Brodie McLeish: Tourism New Zealand Marketing Manager on New Zealand locations recreated in Minecraft to promote The Minecraft Movie

Aotearoa's joining the Minecraft world. 

Tourism New Zealand's joined forces with developer Mojang to make six Kiwi hotspots playable locations within the game. 

That includes destinations Abel Tasman National Park, Waitomo Caves, and Tekapo, and is expected to generate $50 million in advertising value. 

It's a cross-promotion for locally-filmed ‘The Minecraft Movie’. 

Tourism New Zealand Marketing Manager Brodie McLeish told Mike Hosking the pack is available to the game's 170-million monthly users. 

She says the Kiwi sites are free for all to download and engage with. 

McLeish says it aims to encourage people to play the game, then come and travel around New Zealand for real. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We've hooked up with Minecraft New Zealand. This is it's
apparently as the world first. Players can now explore our
country on this game. You'll see the White Timer, cavesabled Tasman, Techapo,
They've all been given the Minecraft treatment. It's expected to
generate fifty million bucks in equivalent advertising value it reaches
seventy million people, allegedly. Tourism New Zealand General Manager of
Marketing Bradiy McLeish's, well, it's brody morning.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Good morning, Mike.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Whose idea was this? How does this stuff come about?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Well, we had an opportunity through the New Zealand Film
Commission to partner with Warner Brothers and Mojang on the
release of the New Minecraft Movie, and that's essentially how
it came out. Through the screen production rebate program, we
were able to work alongside them to create this brand new,

(00:47):
as you say, world first destination New Zealand Minecraft World.

Speaker 1 (00:50):
Does it look like it? I mean it disabled Tasman,
look like able Tasman or not?

Speaker 2 (00:55):
It does? Obviously Minecraft is a pixelated world, but we
have been working to make sure that it looks as
beautiful as a representation of those destinations that we have
here in New Zealand and working in collaboration with eleven
month of Fenawa groups, the tourism industry, and obviously the
developers of Minecraft, which are most Mojang studios to make

(01:19):
this a really exceptional experience.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
So if you're playing Minecraft, you will come across this.
This is how I understand it.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
Basically, if you're playing Minecraft, of which there is a
huge a number of people monthly, about one hundred and
seventy million people across the world monthly, play this game.
You will be able to download the New Zealand world
for free into your Minecraft game.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
Would you want to do that? Would you go, oh,
this is good, I'll do that. Is that the sort
of thing that would you would do?

Speaker 2 (01:49):
Well, it's a pretty impressive game. I'm not sure if
you've had a chance to jump in this morning and
Mike Mike can have a play with it, but it's
a pretty impressive game, and I would say it's free
to all you users, so it's something that people want
to would want to jump in and download and have
a play around with.

Speaker 1 (02:07):
Where do you get your numbers from I or is
I mean fifty million dollars in equivalent advertising? How do
you work that out.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
Yeah. So basically we are really looking here to drive
growth to New Zealand's economy right through through through tourism.
So we look at what it would take for us
to spend this and paid advertising equivalent advertising value essentially
to get this sort of reach.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
So yeah, well super excited. Have you played it? I have?
I have.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
Yeah, it's an awesome game. Features you know, lots of
our most amazing places across New Zealand by time of Caves, Sapulia, Carpit,
the Island Able, Tasman and Tikapo. So it's just an
amazing representation of New Zealand. Essentially, you know, we want
people to play the game and then come and play
for real in New Zealand. Yeah, so that's the whole

(03:01):
premise of what we're doing here.

Speaker 1 (03:03):
Fantastic, Go well with appreciated, Brodie mcleishes with Tourism New Zealand.
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