The Hyperfactory

NEW YORK Derek Handley is such an avid poker player that in addition to playing in three World Poker Tour events over the years, where he usually finishes in the top third, he started a business to let sports fans around the globe bet against each other using their cell phones.The business, Feverpitch International, got its start in 2000. Although Feverpitch improbably merged with a child care company in 2003 and jettisoned its betting roots, it provided Derek and his brother, Geoffrey, experience in marketing a mobile business. Feverpitch was the first client of The Hyperfactory, a mobile creative shop the brothers started in 2000 in Auckland, New Zealand."The mantra that the company began with back then was 'utilizing whatever the technology may be' to connect brands with consumers," says Geoffrey, 32. "We've consistently strived on a global stage to win awards at the highest level to showcase not only our own work but the power of this channel."The Hyperfactory won the first Ericsson New Zealand-Microsoft mobile Internet developers' competition in 2001 for its work on feverpitchexchange.com, the betting site. Last year the shop took home three Adweek Buzz Awards, including best in show, for its "Say Good-bye" effort for Motorola and a campaign for New Zealand's Wellington Zoo. "If the goal is to win an award and make a lot of noise, that's different than if the goal is to get people to sign up for a service," notes Derek, 29. "If it's the latter, we just translate the agency's creative into mobile. If it's the first, we use new technology and cutting-edge stuff to build on whatever the theme is."An example of the latter would be the 3-D animals the company, in association with Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand and Hitlab Nz, created for the Wellington Zoo. By using the live-camera feed on a cell phone and pointing it at a newspaper ad, a 3-D virtual beast appeared on users' cell phones.In its other winning campaign, this one for Motorola, the shop worked with Ogilvy, Hong Kong, to put David Beckham and Chinese pop star Jay Chow on people's cell phones, introducing messages to loved ones in mobile-only videos. The good-byes were also projected on large digital screens in the airport. Last year Rich and Paul Franks, the former chairman and current head of TV, respectively, at talent management agency The Firm, invested an undisclosed sum in the Hyperfactory, with Rich taking a seat on the board. In addition to its Auckland base, the shop opened its U.S. headquarters in New York in 2005. There are also offices in Chicago, Hong Kong, Hyderabad, India, and Shanghai, where Geoffrey is the director of new business development for the Asia-Pacific region. Derek works out of The Firm's Los Angeles offices, where he heads a new entertainment division set up to leverage The Firm's Hollywood connections. Not that the Hyperfactory hasn't worked with entertainment brands. Last summer the shop launched a campaign for rap-rock group Korn that was seen on the band's "Family Values" tour. Paying fans could text messages that would appear on a large screen during concerts, as well as receive behind-the-scenes footage and news updates from the band."We learned . . . that kids . . . are willing to pay a buck or two to engage with their favorite band," Derek says . "If there are 10,000 people in an arena, how many will pay for it? About 15 to 25 percent of them."Hyperfactory is currently gearing up for its sixth annual promotion with Coca-Cola and the Rugby Union in New Zealand. Previous campaigns used Coke packaging and SMS to unlock content on a digital television channel and Web site devoted to the national rugby team. This year, "the focus will be on mobile Internet, 3-G video with a firm link back to product, whether it's loyalty points or sales promos or bar codes," Derek says.At the Hyperfactory, creative and tech go hand in hand. "When we talk to brands, we don't talk about the technology we have behind what we do," Derek says. "We don't want people to think we're a bunch of crazy guys coming up with ideas and getting someone else to do it. That doesn't work in mobile."BIOGRAPHY:Born: The Handley brothers were born and spent several years in Hong Kong before moving to New Zealand.Education: Derek is a 1999 graduate of Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, where he studied architecture and design and finance. Geoffrey graduated from Auckland Institute of Studies, New Zealand, in 1995 with a degree in international finance.Background: Derek owns a line of cashmere clothing, To Sir With Love. Geoffrey co-founded Pacific-Connections, an Internet developer that sold to china.com in 1999.Agency founded in 2000. Clients include Starcom, Ogilvy & Mather, Purina, Nintendo and Saatchi & Saatchi. Rich and Paul Franks of The Firm invested late last year. Awards in 2007: Won two OMMA Awards, three Adweek Buzz Awards and two Mobile Marketing Association Awards.

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The Hyperfactory

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