Now, who's a cheeky young upstart then?

220813bf13 Justin Dawson, front, with Ben Deller , back, and Hamish White 22 August 2013 Rotorua Daily Post Photograph by Ben Fraser DPM 29Aug13 - THE NOW GENERATION: Taking on Rotorua are (fro

They're the young upstarts ready to shake up the Rotorua telecommunications scene.
Hawkes Bay broadband and phone retailer Now has chosen Rotorua as its next region to conquer - just one step in its plan to achieve national domination.

With its bold tagline "We're Awesome", a strong presence on social media and a self confessed "cheeky" marketing approach, the team led by chief executive Hamish White is deadly serious when it comes to business.

"We're cheeky, the upstarts, but we're professional in saying that," Mr White said. "We are the lifeblood of a business so it's cheeky and irreverent but also quite serious."

Mr White said his company, formerly Airnet, had experienced rapid growth in the Hawkes Bay since it relaunched as Now 18 months ago.

"We've had the challenger hat, we've challenged the entire market," he said. "We're changing how businesses are doing business."

With a 20 per cent share of the Hawkes Bay business market and growth of 6 to 7 per cent per year, the goal is to go nationwide. According to Mr White, Rotorua was a logical first step, as there was a small existing customer base here. Plus, he had a marketing manager in Ben Deller who, as a mountain biker familiar with the Redwoods, didn't take much convincing to make the move.

"We thought let's just test our mettle - what we're made of - outside of our own region," Mr White said.

Mr Deller has been based in Rotorua for two months and is loving it - both the early morning mountain bike rides and the warm welcome from the business community.

With B2B sales rep Justin Dawson, they've been running "digital enablement" workshops in the city, showing businesses how they can get the most out of the cloud and ultra-fast fibre.

For Mr Deller, it's about being innovative and always looking into the "crystal ball" at where the telecommunications industry is heading.

Mr White said Now was the first to offer rollover data. Now it's the industry norm.
"We needed to be seen as a challenger. It was all about this generation we're in ... that need for immediacy, we're the 'now' generation," Mr White said.

The company plans to become fully integrated into the Rotorua community - a retail outlet will be established in October which will eventually employ five or six staff.

Residential customers are also key. By the end of the year, Now hopes to have rolled out wireless access points around Rotorua. As in Hawkes Bay, residential customers will then be able to connect while out and about, while non-Now customers will get an hour's free access.

The team has also embraced social media, with Twitter and Facebook playing a key role in its marketing strategy.

Mr Deller said Twitter was a powerful sales tool for Now and worked well with traditional techniques.

The Now Twitter account has 1300 followers and Mr Deller fields "two or three" questions a week through the site.

It's a very public way to prove Now's stated commitment to service, he said.
Mr White said competition was tough for telecommunications retailers - a "hard fought battle" that was great for consumers.

And the "cheeky upstarts" plan to come out on top - starting with our city. "In two years, there will be no one that doesn't know Now in Rotorua," Mr White.