Auckland could have its own Rhythm and Vines-style music festival.
R&V organisers are investigating staging a festival in Auckland to run parallel with the R&V event held every year near Gisborne.
Coming just three years after organisers feared for the future of the iconic event, the idea for an Auckland R&V experience is in part due to the use of state-of-the-art technology which reinvigorated the Gisborne festival.
"We're looking at opportunities in the Auckland market at the moment," says Hamish Pinkham, the festival's founder-director.
But Pinkham credits HP New Zealand for keeping organisers up-to-date with the latest and most reliable technology as a key reason they can even contemplate an Auckland event - as running modern festivals is about more than securing top acts.
"People just don't turn up on the day and it all comes together, so having a technology partner has been a huge part of our success," he says.
Watch how HP NZ helps bring Rhythm and Vines to life:
Although reluctant to give details of planning for Auckland, Pinkham says organisers are keen to build on the experience gleaned from staging the Gisborne event since 2003: "So maybe we can make the most of those experiences," he says.
That doesn't mean a change in the event; Pinkham says R&V which traditionally sees in the New Year at its Waiohika Estate vineyard site near Gisborne, will this year celebrate its 15th birthday.
"We're turning into unruly teenagers," he says.
But Pinkham - who just three years ago feared for the future of R&V - says the experience they've had using state-of-the-art technology at Gisborne is a key to planning for a possible Auckland event.
Since he and his Otago University mates Tom Gibson and Andrew Witters decided to hold an event for their friends to celebrate the New Year in a safe and secure location -they chose Witters' family's property - R&V has evolved into a small and innovative industry.
"I think it's a must-do New Zealand experience at the first place in the world to see the sun at the New Year," he says.
"We've got an office here in Auckland with four fulltime staff overseeing the event management and promotions side of the festival, also the marketing, the talent acquisition and programming, sponsorship and day-to day-event planning.
Behind the scenes, months of work go into organising 72 hours of fun; and innovation has been key to its success in a notoriously fickle industry.
"We've always striven to be at the forefront of the industry both in the customer experience and how we organise the event. We were one of the first festivals in the world - certainly in the Southern Hemisphere - to implement radio-frequency identification [RFID] cashless technology," Pinkham says.
(RFID uses electromagnetic fields to identify and track tags containing electronically stored information. Worn around the neck or in a wristband, festival-goers can store credits to buy food or merchandise at the site, for example.)
"We've used app-based technology such as Mish Guru Snapchat software, which is a great way to promote the festival. We can collect content and arrange it through our social channels - we've got one of the largest home-grown Snapchat channels."
Pinkham says R&V uses Globelet recycling by getting rid of temporary disposable cups and using more permanent cups; "we're really proud we were the first to get on board with that".
"We were the first to use the Arcadia stage in 2013. It's a stage from Glastonbury [England's longest-running festival] that we brought to Gisborne and gives a 360-degree audio/pyrotechnical experience.
"We're also the first festival in New Zealand to use Eventbrite ticketing technology and software. That means we can cut costs for the consumer and better manage and maintain our ticketing information."
Pinkham says HP New Zealand has been a supporting partner since 2010: "They help us by providing printers and ink for our on-site teams in Gisborne right through to supporting offices in Auckland and Gisborne with the latest in tablets, laptops and desktop computers.
"Having a mobile team often working on the festival site - the printer technology has to be able to adapt to moving outside of a standard office. They've been a great innovator for us.
"We process over 100 artists' contracts and visa applications each year. We map out our drawings of the site through to poster design, artwork, sponsorship proposals and accreditation."
Pinkham sees technological advances continuing. "We've talked about this RFID link to social media. When buying your ticket you'd attach this technology and be able to activate your excitement through social media channels, be part of conversations leading up to the festival, acquiring products at the event and sharing your experience through social media channels.
"I think it's going to be quite an immersive experience and one that we would really want to be part of, and help lead the way in this part of the world."