Wellington,
The city that can’t be beaten on a good day. Where creativity lives on every corner.
Wellingtonians love the arts, culture and creativity. It has long been a city that attracts thinkers, creators and innovators.
Wellington is unlike anywhere else on planet earth.
Despite a touch of too much wind at times (controversial topic, we’ve heard people move away and miss it) Wellington has everything a city needs, it’s the perfect size, compact and bustling to the brim.
422,000 sets of eyes moving through the city each day, each with their own tastes, interests and things that make them tick.
Phantom Billstickers has had a presence in Wellington since 1986. We’ve changed outfits, buildings, vehicles and just about everything else you can imagine since then, but we’re still out there putting the good stuff on the streets.
Over that time, our network of frames in the capital has continued to grow and has become part of the cultural fabric of the city. It’s hard to turn any given corner without seeing our frames. Maximum reach doesn’t do it justice.
We’ve got over 60 bollards spread out across the city which house the best of arts and creative posters showcasing events, shows and happenings in Wellington and beyond. You can’t go far without being introduced to something entirely new. We have every size frame imaginable laid out across the city, big ones, small ones, some as big as your head.
As the city expands, changes, develops, so does our network. If you’re looking to make an impact on the streets, Wellington is the place to do it. With new bike lanes being added city-wide, now more than ever people are out of their vehicles, commuting for any number of reasons on a daily basis.
To maintain the ever growing network, and navigate the changes within the city, we rely heavily on a core team of staff in Wellington
It’s been a while since we’ve got the word on the street, but we figured it was about time to hear some yarns from the capital crew.
We caught up with Cullum (left) and Dan (right) to get a bit of a run down.
This is probably about as formal as we’ll ever get fellas, no pressure. When did you start with Phantom?
What has your journey looked like since starting?
Cullum –
I started off pretty causally to ensure I had time to give to skateboarding, I was pasting on weekends and distributing retail during the week. Then Covid happened and I opted to jump into full time Pasting. Since then, things have been pretty turbo, I’m now managing and coordinating the operations for Wellington and Palmerston North.
Dan –
I’ve only been with the team for a hot minute, but Its been really good. Phantom has quite a young energy to it, from management down which is nice. It still feels hungry and not only open to change but seeking it. The Wellington outfit is so small that its easy to have a good team vibe with our pasting contractors really included in that.
What makes the Wellington city network unique?
Cullum –
One of the most unique characteristics of Wellington is that it’s pretty much walkable in its entirety, that means there’s a real buzz on the streets. Whether people are commuting in the fancy new bike lanes, cruising on skateboards or walking the streets. It’s geared up for people to explore on foot. Wellington is best experienced on foot, and that works perfectly with Phantoms network here, there’s endless opportunities to be seen and to interact with street posters that are eye level.
Dan –
Wellington is so compact that the CBD, the arty cultural quarter, where you’d go for a scenic walk, and where you’d go out for dinner or to meet friends for a night out are all one and the same. They entirely overlap through the small central Wellington area which Phantom operate in.
If a client came directly to you and asked for advice on running a campaign in Wellington, what would you say?
Cullum –
Utilize the bollard network, they’re gigantic structures that extrude from the street to the sky, they’re unmissable and that’s a great place to start to visualize your campaign. The size format is also really interesting and gives a unique feel to a traditional poster.
Dan –
I think if youre promoting an artistic or cultural event you can just sell it straight, as Wellingtonians have so much good will towards those events but if you’re a big, more corporate company then humour always helps the medicine go down. The Big Save Furniture campaign taking the p**s out of the price of truffles is a good example of softening a hard sell with some humour and creating a more intimate connection with passers by.
Are there any big projects coming up in Wellington?
Cullum –
There’s a new skatepark being built in Kilbirnie which I’m a key stakeholder for (medium rare).
This should bring a whole new audience to Wellington and will put us on the map nationally for this kind of facility. This is really going to play into Wellington’s creative community, Skateboarders are naturally creative and always seem to engage with the work we do. There’s a couple of big Phantom projects in the works, but I have to keep pretty tight lipped on it all for now, just keep your eyes peeled.
Dan –
There’s some big changes on the horizon for the Wellington network to maximise visibility, but this is under wraps for the moment. My lips are sealed.
Any other sentiments or thoughts?
Cullum –
Nah, better get back to it.
Dan –
Same!
Cheers to the fellas for their words, if you’re out and about in Wellington and see them on the street, be sure to hit them up for a yarn, they’ll be more willing to do that than speak to us in interview form.