NZME improves audience engagement with a stronger SMS platform

New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME) relies on audience interaction across its brands, especially in broadcast environments where fast listener engagement matters. SMS had become an important channel for that interaction, but the platform NZME was using was no longer keeping up with what teams needed. The system made basic tasks difficult, lacked key functionality, and was not built for the kind of two-way, real-time communication that live broadcasting demands. As audience growth remained a priority across the business, NZME needed a platform that could better support its teams and improve the way they engaged listeners.

NZME’s existing setup created several operational problems. A gap analysis found that basic functions like printing, cut and paste, and multiple logins were either hard to use or unavailable. The platform was also geared more toward bulk texting than individual, reply-enabled conversations, which made it a poor fit for broadcast use cases. On top of that, support was inconsistent and reactive, and outages during peak broadcasting periods could take up to two hours to resolve. 

To address those issues, NZME expanded its work with Sinch Engage (formerly MessageMedia) through Bulletin, which was already part of the MessageMedia Group at the time. The new solution included a real-time messaging interface, improved reporting, keyword management, templates, conversation history, upgraded messaging capacity across brands, dedicated short codes, and 24/7 local support. For NZME, this was not just a feature upgrade — it was a shift to a platform that could better match the pace and demands of audience engagement in media.

Once the new platform was in place, NZME saw improvements in both day-to-day usability and audience interaction. The business used SMS as a key tool for prompting listener responses to current affairs and other broadcast content, and the new system helped teams engage audiences more proactively and efficiently. Bill Hays, NZME’s CIO, called the keyword management system “excellent” and noted that it was straightforward and user-friendly. The platform also made it easier for teams to manage inbound messages by showing everything on a single screen, keeping longer messages intact, and enabling auto-responses to acknowledge listener texts. 

Support and reliability were also important gains. Hays described the product support as first-rate, with issues being minor and infrequent. The platform delivered the capacity NZME needed to handle large message volumes, and Hays reported consistent, reliable performance and uptime. Internally, users became comfortable with the interface quickly, adoption remained high, and listener statistics were increasing every month. For NZME, the change was not about chasing one headline metric — it was about giving teams a platform that was easier to use, more reliable under pressure, and better suited to building audience engagement over time.