Good Tings is the world’s first, first phones programme designed by New Zealand telco 2degrees, giving children and parents the tools they need to learn healthier smartphone behaviours.

Typically, the unboxing moment is owned by phone manufacturers like Apple or Samsung. We positively interrupted this moment with an unboxing before the unboxing experience which takes children on a journey to understand and agree healthy phone behaviours before they receive their first phone.

Every tear, lift and fold has been engineered to enhance the unboxing of any device and make learning about phone safety as exciting as getting the phone itself.

‘End the phone-based childhood now’ - The Atlantic

‘How cell phones are killing our kids, and what we can do about it’ - CNN

From UK politicians looking to ban the sale of smartphones to under 16s, to the US Senate demanding action from big tech to protect children online, unhealthy phone use among young people has reached crisis point.

A generation raised on smartphones are suffering from attention issues, anxiety and depression like never before; mental health concerns are two-and-a-half times more prevalent than they were 10 years ago, while threats such as sextortion have increased 89% in the last five years alone. There is now wide ranging evidence to link this rise in mental health problems with device usage.

Yet, despite the concerns and harm surrounding phone usage, big tech continues to monetise children's attention and engineer experiences to addict our children to their phones from day one without any accountability. While other milestones that come with risks, such as learning to drive, require a licence, there is no effective training offered when a child receives their first smartphone.

App restrictions & current safety advice are not effective enough. Kids have become savvy to work around walled gardens, education is dull, not impactful and not engaged with. And as Netsafe, our online safety partner shares, hard and fast rules around phone use don’t work; we have to empower and educate children around good phone behaviours.

Giving young people this knowledge is as critical as a driver licence.

Smartphones are vital tools in today’s digital world. However, research told us 71% of parents are unsure how to navigate this conversation at a time when children are applying pressure for early, unrestricted access.

As a responsible telco known for ‘fairness’, 2degrees wanted to positively affect this milestone. By focusing on the moment a child receives their first smartphone, we could help children create a healthier relationship with their phones from day one while driving brand saliency.

Specifically, our objectives were to:

Make life demonstrably fairer for children & their parents when receiving a first phone

Drive further fame for 2degrees as the fairest telco in New Zealand

Increase footfall into 2degrees stores, enabling sales uplifts

Take leadership around healthy phone use in New Zealand

This ambition needed to be reached on a budget of $850,000, touch over half of New Zealand and be present in every 2degrees store.

Every time a child's phone goes ‘ting’, how do they know if they are receiving a good ‘ting’ or bad ‘ting’?

Good Tings is an unboxing experience which credibly teaches phone safety by interrupting the unboxing moment to provide education and encourage positive conversation between parents and children.

A packaging solution which can accommodate any phone new or old, including any existing manufacturer packaging from the likes of Apple or Samsung, the initiative has been meticulously designed to take children and parents on a journey which enables them to understand, agree and adopt healthy phone behaviours before it’s too late.

Rather than preaching advice like other online safety initiatives, the experience delivers valuable safety lessons in disguise, where every element of the unboxing entertains & engages kids first through the language, aesthetic and appeal of street culture.

Turning any phone bought at 2degrees into the safest phone in the world.

Inappropriate and uneducated use of smartphones have helped fuel a +151% growth in depression among young people.

As a responsible telco known for ‘fairness’, 2degrees wanted to positively affect the first key milestone when people’s digital behaviours are set: receiving their first phone.

This moment is critical: a first phone offers freedom & independence - but kids can end up with 24/7 access to social media, content and their mates. They are entrusted with acting in a safe & mature manner without understanding the dangers.

Working with online safety experts Netsafe, we uncovered 10 important and critical lessons all children should know before receiving their first phone, while understanding the importance of facilitating a conversation between parents & children before kids receive their first phone.

We decided to create a first of its kind educational experience which would engage young people and their parents, preparing them for a life online.

In developing Good Tings, we had to ensure not only were the lessons taught credible, but the way they were delivered was too. We therefore partnered with online safety experts Netsafe, packaging designers and grime artist Scrufizzer to create an entertaining experience that keeps kids safe.

To ensure engagement & education, the box design includes:

Ten core lessons on how to stay safe online, endorsed by Netsafe

Scannable digital content, including a bespoke educational music track by Scrufizzer which brings the lessons to life in a culturally-relevant way for kids

A contract for families to agree healthy phone habits and sign together

Fun, collectible stickers to remind kids of the lessons to learn, which could then be used to sticker-bomb their belongings and spread our lessons further

The phone, any type, new or up-cycled

The lessons, track & music video were also used to advertise the idea.

The initiative has had significant impact:

In three months, 40% of all New Zealanders had engaged in the campaign.

The lessons stuck, with 95% of those who interacted with the initiative learning safer behaviours.

60m+ saw the campaign, thanks to international coverage by publications such as MailOnline.

Boxes sold out within weeks and quarterly volume of mobile phone plan sales increased 39% YoY.

Boxes are being re-printed and are a permanent offering from 2degrees.

Importantly, the initiative has been integrated into the school curriculum, giving young New Zealanders the know-how to have safer phone experiences. This year, we will reach all school children aged 11-14.

Like obtaining a driver’s licence or learning to swim, mastering healthy phone habits will now be an early life milestone for New Zealanders.

The Good Tings First Phones Programme makes any first phone from 2degrees safer than one from any other telco in the world.

Internet safety is dull and complicated, distant from the excitement that comes with unboxing a new phone. Taking cues from the best unboxing experiences and emerging youth culture in New Zealand, we designed an experience and campaign that brought together entertainment, discovery and education to create life-lasting digital behaviours.

The visual design and track tapped into emerging youth trends of grime music and street culture, creating experiences kids couldn’t miss.

Sticker packs let kids plaster our messages on their belongings. The bespoke ‘Good Tings’ music track and video by grime icon Scrufizzer, taught kids the ‘good tings’ and ‘bad tings’ you receive on your phone in a fun, digestible way. A multi-channel campaign, starring Scruffizer, advertised where to get first phone boxes and put our lessons where kids spent time.

All of these extras provided more ‘lessons in disguise’, promoting healthy phone habits to a wide audience of young people.