commonwealth bank: dollarmitesagency: New Dialogue (now Tongue).
media: Website.
brief: CBA’s Dollarmites Club targets
young kids with the primary objective of teaching them good fi nancial sense from an early age. The Club has been around for years and many CBA customers fondly remember the Club as their fi rst banking experience and have stuck with the Bank since.
By 2008, however, the Club needed a boost - as the characters were becoming tired and boring. Particularly since they were now up against a barrage of contemporary online entertainment.
The website also needed to account for parent approval - due to growing concerns about marketers targeting kids with unwholesome content... along with fears of stranger danger.
And thirdly, the website had to work as an interactive platform that tied in with the DM campaigns/competitions.
execution: Obviously, a serious make-over was needed. So we animated the characters and gave them voices, plus fun biographies. We also created more informative content for both kids and their parents. The result was a 67% increase in session duration and an IAB award in the Financial Services Sector.
digital
digital
commonwealth bank:home buying know how campaignagency: New Dialogue (now Tongue)
media: An informative website offering a
suite of home buying tools and advice via
podcasts and downloadable information.
This website was supported with swf, gif
and fl ash banner ads which refl ected
various target market needs and CBA
home loan solutions. Campaign no longer running.
brief: The CBA wanted to position itself
as the premier home lender with all the
answers; not just in the fi nancial sense, but
in the practical sense of buying a home.
Coupled with the fact that many home
buyers are bamboozled with the whole
process, the website needed to be a step
by step guide to home buying and the
costs associated with it.
execution: The look and feel of the
campaign had to refl ect the mainstream
press ads. This consisted of block-style
buildings that looked like they had
expanded across news print (or were
squashed by it) to demonstrate a point.
Online, the block-style buildings also used
space to grow or change shape before the
viewers eyes - looking like they were
growing beyond their booked media
allotments.
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digital
kotex: stayfree ultra thin agency: The Farm Digital
media: Online banners, forum & website.
Pitch.
brief: To engage young women and
position the Kotex brand as one that
relates to their lifestyle and ideals.
Research had shown that the brand had
fallen into the old-school category and was
not considered to be very innovative.
execution: Since sanpro advertising is
generally bland, the agency chose to go the
social media rout and encourage dialogue
among the market; drawing analogies
between the closeness and comforts of
girl friends and advanced sanitary napkins.
The campaign was to run static and rich
media banners. These linked to a forum,
that engaged insightful and often
humorous conversations about friendships
between women.
In doing so, five emotional categories
were adopted to spark conversation and
thoughts. Women could also find out
more about the product via a product
landing page and free sampling.
Unfortunately, this concept didn’t run.
However, the agency did win the account
as a result of it.
digital
digital
commonwealth bank: $50 credit on credit cards campaignagency: New Dialogue (now Tongue)
media: swf, gif and fl ash banner ads in all
sizes for 4 different cards, plus a microsite.
Ads were highly targeted, appearing on a
select range of sites - depending on market
demographics and the relation of the card
propositions to the sites.
Campaign no longer running.
brief: The CBA was experiencing a
reduction in its Platinum, Gold, Awards
and Low Fee credit card uptake. To en-
courage aquisition, The Bank offered $50
worth of credit on every new card
application. The campaign also needed to
highlight the many benefi ts of each card
and relate them to the specifi c target
markets.
execution: This was a complex
campaign. So to demonstrate the
advantages of each card in an attention
grabbing way, we developed banner ads
that tore along the centre, layer by layer,
revealing a new propositon beneath. From
a copy perspective, this meant that the
lines had to fl ow from both top to bottom
and bottom to top.
Of course, there were far too many
messages to be conveyed in the banner
ads, so the microsite took the form of a
comparison table.
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caltex: main websiteagency: New Dialogue (now Tongue)
media: Informational website for
consumers, business and investors.
brief: Caltex needed to update its main
website to be more informative, rank
higher for SEO, be easier to navigate and to
establish a more corporate, yet consumer
friendly tonality.
execution: From my perspective, this
was an exercise in creating the right
tonality and editing a good deal of the
content.
This was quite a large job with the content
coming from a wide range of stake-
holders.
Despite their conservative disposition, a
good deal of the copy got through
unchanged - which, apparently, is unusual
for Caltex.
digital
caltex: biofuels agency: Tongue
media: Interactive microsite
brief: To maintain its innovative stance
in the fuel market and to better educate
customers about biofuels, Caltex required
an informative, yet friendly microsite. They
also required an interactive ‘biofuel finder’
component to help drive traffic to Caltex
biofuel retailers.
execution: When I was briefed on this
job I couldn’t help but feel a tad
uncomfortable. For me, writing about a
fossil fuel conglomerate that was
espousing the need for environmental
protection represented a murky shade of
green washing. Luckily, Caltex had a story
to tell; one which was factual, truthful and
as financially driven as the importance of
renewable energies and public approval.
In the end, it became one of the most
enjoyable corporate jobs I’d worked on.
digital
university of westernsydney: bachelor of music degreeagency: New Dialogue (now Tongue)
media: Website, full page ads in street
mag’s, radio and experiential. Site no
longer running.
brief: UWS has a state of the art music
facility and offers degrees in a vast range
of areas. However, their courses lacked
recognition and were often overlooked by
HSC school leavers when making their uni
selections.
execution: To make the UWS Bachelor
of Music top of mind with school leavers,
we created a more contemporary web-
site using talent from the school. This site
highlighted the range of courses available
and ran with the strapline: There’s more
to music at UWS (which was the client’s
strapline).
The site also profi led the academic
requirements for each course, the types
of people these courses would benefi t and
samples of work (downloadable) that were
created by past students.
To support the site, 30sec radio ads (on
indi stations, like FBI), full page ads in street
mag’s and free air guitars with bonus picks
were produced.
The free air guitars and picks were handed
out at gigs - which was extremely popular,
despite some guitars being untuned.
University of Western Sydney. Bachelor of Music Degree:
www.theresmoretomusic.com
UWS has a state of the art music faculty and offers degrees in a vast range of areas. However, they lacked recognition and were often overlooked by school leavers making their uni selections.This website became the centre-piece of the campaign and was backed with press ads in music / street mags. Free air guitars (the client couldn’t afford much) with bonus picks were also given out at popular music gigs.
through the line
Front and back of air guitar pick card
throught the line
kellogg’s: all-branagency: Tongue
media: Interactive website: www.all-bran.com.au
brief: To introduce the wide range of All-Bran cereals now produced by Kellogg and to position All-Bran as the most effective, delicious source of fibre on the market. The website also needed to educate consumers about the importance of a high fibre diet and healthy living - and demonstrate how this doesn’t need to be boring.
execution: This website had to be deep and informative - covering a vast amountof content, including how the digestive system works, nutrition and the need for fibre, recipes, product information, a fibre calculator, regular journals from a dietitian, FAQ’s and more. Thanks to the use of Ajax, all of the above could be coveredin a comprehensive way - allowing snippets of info which could expand to reveal more detailed explanations.
digital
di’s hill: romantic home stayagency: Molotov Communications + Icon Innovations
media: website: www.dishill.com.au
brief: To photograph and build a websitefor this spectacular holiday house. The client, Dianne Willett, had been strugglingto lure guests and wanted a website thatbrought to life the charm of the property and the Lake Conjola area - which few people know about.
execution: Using WordPress, IconInnovations and I developed the site foroptimisation, functionality and, above all,inspiration. Indeed, the landing page set the tone with an image loop of copy reading:
“Five acres of personal tranquilitySpace to lose yourself...... and rediscover each otherThere’s a pool that’s 6km long...... and an endless park to walk inMonuments from another time......and time to linger and relax.”
The site was set up for easy back-endadministration by the client, opportunitiesto run special promotions, for readers and guests to add blogs and for people to make reservation enquiries. We’re also workingon her to incorporate a social media campaign to get her search ratings higher.
digital
ingersoll-rand: the dmm3 blasthole drill
agency: Milne and Partners.
media: Full page ad for engineering and construction magazines.
brief: To demonstrate the enormous drilling ability and technical advancements of Ingersoll-Rand’s DMM3 Blasthole Drill.
execution: The fi rst step was to convince the client to depart from the typical, mechanical/statistical advertising found in engineering and construction trade journals at the time and do some-thing that really stood out.
The next problem was coming up with a concept that would demonstrate the benefi ts of the Blasthole Drill in a compelling way.
Like usual, the budget was small and the production period even smaller.
As the drill vaguely resembled a rocket launcher, our solution was to turn a stock shot of a space shuttle upside down.
mainstream
schwarzkopf: indian fi re
agency: Harris Robinson & Associates
media: A3 poster for hair dressing salons.
brief: Build awareness of Schwarzkopf’s new red hair dye, Indian Fire.
execution: This product had no majorbenefi ts over its competitors; it was simply quality product that dyed hair red.
From an emotional point of view, however, red hair dye had a lot to offer. The client research showed that many women who chose to dye their hair red were head-strong, confi dent individuals that weren’t worried about fi tting in.
To refl ect their ideals, and tie in with the product name, Indian Fire, a quasi Asian/ mystical approach was adopted.
point of sale
balmoral boards
agency: Molotov Communications
media: Full page ads in snow board, skate board, mountain bike and ski mag’s.
brief: Proposal to get client in the door.
execution: When I started Molotov Communications, I was on the lookout for SME’s that would allow us to do some really fun stuff. However, I felt that they had to have a great product and business plan, a strong background, market recognition and a desire to grow. Balmoral Boards ticked all those boxes and more.
After a little snooping, an art director (Rua Perston) and myself put together a proposed print campaign that positioned Balmoral Boards as the Gods of snowboarding. These concepts could also be adapted to metro lights, street posters, cafe postcards or even local bar coasters.
We posted the layouts to the client with a cheeky letter that explained how we would like to make him famous. This scored Molotov an interview.
Over the course of two years, Molotov provided strategic direction for Balmoral Boards and its B-Star label, plus assistance with their catalogues.
through the line
through the line
good cause: recruitment
agency: Molotov Communications
media: Small-space recruitment ads for press.
brief: Good Cause was a fund raising consultancy that organised events and programmes for a wide range of popular charities. Basically, the company trained people to discuss specific charities with the public in a bid to encourage regular EFT donations.
Their recruitment ads targeted people who wanted casual work while at uni - or just needed a short term job to help make ends meet. Of course, the budget for these ads was minuscule.
execution: Molotov created a vast series of small-space, type driven press ads to run in the recruitment section of local and major newspapers.
Most people are aware that this job is not a glamorous one, so changing peoples’ perspective about the work and appealing to their altruistic side was important.
mainstream
good cause: recruitment
agency: Molotov Communications
media: Recruitment strip ads for free street publications.
brief: This was a Molotov initiative which followed up from the small space press ad campaign. The strategy was the same as the small space campaign - only using dif-ferent publications and layouts for impact.
execution: Running on the success of the small space press ad campaign, I suggested that Good Cause invest a little extra money in running some highly visible strip ads in free street and university publications. The client loved the concepts but, unfortunately, decided to adapt them into more small space press ads.
mainstream
mainstream
sterling pharmaceutical:first steps campaignagency: Clemenger Direct
media: A series of informative, 12 page
booklets that focus on childhood
development.
brief: To help build long-term customer
loyalty, Sterling Pharmaceutical decided
to produce a series of booklets to advise
mums and dads about the different stages
of their kids’ development - and position
Panadol as a trusted authority on growing
pains in the process.
execution: Data collection was
achieved through direct response ads
in women’s magazines and brochures in
bounty bags. Parents could sign up every
child under seven - ensuring they would
receive a new First Steps booklet that
corresponded with birthdays. Each
booklet focused on the behavioural,
learning and growth expectations for a
specific age-group. They also carried an
information chart at the back to keep
Panadol top of mind between mailings.
This included immunisation charts, home
first aid guides, resuscitation procedures
for minors, etc.
Naturally, each booklet had to be
thoroughly researched and approved by a
recognised paediatrician.
direct marketing
direct marketing
sandoz pharmaceuticals:lamisil ‘murder on tinea’ agency: Clemenger Direct
media: A direct response mailing to GP’s
and dermatologists. Sample request forms
were included.
brief: Sandoz Pharmaceuticals’ Lamisil
cream was the only dermatological cream
on the market that actually killed fungal
infections, such as tinea and ringworm. At
the time, the cream was only available via
prescription, so the company had the
challenge of, not only educating doctors
about the efficacy of the product, but to
convince them to take all fungal infections
seriously enough to prescribe Lamisil. (As
many GP’s ignored these infections, or
falsely believed they could be cleared up
with over the counter solutions.)
execution: The client and agency alike
felt that mentioning the word ‘kill’ wouldn’t
go down well with doctors - despite it
being an integral part of Lamisil’s
proposition. With that, we challenged
doctors to look at the evidence and judge
for themselves. Hence, the ‘murder on
tinea’ concept. This also enabled us to
quote medical papers (which are pretty
bland) and present them as conclusive
evidence in a more interesting way. The
concept also provided a great platform in
which to invite GP’s to trial the product
themselves. This mailing was backed up
with telemarketing and invitations to
dermatological seminars etc.
direct marketing
direct marketing
achievement concepts:corporate wilderness:stage 1agency: Molotov Communications
media: A two-stage direct mail campaign to the top 50 companies in Australia.
brief: Achievement Concepts helps companies to develop their culture, leaders and teams. By taking key players out of their comfort zones and making them work together in hostile wilderness regions, executives learn how to adopt constructive thinking behaviours - rather than being defensive. These trips are facilitated by an accomplished mountaineer and psychiatrist and are followed up with mentoring.
Naturally, the programs aren’t cheap. And, because our mailings were to target the top CEO’s, they had to be cut-through enough to make it past the PA’s.
execution: The program was summed up with an invitation for companies to ‘navigate the corporate wilderness’. This consisted of a personalised topographical map of a national park - where the park itself, plus streams, mountains, and ridges was renamed after the company and its key exec’s. The map was also marked-up with a teaser, asking the CEO how far they could take their team.
A short letter, personalised brochure and compass also accompanied the map; along with a bushwalking mapbag as a vehicle for the whole pack.
direct marketing
achievement concepts:corporate wilderness:stage 2 agency: Molotov Communications
execution: A week after receiving the first dm pack, the company would receive a follow-up mailing. This mailing was also highly personalised and built on the Corporate Wilderness concept - albeit, with a prusiking analogy.
Prusiking enables people to get over difficult cliff faces with the use of ropes and loops. So it reflected the message of “getting executives over hurdles - particularly those in the office” perfectly.
To illustrate the notion, the second stage pack included prusik loops, a personalised brochure - which set the scene for the program itself, photos from previous corporate trips with testimonials on the reverse, and a letter. This letter was kept short and simply informed the CEO that there was a limited number of program vacancies still available .
The client was adamant that, as long as the CEO had received the mailings, he would be able to sell-through the program in person. And so, three days after the second mailing, the client was to follow up with a phone call.
This campaign had real cut-through potential and our client loved it. Unfortunately, it didn’t go ahead due to internal politics on the client side.
direct marketing