The Brief

Two years ago the state of Queensland was engulfed by a catastrophic flood, covering an area the size of France. On January 26 this year, it was hit by another. This one punished a much smaller area, but was even more ferocious. For our hometown of Bundaberg, it was the worst in history. The disaster led news bulletins, but before long, the media, and a flood fatigued nation, moved on and the plight of the small town was forgotten. Our task was twofold: (1) Lure people back to Bundy to boost a decimated local economy; (2) Fight ‘flood fatigue’, ensuring the bravery of this proud community is never forgotten.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

We embarked on an ambitious campaign to promote flood-ravaged Bundaberg as a tourist destination. The centrepiece of the campaign was a promotional rum. Called ‘Road to Recovery’, the bottles were emblazoned with the names of Bundy’s flood-affected streets. All 171 of them. The promotion had a twist though. This highly sought-after product would only be available from the Distillery on March 16, meaning rum-lovers would need to make the journey and spend some money in our town if they wanted to claim their unique bottle. All proceeds from the rum would be donated to flood victims.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

Over 6000 people came to the town for the event, swelling the population by 8%. It was the biggest tourism event Bundaberg has ever seen. $2.5 million pumped into the struggling local economy. The rum completely sold out - $300,00 for charity. $1 million in PR was generated, with 169 media pieces. The total reach exceeded 7.5 million people. Online, our Facebook RTR post engaged 13% of our entire population and 268,130 unique uses engaged. Our Facebook page fan base increased by over 9,000 people. Our social activity reached 2,692,405 unique people - excess of 20.9 million impressions. 1,037,470 people were reached as a result of their friends interaction with our Facebook activity.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

With 125 years of history as Bundaberg’s most famous resident, the Bundaberg Distilling Company needed to act to help the community get back on its feet. We did it the best way we know how - with our rum. Only something as famous as our rum would be able to lure thousands from far away to our humble, broken town.