The Brief

We needed to get the attention of the big wigs of Auckland advertising and drum up a bit of excitement around attending the AWARD School graduation, so that the students had a better chance of being snapped up in an already crowded market.

Creative Execution

Sending emails to the wrong address is just one of those things we have all done, but one like this was guaranteed to get around the industry as it’s tight knit and there’s a good friendly rivalry around town. It’s easy to miss emails/invites sent to you from people you don’t know, but coming from friends within the industry, it was sure to be read and give AWARD School the attention and attendance it needed. Especially at this time of year when all the advertising schools are holding their graduations and vying for the attention of all the ECDS.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

We played off the truth that no matter who you are you always want what someone else has. So we had to convince ECDs around town that DDB ECD Toby Talbot was already making a play to get the best students before the other agencies had a chance. We did this via an email 'accidently' sent from Toby’s PA to Colenso BBDO's Steve Cochran instead of DDB's own Steve Kane. With the help of Cochran this email was then sent all staff to Colenso and then it quickly made its way around the industry and to the local ad media.

Results

The email was a hit. At no cost we saw it spread through the agencies and onward to local media. They ran with the story, giving the graduation even more publicity, and still at no expense. In turn, the night was a huge success. A majority of the ECDs turned up and we had a record attendance overall. Some graduating teams were offered jobs there, on the night. And in less than a week after the show, 75% of students had been given jobs or placements. All thanks to a little email that was ‘accidentally’ sent to the wrong address.