Results and Effectiveness

We achieved national awareness earning 8.5 million media impressions with media coverage (broadcast TV, news, press, editorial, PR, social media) valued at A$3.2 million (US$3.3 million) Unprompted, the Cricket Australia website, with over half a million visitors daily, promoted the campaign. Priceless endorsement from Australia’s most loved sporting celebrities. The Australian Government awarded the brand a grant to further wool innovation. Tailored suit orders up 520%. M.J. Bale has expanded its national distribution into Australia’s largest and most prestigious retail chain, with 38 additional new outlets, nationwide. Phenomenal 1400% return on investment of $14 for every $1 spent.

Creative Execution

Rather than just advertising our suits in various different media, we made both the suits and the people that wore them, the media. We did so by changing the entire way we created our product: giving all who wore them – Australian Cricketers, commentators, members of the general public – a beautiful story to tell. We found the oval where the Australian Cricket Team had its most victories, the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). We took grass from there, replanted it on a Merino sheep farm, fed it to our sheep and handcrafted suits from the wool, infused with victory, for the Australian Cricket Team. Then, we sold them to the general public. The ‘Grazed on Greatness’ suits and the people wearing them drove the campaign in PR, a documentary and a variety of traditional, digital and social media channels.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

As a relatively new men’s fashion brand in Australia, generating awareness was vital to expanding our retail footprint across the country. To do so, we needed a much stronger demand from the general public. We needed an idea that excited our target (Australian men who love sport and want to look sharp) and potential stockists (national department store chains). So, we used a minor sponsorship of the Australian Cricket Team – as Official Tailors to the team. Rather than simply photograph a few sports stars in our clothing, we changed the very way we made our suits – giving our sports stars, cricket fans and the adoring public a unique story to tell. The people wearing our suits became advocates, whether they were being paid to or not. In effect, they also became our media.