Results and Effectiveness

Shannons Racing became the lead media story over the Bathurst week; generating $2.3m in earned media. Bathurst crowds swamped the Shannons Racing team race pit for posters, merchandise and autographs. We smashed our database target of 5,000, delivering 34,309 of which 26,624 were new to Shannons. Despite consistent pricing and products, and a reduced budget, Shannons business grew 15% year on year. As well as a fantastic ROI in terms of sales, earned media and brand affection we have also given Shannons their own media property for years to come. Ladies and Gentleman, start your engines for 2012!

Creative Execution

The scale of this project was unprecedented and needed sanction from the Confederation of Australian Motorsport. Partnering with one of Australia’s biggest race teams provided access to cars, drivers and crew. Uniquely in V8 Supercar history, cameras entered the inner sanctum of a race team as our contestants competed for a place on the grid. Shannons Racing team appeared at Bathurst complete with branded cars, pits and crew – a new team and new driver, a 17-year old who everyone had watched grow into a star. Shannons Supercar Showdown became the basis for an integrated marketing programme (including digital, social, crm, celebrity ambassadorship and event marketing) giving people unique access to Australia’s biggest motoring event. Entry into the Australian V8 Supercar Championship is $3 million. Our content-led approach created a 11-part series, broadcast on Australia’s largest network, plus our own race team at Australia’s biggest race event, for $600,000!

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

No insurance brand has catered for Australia’s motoring enthusiasts better than Shannons. But to deliver 10% sales growth we couldn’t just rely on our aging, niche consumer base. So how do you grow a niche brand without selling out? Insight: To its core audience Shannons wasn’t just an insurance company but a motorsport enabler, supporting 800+ grassroots events annually. Strategy: We would replicate Shannons success in enabling grassroots racing but on a massive scale; becoming lead story of Bathurst (the pinnacle of Australian motorsport). The solution wasn’t just our own racecar, or even just our own race team. We needed to create the next V8 superstar. Taking a content-led TV approach we uncovered a future superstar driver – and put him on the grid at Bathurst. This is like placing a winner of a TV series into the starting line-up at the Super-Bowl or an FA Cup Final.