FAIR GO BRO

Short List
TitleFAIR GO BRO
BrandVIRGIN MOBILE AUSTRALIA
Product / ServiceVIRGIN MOBILE
CategoryB03. Consumer Services
EntrantHAVAS WORLDWIDE AUSTRALIA Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Entrant Company HAVAS WORLDWIDE AUSTRALIA Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Advertising Agency HAVAS WORLDWIDE AUSTRALIA Sydney, AUSTRALIA
PR Agency ONE GREEN BEAN Sydney, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Janyon Boshoff Photographer
David Scribner/Nicole Bardsley/Tracy Hall/Ashley Killeen Virgin Mobile Australia Account Team
Scott Mcintyre/Ross Jauncey/Josh Sandford/Matt Holmes Havas Worldwide Australia Print Producer
Warrick Nicholson Havas Worldwide Australia
Bernard Garry The Editors Editor
Monique Pardavi Havas Worldwide Australia Head Of Tv
Alex Kember Revolver Production Producer
Jon Wilson Havas Worldwide Australia Designer
Darren Cole Havas Worldwide Australia Designer
Igor Jadue-Lilo Dop
Glue Society (Matt Devine) Director
Stan Cheung Havas Worldwide Australia Interactive Art Director
Will Brown Havas Worldwide Australia Interactive Art Director
Ben Pearce Havas Worldwide Australia Copywriter
Lucas Jatoba Havas Worldwide Australia Creative Team
Jack Nunn Havas Worldwide Australia Creative Team
Kat Thomas One Green Bean Executive Creative Director
Steve Coll Havas Worldwide Australia Executive Creative Director

The Brief

Virgin Mobile promises Australians the fairest deal. But, for ten years, they have remained a niche player. Three huge telcos, Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, have 87% of the Australian market, outspending Virgin Mobile 4 to 1 and buying the best advertising and sponsorships for their aggressive customer acquisition campaigns. Our brief was to deliver Virgin Mobile's 'fairness' message to the Australian mass market in a way that would compete with their big-spending rivals for the first time ever. To do this, it was essential our campaign generated considerable earned media value.

Creative Execution

Fairness is at the heart of Virgin Mobile's promise. By making Doug the centre of attention for the first time, Australians saw how good it feels to be treated fairly. With a quarter of the budget of other telcos, the campaign had to generate earned media to reach the mass market. A viral launch featuring Doug created headlines around Australia and worldwide. Aussies then voted to bring Doug 'Down Under', again generating huge earned coverage. With tactical outdoor and TV in support, this mix of bought, earned and online media meant Virgin Mobile's 'fairness' message was being talked about everywhere.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

We wanted to remind everyone how good it feels to be given a fair go. We launched a campaign called 'Fair go Bro', featuring Doug Pitt - brother of world famous actor Brad Pitt. Virgin Mobile invited Australians to give Doug 'a fair go' by making him the centre of attention for the first time in his life, and thousands of Australians helped make him feel like a star. And while Doug got a taste of his brother's lifestyle, the campaign generated millions of dollars of earned media and made Virgin Mobile's promise of 'a fair go' unmissable.

Results

Fair Go Bro is the most successful campaign ever for Virgin Mobile 40% increase in market share 15% growth while the overall category grew by less than 1% 22% increase in sales, the best sales quarter in history 25% growth in customer base Fewest 'lost customers' across the industry 2 million+ YouTube views for campaign video content 428,000 unique visitors at FairGoBro.com.au 10 to 1 positive online sentiment