Brief Explanation

In early 2012, M.J. Bale, was a little known independently owned Australian men’s fashion label competing against global brands like Hugo Boss, Zegna and Paul Smith. Convincing fashion forward Australian males to choose its suits and shirts over the better known alternatives was going to take more than a compelling retail offer. Enter ‘Grazed on Greatness’. A campaign that highlighted M.J. Bale’s passion for provenance – the wool its suits were made from was literally infused with Australia’s greatest victories (its Merino sheep having grazed on the hallowed turf from the Sydney Cricket Ground). With the help of SCG’s groundsmen, grass was carefully taken from near the main pitch area and then transported, propagated and replanted along in MJ.Bale’s Merino sheep farm in Armadale, Northern NSW. M.J.Bale’s Merinos then grazed on the grass; which in effect ensured they were ‘Grazed on Greatness’. Their wool was then spun into M.J.Bale’s handcrafted suits, infusing them with a century of famous Australian cricketing victories. This story that lived inside the suits gave Australia’s most respected sporting stars, commentators, cricket fans and anyone wearing our ‘Grazed on Greatness’ range of suits a unique PR story to tell. This campaign had just $17,000 in paid advertising yet its content generated $3.2 million in earned media. This in turn delivered an extraordinary ROI of 12.3 : 1 (1,230%) and incremental sales valued at $1.88 million from a marketing spend of just $89,000. ‘Grazed on Greatness’ is now an innovations platform driving product development with Flemington and Glastonbury being explored.