The Campaign

When Splendour in the Grass announced they were banning all selfie sticks, there was a lot of buzz in TV, print and plenty of chatter on social media. As a festival sponsor, we saw an opportunity to bring to life Telstra’s brand message, ‘It’s How We Connect’, by creating the biggest selfie stick in the world. Taking inspiration from Australia’s love of BIG things, like the Big Banana, Big Prawn and Big Pineapple, we knew that the Splendour audience would be amused by something so kitsch and that it would be even more surprising coming from Telstra, the epitome of a large corporate brand to most of the audience. Not only that, but it was, of course, the only selfie stick at the festival, and the only way festival goers could get an epic shot of themselves in the middle of all the crazy festival action.

Creative Execution

Over the 3-day duration of Splendour in the Grass, the Big Selfie Stick towered above the festival, giving fans a choice of Telstra branded pics sent straight to their phone. The selfie stick was certainly not your average selfie stick – it was a large scale replica (10 meters in length – a normal selfie stick is 105 cm) and was located in the prime position to give participants the ultimate selfie with the festival grounds and atmosphere as the backdrop. A promotional staff member was positioned on the selfie platform, ensuring the ultimate selfie. At a push of a button, the large 50 inch monitor above changed from a locked screen to a digital mirror, exactly like it would on your smartphone. Participants saw themselves on the screen and positioned themselves for the best shot possible, picking the best before customising the image with a pre-designed skin.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

With 18% of total festival goers engaging with the activation and an estimated 57% of activation participants sharing their group selfie through their social channels — we significantly exceeded these objectives over the course of the festival. A Big Selfie Stick selfie was taken every 30 seconds during Splendour! A total of 3,292 selfies were taken and shared through social, leading to over 1.3 million online impressions for Telstra, making them one of the most talked about brands at Splendour in the Grass 2015. Key figures: • 1.3 million #thebigselfiestick impressions* • 5,230 people engaged with the selfie stick • 3,392 selfies taken • 1 selfie taken every 30 seconds • 28 live hours

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

After selfies were banned at a popular music festival, Telstra, Australia’s biggest Telco, provided a middle-finger, rock ‘n roll response, erecting the world’s biggest selfie stick, right in the centre of the action. Festival goers could then share their Telstra-branded selfie with their friends on their own social channels, bringing Telstra’s brand message, ‘It’s How We Connect’ to life. For every person who participated, we received and stored their phone numbers through a cloud based system, allowing us to provide further promotional material to participants that opted in.

Music is a key marketing pillar for Telstra, helping shift brand perceptions amongst young consumers. As Australia’s biggest music festival, Splendor in the Grass represented a huge opportunity to connect with our audience. We realised that Splendor had become a rite of passage for young music fans and that social media is where they share their experience. Our strategy was to create a culturally relevant experience that festival goers would want to participate in and share. We identified two key things that spring boarded us into our idea: 1. Our target love taking selfies and Splendour is one of the ultimate places to take a selfie. 2. Most selfies at festivals look the same - poor lighting, average backdrop, and not enough space for multiple friends. In April, when it was announced nationally that selfie sticks were banned at Splendour 2015… the scene was set!