The Campaign

Through research, social listening and segmentation data, we knew that our target market were talking about and sharing, the drama of reality TV, the social kudos of knowing all the gossip of the latest show, and fashion. We created a product that was capable of protecting the bitchiest Real Housewives from each other. Kevlar Couture is a range of high fashion made to measure exclusively for the most confrontational Housewives in the history of the series. The collection had one unique feature – they were made from military-grade, backstab-proof Kevlar. Product integration was also key to our media strategy. The collection was worn by the Housewives across the show, media appearances, social media posts and GIFs. The gowns also featured in a series of films that tested the durability of the gowns against whatever these out of control Housewives could throw at each other.

Creative Execution

A campaign of targeted of sponsored content was rolled out on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Each piece was crafted to channel in terms of length, format (16:9, vertical and square), subtitling, sound prompts, and edit style. An influencer strategy that employed the reach and genuine personality of the Real Housewives was used, as well as social and media influencers with fashion followings. This included both posts, tagging and a comment strategy. The campaign was supported by a host of snackable GIFs, Boomerangs and memes, that repackaged the content both for purpose and audience. This layer also helped with frequency of audience, without wearing out the more heavily sponsored video content.

The spike in media attention, social media buzz and fan discussion around Kevlar Couture helped give The Real Housewives of Sydney a mid season lift. This resulted in the show becoming Arena's most highly rated show of the season. The campaign also helped boost streaming/catch-up demand of the series by 8%, meaning this season became Arena's most streamed Real Housewives instalment to date. The Real Housewives of Sydney also became the most discussed show on social media in Australia for the month of the campaign. With Kevlar really becoming the new black.

For the last 25 years, Australian broadcaster Arena has promoted its shows with network promos. But with viewing audiences shrinking as people move towards streaming, Arena can no longer just rely on cutting promos and running them on their network. So for an important tentpole show like the first ever series of The Real Housewives of Sydney, Arena needed to have an idea that used media in a way they normally didn't. One that would use the appetite for drama on social media, to spread the word about the series, and get people and the media talking about it.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Increasingly, social media is where viewers find out about shows and come together to discuss the drama. Because viewers also now pick up shows later due to catch up streaming services, social media is the new water cooler. We needed an idea and a media strategy and implementation that would not just find the right audience on social media, but give the audience something extra to talk, tweet, tag and post about. The target market was reality TV, fashion & celebrity news obsessed women and men aged 18-45.