SMARTWIG

TitleSMARTWIG
BrandTHE STAR SYDNEY
Product / ServiceTHE STAR SYDNEY
CategoryA07. Corporate Image & Sponsorship
EntrantBASHFUL Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Idea Creation BASHFUL Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Idea Creation 2 KIND AGENCY Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Media Placement KIND AGENCY Sydney, AUSTRALIA
PR KIND AGENCY Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Production BASHFUL Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Production 2 KIND AGENCY Sydney, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Tim Chenery Bashful Creative Director
Jason Kempen Bashful Senior Copywriter
Dan Barrett Bashful Senior Copywriter
Dan Ieraci Bashful Senior Art Director
Guy Marshall Bashful Strategy Director
Chris Leffers Kind Agency Account Director
Alex King Bashful Account Director
Paul Kind Kind Agency CEO
Melinda Madigan The Star Sydney General Manager, Marketing & Entertainment
Todd Spry The Star Sydney Director, Brand & Customer Experience
Alex Honson The Star Sydney Brand Partnerships Manager

The Campaign

The Blatchys Blues, Australia’s largest supporter group are famous for their iconic blue wig but it’s resonance and novelty factor had been waning for several years. If The Star were going to refresh and reenergize the Blatchys Blues as both a supporter group and a sponsorship opportunity they needed to revolutionise that which made the group famous, their blue wig! Introducing the world’s first SMARTWiG, powered by The Star

Creative Execution

Introducing the SMARTWiG, powered by The Star. Under the hood of this familiar icon is a serious upgrade. It connects Blatchys to an exclusive radio station featuring six hours of SMARTWiG content hosted by Blues legends Fletch and Hindy. Our hosts talked with fans, experts, and even got into the NSW Blues' locker room to hear from the head coach just before kickoff! This show could only be heard through our SMARTWiG. And each wig was remotely controlled and fitted with a mysterious LED antenna. When the lights went down at the pre-game show, we sent out a signal that switched on LED lights in 12,000 SMARTWiG antennas, transforming the sellout crowd into a massive light up billboard for The Star.

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

We made 12,000 SMARTWiGs and sold them all. SMARTWiG generated 5.5 million dollars worth of free media, including features on national TV, national radio, the front page of Australia’s most popular national newspaper and dozens of press and online articles Australia wide. We delivered more than 3.5 million unique, media impressions with Australian’s watching the spectacle on live TV. And anyone at the game would be in no doubt that the SMARTWiG and The Star were major players on the night!

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

SMARTWiG is an example of using creativity to elevate a tired, stalling promotion to make it the one most talked about and engaged with during Australia’s version of the Super Bowl. The Star became the sponsors of Australia’s largest, yet steadily diminishing supporter group Blatchys Blues. We transformed their iconic wig into a SMARTWiG that offered fans a six hour exclusive radio show and the entire stadium an epic light show. All 12,000 wigs we created were sold with each and every person spending hours engaged with The Star’s content.

Making the star the most talked about sponsor on Origin night was never going to be easy. First; The Star had been given the Blatchys Blues, Australia’s largest supporter group. While this was quite an honour, they felt a little removed from the main event, the game itself. Second; the Blatchys Blues were in decline with several years of negative attendance growth. They had been a grassroots movement made famous by the original blue wigs but the novelty was wearing off. Third; The Star were looking to brand a grassroots supporter group, a fraught exercise. It had to be done in a way that added true value and felt authentic to the customs of the tribe. Our guiding strategic principle: breathe new life into a tiring property by transforming the game viewing experience in an authentic, branded way. Or; how could we make watching Origin even more awesome?

Links

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