Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

Australia is a uniquely risky country, with fires, floods, drought, spiders, snakes, burglars and even bin chickens - all in the one place. The riskiest thing of all is these perils are accepted, and Australians are complacent in their insurance against them. In a year when board game sales spiked, NRMA Insurance created HELP! The Game. Distributed throughout Australia’s largest retailer Kmart, it had all of Australia talking about and engaging with insurance without realising it. HELP! The Game gave Aussies an opportunity to experience uniquely Australian risk without any of the negative impact.

Background

Year on year, Australia is facing greater risk of devastating natural disasters such as bushfires, storms, cyclones and flooding. Yet, the number of uninsured homes in Australia has grown 32% in just four years due to a number of factors: apathy, understanding, industry reputation. IAG, NRMA’s parent company is a purpose-driven organisation that aims to make the world a safer place. With this as their ‘North Star’, our brief was to find a way to cut through the Christmas clutter and educate Australians on their growing risks and the importance of insurance. The objectives of the campaign were two-fold. Firstly, our activation had to drive brand awareness over the holidays with a fraction of the media budget to previous years. Secondly, we had to change the way people experience insurance, which was after tragedy had already happened, to help everyday Aussies understand the real dangers posed to them.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

HELP! the game. A board game sold in the country’s largest retailers at Christmas that lets people experience real-life risks without actually having to risk anything. Designed in partnership with leading game designers and insurance experts, HELP! makes confusing lawyer-jargon fun and mimics the real-risks of living down under. With every roll of the dice, players can either protect their assets with giant domes (insurance) or risk losing them to everything from bushfires to snakes to storms, cyclones, sharks and burglars.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Our strategy was to get Australians to willingly engage with insurance, positively shifting category behaviours from low to high-engagement. To do so, we targeted Aussie families over the holiday period with an engaging, tangible format that the whole family can enjoy; board games. Board game market sales were booming with the advent of lock down procedures, increasing the opportunity to connect with consumers in an original and unexpected way for the category. We knew key barriers for insurance engagement was the confusing jargon found in insurance documents and lack of understanding of their unique risks. HELP! Was based on real life risks of living in Australia and designed to subtly educate players through gameplay; shifting often ignored details into informative and fun experiences. To further solidify NRMA Insurance’s positioning of ‘Help’, a portion of proceeds from every sale of HELP! supported disaster relief and recovery for the Australian Red Cross.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

The HELP! campaign ran for 7 weeks in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland (QLD), Australia from the 1st November to the 18th December 2020. The campaign initiated with early seeding of HELP! The Game through content developed by Australian influencers, many of whom had been impacted by real world Australian risks as they’re experienced in HELP! The Game. Additionally, HELP! Was seeded in Gift Guides across Australia. From the 8th November, campaign activity took a digital and shoppable-first approach via a complex digital ecosystem implemented across Google, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, eBay, Amazon, Catch, YouTube and helpthegame.com.au – making NRMA Insurance the first insurer to use shopping ads in all of APAC. The activity continued with 3x15sec films airing on BVOD and digital channels. Finally, digital OOH boards placed in close proximity to NSW and QLD Kmart retail stores drove awareness and footfall for in-store purchases.

List the results (30% of vote)

Over the holiday period, HELP! The Game secured 12% of the Australian board game market share. By integrating awareness and sales activity across campaign communications, HELP! The Game not only sold well, but increased brand consideration by 32%.