HELP! THE GAME

Short List
TitleHELP! THE GAME
BrandNRMA
Product / ServiceINSURANCE
CategoryB06. Market Disruption
EntrantCHE PROXIMITY Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
Idea Creation CHE PROXIMITY Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
Media Placement MINDSHARE Sydney, AUSTRALIA
PR THINKERBELL NORTH Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Production COLLIDER Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Production 2 RUMBLE STUDIOS Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Post Production HECKLER Sydney, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Brent Smart IAG Chief Marketing Officer
Zara Curtis IAG Director of Content and Customer Engagement
Sally Kiernan IAG Director, Brand
Caroline Hugall IAG Group Brand Strategy Director
Luke Farrell IAG Director of Marketing Operations
Mahsa Merat IAG Creative & Innovation Specialist
Anna Jackson IAG Brand Strategy Lead
Sam McGown IAG Creative & Innovation Lead
Ant White CHE Proximity Chief Creative Officer
Wesley Hawes CHE Proximity Executive Creative Director
Ashley Wilding CHE Proximity Creative Director
Daniel Davison CHE Proximity Creative Director
Nico Smith CHE Proximity Senior Art Director
Mark Carbone CHE Proximity Senior Copywriter
Zac Pritchard CHE Proximity Senior Copywriter
Holly Alexander CHE Proximity Director, Strategic Production
Darren Cole CHE Proximity Head of Design
Reece Lawson CHE Proximity Digital Design Lead
Michael McGregor CHE Proximity Designer
Nick Andrews CHE Proximity Head of Strategy
Olivier Boulbain CHE Proximity Senior Technology Project Manager
Chris Howatson CHE Proximity Group CEO
Shane Holmes CHE Proximity Group Account Director
Tyson Mahon CHE Proximity Senior Account Director
Murray Bell Collider Experience Director
Andrew van der Westhuyzen Collider Creative Director
Naomi Iland Collider Producer
Simon Rippingale Heckler Director
Benja Harney Paperform Paper Engineer
Bonnie Law Heckler Executive Producer

Why is this work relevant for Creative Strategy?

Australia is a uniquely risky country, with fires, floods, drought, spiders, snakes, burglars and even bin chickens. 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.

The Interpretation of the Challenge (30% of vote)

Every Christmas, NRMA Insurance releases a campaign reinforcing the brand’s positioning of ‘Help’ with messages of road safety or risk prevention. With COVID-19’s impact fully realised, the brand needed to increase awareness and reach in an unexpected way, while being relevant to changing consumer behaviours. Additionally, the campaign must also support the brand’s positioning of ‘Help’, while raising awareness of the importance of insurance – just as they would every holiday season. NRMA’s ‘Help’ positioning was the centrepiece of the creative strategy and solution. Carrying this sentiment throughout HELP! The Game’s gameplay was essential as real life Australian risks are unavoidable, reinforcing the need for a greater awareness of how to prepare for, and mitigate their impact. The desired outcome was two fold; first to build brand awareness of NRMA Insurance and second to sell HELP! The Game, putting NRMA on game shelves for years to come.

The Insight / Breakthrough Thinking (30% of vote)

Australia is uniquely risky. With floods, fires, tremors, burglars and bin chickens – all in one place. The riskiest thing of all is that while Aussies are aware of these risks, 32% of us still think ‘she’ll be right’, or ‘it won’t happen to me’. Overcoming the challenges of getting the nation to spend more time with a low involvement category, learn about the risks that surround them and how to protect themselves was of the utmost importance. With booming sales of board games seen in market, we knew there was an opportunity to tackle all three challenges. We partnered with game developers to analyse the Product Disclosure Statement along with thousands of real-world risk scenarios and embedded them into gameplay, with complicated insurance jargon and claims disguised as fun throughout. HELP! The Game helped remind families to stay safe and protect the assets they value most.

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.

The Outcome / Results (20% 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%.

Please tell us how disruption in your market place inspired the work

With COVID-19 and its unavoidable impact on normal life, Australians found countless ways to entertain themselves while locked indoors; from indoor hobbies to puzzles and board games. As board game sales started to spike, NRMA Insurance saw an opportunity to shift from a low involvement brand and into the hands of consumers at a time when they are turning the television off, and turning to their families and loved ones. NRMA Insurance created HELP! The Game, which had all of Australia talking about and engaging with insurance without realising it. Insurance is complex, with an engaging game like HELP! The Game, consumers can experience Australian risks, the impacts of those risks and the importance of insurance without experiencing them first hand.

Links

Website URL