Why is this work relevant for PR?

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

While NRMA Insurance has been a trusted Australian brand for over 100 years, insurance is inherently a low involvement category. This is the first time NRMA has released a retail product, so without any awareness in the board game market, the role of PR was critical. The brief was to demonstrate how NRMA Insurance is a brand that helps, by helping drive awareness for the launch of HELP! The Game and disrupt the category. The PR activity amplified the existing creative idea, which doubled as the product: HELP! The Game. The objectives were to conduct media outreach to secure placements in editorial gift guides to help drive HELP! The Game’s sales during the 2020 Christmas period. Additionally, developing and engaging with a range of influencers from Macro-parenting, game influencer and Micro-influencers to seed the launch of the new game.

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 PR strategy (30% of vote)

In order to help drive awareness and sales of a brand new board game during the Christmas period, it was critical to seed the new game and build awareness before the campaign launched in traditional media. Given this new product lacks any reviews or referrals from friends, we turned to trusted publications and well known influencers that speak to mothers and families with children directly, suggesting the game as a great gift idea for the Holiday season. Additionally, with a portion of proceeds going to the Australian Red Cross, it’s a gift that gives back in 2020. The influencer strategy needed to cover three core groups: Macro-parenting influencers to target the core audience, demonstrating the family-friendly aspect and encourage purchase of the game. Gaming influencers to add credibility and promote the game’s relevance within gaming culture. Micro-influencers to increase reach and social media saturation, while helping generate general awareness.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

Media outreach was conducted prior to the start of the campaign on the 1st November to secure placements in editorial gift guides, ensuring the new game was on Christmas shopping lists in the first two weeks of the campaign. It started with a product fact sheet created to highlight product details and benefits of the new game from NRMA Insurance. PR coverage continued into the holiday season and included mentions in popular newspapers and magazine publications available in print and online, reaching upwards of 10 million Australians. To compliment publication coverage, influencers were engaged throughout the campaign period from the 8th November, which included 4x Macro-parenting influencers, 1x Gaming influencer and 24x Micro-influencers with the reach potential of over 1 million Australians.

List the results (30% of vote)

The campaign achieved coverage in Christmas Gift Guides across key NewsCorp newspapers and other mainstream media, as well as via high profile influencers. The result was a multichannel campaign with strong cut through that positioned HELP! The Game as the perfect Christmas gift. Results include: 10 Million Australians reached via 10 National publications pieces covering the new product gift guide. 1.3 million Australians reached through influencer activity 10 unique gift guide pieces developed 100% of direct brand mentions 100% Sentiment against HELP! The Game Over the same 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.