Director, Brand Management
at
Star Entertainment Group
| Title | Smartwig |
| Agency | Bashful |
| Campaign | Smartwig |
| Advertiser | Star Entertainment Group |
| Brand | The Star |
| Date of First Broadcast/Publication | 2017 / 5 |
| Business Sector | Lottery & Gambling |
| Story | 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 |
| Philosophy | 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? |
| Result | 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! |
| Media Type | Public Relations |
| Length | |
| Media Agency | Kind Agency |
| Creative Director | Tim Chenery |
| Copywriter | Jason Kempen |
| Copywriter | Dan Barrett |
| Art Director | Dan Ieraci |
| Strategy Director | Guy Marshall |
| Account Director | Alex King |
| Chief Executive Officer (CEO) | Paul Kind |
| Account Director | Chris Leffers |
| General Manager | Melinda Madigan |
| Director, Brand Management | Todd Spry |
| Brand Partnerships Director | Alex Honson |
| Head of Digital | Garreth Wills |
| Chief Executive Officer (CEO) | Simon Bookallil |