One of the standout categories at every B&T Awards is the exceptional Best Radio/Audio Campaign category. But this year, we’re in for a real treat as we are partnering with Commercial Radio and Audio (CRA), with its longstanding Siren Award now being presented at our own little Sydney soirée on 8 November at the Hordern Pavilion.
To find out who is truly at the top of their game when it comes to radio and audio campaigns, you’ll need to head over to the B&T Awards website and grab your tickets now to see who comes out on top.
But in the meantime, you’ll have to make do with this look at (and listen to) this top nine leaderboard. Here, in their own words and in alphabetical order only, are the finalists.
You can check out the rest of the B&T Awards finalists here.
ARN and Saatchi & Saatchi, “Last Chance Servo”, Ampol
Last Chance Servo is a digital audio campaign that uses ‘ARN Dynamic Audio’ commercial inventory to go beyond the reach of traditional FM broadcast and DAB+ frequencies in remote areas, using the iHeart Radio App to connect with listeners on outback roads in regional Australia. The campaign delivers timely road safety alerts and reminders to drivers in proximity of a lone Ampol service station on the Stuart Highway – an innovative and creative use of the medium, designed to save drivers from becoming stranded (or worse) in the Australian outback.
The mobile-lead campaign, broadcast on the iHeartRadio app to iPhone and Android devices, uses contextual triggers to isolate drivers listening to radio, music or podcasts.
The footprint covers a long stretch of the Stuart Highway in South Australia, segmented into smaller broadcast zones according to geographic coordinates. Each zone contains different campaign messages, geofenced by a broadcast radius between 10 km to 25 km.
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Upon entering a zone and pinging the Dynamic Audio decisioning engine, listeners hear customised audio creative, generated in real-time, based on their location, time/date, and meteorological data.
The constraint of contextual audio in targeting small, specific cohorts in large cities has become its superpower in the outback, where this innovative campaign is hyper-relevant to all who hear it.
The campaign message is reinforced on the ground with point-of-sale collateral at the Glendambo Ampol so that drivers won’t miss their last chance at food, refreshments, and even their last chance at a toilet break for 251 kilometres.
Ampol’s ‘Last Chance Servo’ campaign can still be heard right now on the iHeart Radio App in selected areas in regional South Australia, warning drivers, in real-time, of the potentially perilous journey ahead of them, where running out of fuel and water can escalate into a life-or-death situation.
Bullfrog, “Made Honest”, Dineamic
Unsurprisingly, the bar for ready-made meals has never been high. Because if years of burnt on the edges but frozen in the middle mediocre meals have taught us anything, it’s that convenience has a price. And that price is sacrifice.
So, when Dineamic cracked the impossible formula of taste AND ease, they still faced the challenge of convincing a nation of distrustful nukers that something this easy could be anything but over-processed cardboard crap.
So, what to do with a company that’s making honest food for people who actually like food, but have forced to accept flavourless imitations? Embrace the absolute anthesis of it. Counter fake with real, and be honest.
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We introduced the world to the idea of ‘Made Honest’ through a campaign with audio at its heart. Why? Because we didn’t want to show them a slice of someone else life, but rather provide a insightful, evocative and entertaining audio commentary to theirs. The Made Honest campaign introduces a narrator that makes honest observations about everyday life, and the role for Dineamic within that. We tapped into the most honest insights we could find, and our real talk let people know we tell it like it is, but more importantly – we make it how it should be.
But to be relevant as well as relatable, the narrative had to be told at the right time. A targeted Spotify buy enabled us to target our food loving/microwave meal questioning audience at moments when the story would hit home. On the drive home from work, the morning run, and in close proximity to places where people could get their hands on a deliciously honest solution.
As a result, the brands sales are up 22% compared to the previous period, with website traffic up 37% since launch.
DDB Group Sydney, “The Original Mouthful”, McDonald’s Australia
In 1974, the Big Mac jingle went viral before viral was even a thing. 14 little words. 7 delicious ingredients. Known by four generations of Australians. But a new generation – Gen Z – didn’t know it at all. To them, the Big Mac was their ‘Dad’s burger’. It was famous, yet forgotten.
McDonald’s Australia embarked on a nostalgic journey with “The Original Mouthful” campaign, reinvigorating the iconic Big Mac chant to resonate with both long-time fans and the new Gen Z audience. The seven-week media schedule was meticulously crafted to connect the past with the present, while strategically supporting throughout with key craveable limited-time offer (LTO) Big Mac Range comms to drive purchase conversion for consumers.
The campaign kicked off and laid the groundwork of ‘Connecting Past and Present,’ using Radio to connect the next generation of Big Mac lovers with the old by bringing back our most iconic burger using mass-reaching channels within highly visible environments.
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Following this, the campaign shifted gears for three weeks with ‘The Chant Promo.’ We encouraged active participation as Australians were invited to recite the Big Mac chant, utilising channels that drive strong audience engagement and encourage participation (UGC) with bespoke social filters on Snapchat and TikTok to enter the 4-second challenge.
We proved that Gen Z was now an integral part of the Big Mac’s evolution. Using targeted media placements we showcased Big Mac’s new appeal to Gen Z consumers by celebrating their UGC content social, and OOH using ‘out-of-phone’ technology bringing TikTok content out into the world.
The campaign’s success was a testament to the timeless charm of the Big Mac for generations to come.
EarMax Media, “Don’t just travel, Explore!” Explore Worldwide
EarMax Media was commissioned by Explore Worldwide to execute a global podcast advertising campaign across their four key markets. Our brief was to create a series of ads that capture the essence of what makes an Explore holiday so unique.
Explore know their customers are seeking unique, authentic experiences in the places they’ve always wanted to travel to.
They want to immerse themselves in the culture and discover the hidden gems only the locals know about.
By creating a vivid soundscape and replicating the charismatic tone of an Explore local guide, each ad reveals to the listener a hidden spot in a famous location.
The mental pictures we elicited were unique and personal to each listener, just like an Explore adventure. Thus emphasising the strap line, ‘Don’t just travel…Explore’.
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The host-read ads in the campaign were scripted and refined with the hosts, and the podcasts selected were done so with Explore’s niche target audience in mind.
The creative execution and results from the campaign were such a success that the ads have been extended across broadcast radio in the UK and Australia, and Explore’s new Costa Rica TV ad is based off the podcast ad strategy.
The ads are suitable for any market and can be rolled out across each of Explore’s key regions, highlighting the appropriateness of the strategy and solution to the brief.
We tracked which individual podcasts and networks delivered the most visits to Explore’s website, click-through-rate, as well as the Cost Per Visit. Explore Worldwide reported a 17.7% increase in revenue during the campaign period.
Howatson+Company, “TOUCH”, Mastercard
Over 500 million people visit the cinema every year. Yet for those who are blind or have low vision, the experience is an afterthought. They rely on audio descriptions, screenreaders or a companion to explain what’s on the screen.
To launch Mastercard’s Touch Card – a bank card designed for the blind and low vision community – we flipped the script and created an inclusive cinema experience that was truly priceless.
‘TOUCH’ is a feature-length motion picture without pictures. Brought to life solely through Dolby sound, without images or audio descriptions. Made so all audiences can enjoy the magic of cinema together, no matter their level of vision.
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It follows an original story of a neuroscientist trapped inside his father’s mind, along with his ex-girlfriend and an unsuspecting delivery driver. To escape, they must journey through crumbling memories and forgotten worlds.
By partnering non-sighted and sighted sound designers and engineers, we were able to innovate new ways of using sound in film. Spatial panning, subharmonics and original foley created immersive sonic environments that didn’t need audio descriptions. Sonic version of visual techniques, like crash zooms, gave the edit energy. Even characters’ footsteps had a clear ‘weight’ to provide a sense of size.
TOUCH premiered at iconic theatres across Australia, where both sighted and non-sighted people were invited to experience the film together. After one premiere, the project garnered +AUD $10million in earned media coverage and reached 74+ million people.
But this is just the start. The production learnings from TOUCH have been turned into a lesson module and taught in leading film schools, giving future filmmakers a blueprint to make more inclusive productions.
Thinkerbell, “Bupa Contagious”, Bupa
Bupa’s “good health is contagious” campaign aims to spread good health around Australia. And behavioral science tells us that the fastest way to change a behavior is by getting someone to do something. But audio is generally a passive medium. How can we make an audio campaign active for listeners, to more directly change their beliefs about Bupa, and help them live a little healthier?
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Reactive Radio, an audio campaign that triggers healthy physical actions in listeners by stimulating mirror neurons in their brains. Mirror neurons are the cells that fire when we observe – or hear – others performing specific actions, causing us to copy or ‘mirror’ them. Put simply, it’s why we copy the act of yawning. So we used this mechanic to trigger good health actions.
We created 4 Reactive Radio spots, each designed to covertly trigger a different healthy action in listeners. These actions were deliberately chosen to be base, everyday acts, that have inherent ‘good health’ benefits. Things you might not even realise are healthy, but things you can do wherever you are, whenever you hear the spots.
We built the spots from depictive scripting and organic human performance rather than special or overly designed sound effects. Action is triggered by leveraging the hard-wiring in our brains that has evolved over millions of years, as we seek to fit in.
We turned a passive medium into an active one, physically proving Bupa’s ‘good health is contagious’ idea rather than simply stating it.
And as it turns out, the idea of contagious good health is catching on. Our radio spots form part of a broader campaign that has helped Bupa’s brand recall jump from 17% to 26% in the space of two months, and push Bupa into #1 position as the most trusted health insurer.
Thinkerbell, “Release Line”, Lifeline Australia
In 2023, the Australian government named suicide as the leading cause of death for Gen Z. Gen Z is also the least likely audience to call for help. Lifeline, Australia’s longest-running crisis-support service, needed to find a way to engage with those most at risk.
To ensure they were top of mind, Lifeline worked with international teen idol and mental health advocate, Ruel, to write and release an exclusive never-before-heard song about the importance of reaching out.
The catch? The only way to hear the highly-anticipated song was via a dedicated phone line.
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To hype and launch the track, they promoted it just like any other record release. From street posters, to the PR interview circuit, to advertising on music platforms where fans listen most – Lifeline had young Aussies from all over reaching for their phones. This gave Lifeline a significant brand lift and preference as the go-to support service for young people.
SCA, “AFL Finals ‘Feel It’”, AFL
The excitement and power of the AFL in September is undeniable. Anyone who has attended an AFL Finals match can attest to the captivating atmosphere and cultural impact these matches produce. However, what about those fans who haven’t had the opportunity to experience the finals live? How can we connect those fans with the AFL Finals experience?
It was this challenge the AFL took to the wider media and publishing market – to physically capture that feeling of finals, not only to drive ticket sales, but also boost the positive ‘buzz’ amongst die-hard fans, and the general public.
SCA’s Studio Team met the challenge, delivering that ‘finals feeling’, through an immersive 3D audio that explored and communicated the passion of a live AFL match. Recorded by The Studio Team at the MCG, the creative transported listeners from their everyday to the heart of Finals Footy action.
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This was extended using SCA’s dynamic targeting capabilities which enabled the AFL to hyper contextualise the messaging for specific target audiences – allowing for bespoke audio executions that delivered deeper listener connection.
With more than 664,800 tickets sold, across the 2023 finals series (a four perfect uplift YoY), SCA’s 3D audio campaign was at the forefront on the second highest selling finals series in AFL history – including a record-breaking week one. YouGov data pre and post campaign also showed a six per cent increase in positive sentiment towards the AFL amongst fans and the National Population.
“It is my opinion that the success of the SCA 3D audio campaign played a pivotal role in delivering one of the best AFL Finals Series in recent history”. – Kylie Rogers AFL Executive General Manager Customer and Commercial.
Clemenger BBDO, “Value Ads”, HCF
HCF is Australia’s largest not-for-profit health fund. With no shareholders to answer to, everything they do is about giving the best possible value to their members. This year, they wanted to find a way to give members even more value. So they decided to give them the only thing they had left — their advertising.
We created a new member initiative ¬– HCF Value Ads ¬– and invited members to take over HCF’s advertising to use however they liked. Well, as long as it was legal of course.
The campaign launched with a national callout inviting HCF members to take part. After receiving hundreds of entries, we chose six members from across Australia whose takeover dreams were best suited to the radio medium.
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Like 70-year-old Dianne, who wanted to show off her passionate acting skills. Axel, a ten-year-old champion tap dancer who wanted to prove his speedy moves. Neha, a singer who wanted to share her beautiful vocal cords with the world. And Tom the teenager, who wanted to ask his dad for a pet cat live on-air.
Each radio ad began with a retail-style HCF message, before giving the rest of the spot over to an HCF member to use how they liked. The radio campaign ran from April to June 2024, both on regional and major stations across the country.
In addition to radio, Value Ads saw HCF give away 60% of their advertising to members, with over 6,972 unique ad placements across TV, social, digital, out of home and in-branch. The campaign has been so successful that it’s been extended until the end of September. For this reason, campaign results and effectiveness are yet to be finalised.
