B&T Awards The Work: Broaden Your Horizons With These Regional Campaign Finalists

Forever has the flow of people been from the town to the city, from the country to the metro. Enter one pesky virus, and all of a sudden that’s been turned on its head. Suddenly we realised life was better beyond the big smoke and disposable incomes are healthier as well. No wonder we call it Boomtown.

The judges in this category were tasked with finding the best campaign run in regional Australia. In this instance, ‘regional’ is defined by any market outside of the metropolitan areas of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Entrants were required to outline the brief, key communication objective/s and the success measures, including specific targets. The jury was seeking a strong central media idea, how that idea was translated into a comprehensive plan and evidence of campaign success and effectiveness relative to the brief’s targets.

Of course, now that you’re invested in shortlisted entries, why not come along and see who will be crowned the winners at the Hordern Pavilion on Friday 24 November 2023? Early bird tickets are limited so don’t run the risk of paying full price later.

And if you haven’t already, don’t forget to check out the entire short lists for the 2023 B&T Awards here and here.

Secure your table now!

Catch up on the other shortlisted work by clicking on the links below:

• B&T Award For Bravery
• B&T Award for Diversity
• Best Content Marketing Strategy
• Best CTV Campaign
• Best Data-Driven Marketing Campaign
• Best Digital Campaign, sponsored by Twitch
• Best Direct Response Campaign
• Best Integrated Campaign
• Best Media Campaign
• Best OOH Campaign
• Best PR Campaign

Here’s the finalists’ work in their own words, the headings below show the name of the agency entering the award, the campaign name and the client putting their trust in them.

33 Creative, Stay Healthy and Strong, Cancer Council

Bowel cancer is Australia’s second biggest cancer killer and one of the most common cancers impacting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. If detected early, almost all bowel cancers are treatable, however only one in three Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (31.3 per cent) are completing bowel cancer screening. Increasing screening rates will save lives.

Stay Healthy and Strong is a multi-year, integrated campaign that is aiming to create culturally safe dialogue to encourage more participants to screen and stay strong. The first year focused on raising national awareness, with 2023 activity focused on regional activation to target regional and remote communities who are in hot zones and have a shorter completion period due to hot weather.

We ran an integrated, First Nations specific regional media campaign over the cooler months (May- July 23). The campaign featured TV and radio creative filmed in Cairns which aired in 12 regional market segments across SBS/NITV and 25 local regional and remote First Nations community publications. This creative complimented the national placement, which leveraged the trust and authority of First Nations Doctor Joel Wenitong, to reinforce the regional executions and encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders undertake screening.

Spots and dots supported by paid partnerships (NINE Imparja and NITV Over the Black Dot) earned media interviews featuring local, regional specific talent & hard copy distribution of resources to hot zone regional communities. Community advocates engaged as spokespeople from Darwin, Cairns, Torres Strait, South Australia, Victoria & Newcastle.

First Nations led strengths-based approach to drive change.

• 92 per cent increase in website visits
• 95 per cent increase in resource downloads
• One in four report campaign recall
• One in three report discussing with others
• NITV program integration reached 167,231 with more than 385,340 impressions.

Awaken, Seek Off Beat, Visit Newcastle

Awaken Media was tasked with rebranding Newcastle, the second-largest city in New South Wales, from an industrial, blue-collar town to a vibrant, offbeat holiday destination. The media strategy aimed to support Visit Newcastle’s ‘Seek Off Beat’ platform and encourage visitors to explore the eclectic side of the city. The campaign targeted families and young couples aged 25-44, residing within a 4-hour driving distance, intending to increase unique users to the Visit Newcastle website by 150 per cent compared to non-campaign periods.

The communication objectives were twofold: awareness and consideration. ‘Awareness’ was aimed at introducing Newcastle as an appealing destination, sparking interest in the target audience. ‘Consideration’ was about driving actions – prompting the target demographic to visit the website and engage with its content for more than 30 seconds.

The media mix included outdoor advertising on buses, digital radio ads across the ARN network, video ads on YouTube, and partnerships with lifestyle publications such as Pedestrian TV and Broadsheet. Media was run across Meta and Taboola to direct viewers to specific content articles on Visit Newcastle’s blog.

The campaign’s success was measured through an increase in website traffic and changing the public’s perception of Newcastle. The results were impressive, with website traffic during the campaign period increasing by 162 per cent, exceeding the target. Additionally, the City of Newcastle won the 2023 Top Tourism Town award in New South Wales, evidencing the success of the media strategy in rebranding the city and boosting tourism.

Enigma, Life’s Better Outside, Reflections Holiday Parks

Reflections Holiday Parks is the largest accommodation operator in NSW, welcoming 2 million guests annually. Reflections have set the ambitious goal to transform the category by transforming themselves from an accommodation company to an experience company.

Since the pandemic, there has been a significant uplift in people rediscovering the great outdoors. Not satisfied with holding at the new (higher than ever) status quo, Reflections set a target to grow again and make FY2023 the biggest year yet.

A brand health study conducted in July 2022 showed significant work was required to make this renewed interest more than just a sugar hit. The Reflections brand had low awareness and the lowest persuasion score amongst their competitors.

The brief was to increase.

Our insight was that only by removing the distractions of modern life, can people truly connect – with self and with others. We believed that by removing these distractions, and showing them the power of outdoor experiences, they could find their best selves.

The media strategy was twofold:

1. We targeted our key audiences in moments of modern life distractions to tell them that life’s better outside.
2. We demonstrated that life’s better outside and associated Reflections with new experiences by aligning with other amazing outside experiences.

The campaign used tactical outdoor, radio and television including sponsorships and promotions as well as an outdoor activation helping align Reflections as an experience company and to demonstrate that life’s definitely better outside.

Reflections grew revenue in FY23 to a new high, outpacing the pandemic fuelled FY22 by 20 per cent. Wave 2 of the brand study showed a staggering +40 per cent increase in prompted awareness and a +49 per cent increase persuasion.

Guerrilla, Southern Terminal Expansion, Gold Coast Airport

When Gold Coast Airport (GCA) came to us to help launch their new Southern Terminal Expansion (STE), we couldn’t wait to dive in. We knew this wasn’t just about showcasing a larger terminal. It was about shifting perceptions, guiding our region to realise that GCA – operating in the most competitive airport catchment – was now more equipped to connect them to the world.

So, we crafted a three-phased media campaign to increase awareness across South East Queensland and Northern NSW. The goal? To spread the word, let people know about the airport’s domestic and international capacity, and make GCA the go-to for Gold Coast travel. And we did this with a creative twist. We made a fun and catchy musical video, “You Make Me Feel Like Flying”, that was central to our campaign.

We adopted a holistic strategy, amplifying our messaging across a panorama of platforms – from social media and digital to outdoor advertising, radio, editorial and email.

Our campaign resonated strongly within our target area, accruing a remarkable 45.5 million total impressions with strong engagement. The website traffic doubled our target, with 44,038 unique users stopping by, and our competition grew GCA’s database by 23 per cent.

GCA’s social media family grew too, with 6.19 per cent more followers on Facebook and Instagram during the campaign period. And the cherry on top? More people chose to fly via GCA, with passenger numbers increasing by 196 per cent — up 5 per cent from pre-COVID levels.

Summing up, we helped launch the expansion successfully by unrolling a vibrant campaign that echoed throughout the community. We aimed to amplify awareness, and the results are clear: the campaign served an audience 70 times the size of the Gold Coast population. We’re proud to have played a part in connecting the region with GCA’s exciting new chapter.

Thinkerbell, Postcodes of Origin, XXXX

XXXX is an iconic 145-year-old Queensland beer that has lost significant market share in regional Queensland. XXXX has a long legacy to Queensland communities, including a 33-year-long sponsorship with Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and Maroons team in ‘Australia’s Super Bowl’ and most-watched TV event, State of Origin (SOO). Queensland is vast (1.853million km²) and the population’s majority live in regional areas, yet XXXX saw an opportunity to unite communities and win back their heartland through footy, beer and pride.

To reignite Queenslanders’ passion for the brand during SOO, the iconic XXXX logo on the Maroons jersey sleeve was sacrificed and replaced with Queensland (4000) postcodes in a powerful demonstration of pride. The postcodes represented players’ junior rugby club, the regions where their passion for Queensland began.

To truly include and unite all 447 Queensland postcodes, XXXX boldly changed their beer can design, swapping branding for numbers. 30 million special edition cans were released so every Queenslander could create and share their postcode for the chance to win $25,000 or a holiday with Maroons players.

XXXX used postcodes as a targeting tactic to reclaim key sales areas in Queensland, including contextual BVOD, TV, digital and social that featured the specific postcode in every placement. XXXX’s hyper-targeted regional media buy saw specifically researched and crafted ads delivered by XXXX and Maroons players. XXXX’s grassroots media investment was met with praise and personal thanks from local publishers and communities alike.

The campaign received 113 pieces of coverage with a combined reach of 19,594,667 and 100 per cent positive sentiment. 7,294 Queenslanders submitted postcode-pride entries. XXXX sales increased by 6 per cent increase, more than 1.3 million litres of beer and 3.4 million cans sold than previous year (2022) and 22.4 per cent recorded market share of total pack beer sold in Queensland during the State of Origin season.

As always, thanks to our sponsors and a special shout out to our dear friends at Boomtown for supporting this Best Regional Campaign.