PayPal Australia has lifted the lid on its latest integrated marketing campaign, which encourages Australians to ‘shop off the beaten path’ and discover gifts they didn’t know existed from more than 100 Australian small businesses this Christmas.

Jointly developed by Isobar, Edelman and Vizeum, the campaign was inspired by the notion that Christmas shopping – with all of its crowds, loud noises, sales people and expectations – can cause huge amounts of stress and anger.

In response to this angst, many Aussies resort to buying the same, predictable presents each year because they run out of time, inspiration or energy.

PayPal’s Shop Off The Beaten Path addresses this by offering an online portal that helps Australian shoppers connect with Australian merchants offering a range of unique, bespoke and memorable gifts.  The portal is a ‘search engine for the perfect gift’ using categories such as ‘bespoke’, ‘beautiful’, ‘geeky’, ‘quirky’, ‘adventurous’ and ‘trending’ to connect gift givers with a wide range of local merchants.

Elaine Herlihy, marketing director at PayPal Australia, said, “Many of us are time-poor at Christmas yet we still want to give unique and special gifts that our friends and family will love.

“This year we wanted to break the cycle of forgettable gifts by doing something we haven’t done before. We wanted to change ‘how’ people searched for and found the perfect gift.

“Our Shop Off The Beaten Path portal offers an easy way to find those amazing gifts while at the same time supporting local businesses so every shopper can find something special for the people they love.”

Using smart technology, coupled with creative media placements, the socially-led and solely-digital campaign is underpinned by a data-driven media strategy. PayPal-owned customer data combined with the company’s advanced understanding of mobile purchasing habits have been used to ensure Shop Off The Beaten Path resonates with Australian shoppers and is tailored to consumer habits.

Examples of some of the gifts shoppers can find on Shop Off The Beaten Path this gift-giving season include:

• The Daily Edited: Personalised leather accessories for the fashionable sort looking for bespoke presents;
• Odd Pears: Quirky socks arranged in mismatching pairs of three; and
• DadShop: a collection of gifts handpicked with a genius male spin.

“The campaign combines two things we are deeply proud of – our local merchants and a frictionless online shopping experience. By making it easier to find the perfect gift and promoting innovative Australian small businesses, we’re hoping that Shop Off The Beaten Path will mean this Christmas is even more memorable than the last,” Herlihy concluded.

CREDITS
Client: PayPal Australia
Digital: Isobar Australia
Public Relations: Edelman Australia
Social Media: Edelman Australia and Isobar Australia
Media: Vizeum Australia