Changing the way Australians buy hardware

Bunnings Warehouse is an Australian institution. It is the brand that has become the generic term for a hardware store; the weekend destination for families around the country; the “chore” that is not a chore. But it wasn’t always so…

Once a small West Australian hardware chain, unknown on the east coast of Australia, Bunnings hired Wrights to aid its push into Victoria. An unknown brand in a concentrated market with a revolutionary ‘warehouse’ retail concept, Bunnings needed a clever and effective public relations campaign to extend its brand representation and change the behaviour of millions of hardware store customers loyal to other brands.

Wrights launched the original Bunnings Warehouse in Melbourne in 1994. Partnering with Bunnings to open a further 120 warehouses around the country over the following ten years, Wrights implemented a targeted local strategy for each store opening, creating a spectacle and getting people through the door to see what all the fuss was about. Building a successful and expansive regional and national community relations program was essential to securing customer loyalty Australia-wide.

Keen to push the boundaries, Bunnings was not content to simply create a new retail category. On Bunnings’ behalf, Wrights was instrumental in changing the retail landscape, introducing Sunday trading to Queensland.

Wrights didn’t just raise brand awareness, it changed Australians’ behaviour, transforming the hardware shopping experience from a grudge chore, to an exciting family outing intrinsic to the Australian culture.

Taking Saving Online

Before the year 2000, there was no such thing as a branchless bank. In fact, the idea of giving your life savings to an online company with no physical presence was absurd.

Yet Wrights managed to convince the Australian public to not only trust ING Direct, but to flock to it, and today, it is accepted as the ‘fifth’ largest bank in Australia.

Despite Australians’ dislike of traditional banks, persuading people to adopt a new approach to saving and investing was no easy feat. People will comfortably borrow money from a bank which is unfamiliar to them, but they are far more discerning when it comes to investing hard earned savings.

Demonstrating credibility was essential to the Melbourne-based launch of ING Direct, which led Wrights to seek the participation of Australia’s then Deputy Treasurer. The involvement of one of the country’s most senior politicians in the launch lent it credibility, both to general consumers and to finance media.

Launching in Melbourne’s busiest thoroughfare, the opening ceremony was broadcast on giant screens visible from all sides of the busy intersection.

Wrights successfully crafted a launch concept suitable to the time. The Deputy Treasurer made the first call from one of ING Direct’s “branches” – the humble telephone booth, and attracted unprecedented media coverage for a banking launch. The event also had a major impact on Melbourne’s CBD, exposing hundreds of thousands of workers to the ING Direct brand.

From the launch in 1999 through work with the bank over the next 11 years, Wrights was able to firmly position ING Direct as an important and popular player on the Australian banking scene.

Rejuvenating Australia’s biggest event – again and again

From fashion and fascinators to fillies with four legs and those with two, a day at the races is a delight for Australians around the country. And the allure of fabulous Flemington is today stronger than ever before, because of the role Wrights has played in revitalising Australia’s biggest event and the entire racing industry.

Facing dwindling attendances, static revenue and waning media interest, Wrights was set the challenge to reposition Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival as a premier event on the Australian sporting calendar.

By developing a long term and exhaustive media strategy to cement media relationships, Wrights converted many media ‘doubters’ into advocates of racing, by understanding and addressing their needs and providing them with a consistent and central point of contact.

In 2003, Wrights and the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) developed the Emirates Melbourne Cup Tour aimed at extending the reach of the Melbourne Cup Carnival beyond a four-day celebration.

Taking the coveted Emirates Melbourne Cup to communities around Australasia in the lead up to the ‘race that stops a nation’™, the Tour celebrates the significance of the Melbourne Cup as a national cultural, social and sporting icon.

Since the Tour’s inception, the Emirates Melbourne Cup has travelled more than 186,000 kilometres and visited more than 150 towns and cities across Australasia.

Wrights secured more than $4 million worth of coverage for the Emirates Melbourne Cup Tour in 2009, reaching a total audience of more than 2.34 million people. More than 16,000 people came in contact with the Emirates Melbourne Cup during its adventure, enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get up close and personal with the iconic trophy.

Today, more than 730,000 people attend The Spring Racing Carnival annually, delivering more than $330 million to the Victorian economy, and attracting more than 35,000 international visitors to the state.

It is firmly cemented as the must-attend sporting and social event of the year, and dominates the news agenda in October and November, ‘owning’ the media space on the annual event calendar.

Taking the Melbourne Show into the 21st Century

An established and active social media presence is even more critical for public events than businesses, as an online following will almost always translate to attendance during the event.

In 2009, Wrights advised the Melbourne Show, a client since 2006, that it was time to tell its story and begin a genuine conversation with its audience online.

A very traditional organisation running a 150+ year old event, social media was completely new territory for the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV).

Wrights developed a strategy which comprised the key social media platforms of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, with the objective to grow the brand’s online presence and interact with a younger audience.

Fully aware of the need for relevant and tailored social media messages, Wrights undertook a comprehensive messaging program, transforming “traditional” key messages into those appropriate for the new mediums RASV was poised to enter.

Wrights created a Facebook fan page, Twitter page and YouTube channel, interacting with fans on a regular basis by responding to questions, comments and feedback and posting questions for discussion.

Conscious of the importance to offer fans something of value, Wrights developed ticket competitions and promotions, uploaded photographic and video content and constantly communicated the event’s unique offering. The social media pages were an instant success with online Show enthusiasts.

The 2009 campaign ended with 4,700 Facebook fans and 600 Twitter followers and grew rapidly in 2010 to 20,000 fans and 1,500 followers.

The Facebook page has developed a life of its own, with more than 32,000 fans so far in 2011. In comparison, the larger agricultural show and Sydney institution, the Sydney Royal Easter Show has around half this many “fans”.

Marley Lifestyle Brand Hits Australian Shores with Sound Waves

In 2011 Wrights teamed up with Rohan Marley, son of the legendary Bob Marley, to launch the Marley lifestyle brand, The House of Marley and family foundation, 1Love to the Australia market.

Launching with personal audio products, into a fiercely competitive market within Australia, Wrights devised a multi-faceted launch strategy, which included student engagement tactics, sponsorship opportunities and a diversified media relations strategy.

Staging media and consumer events in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, Wrights harnessed Australia’s true love for the Marley family by offering interviews with Rohan.

Wrights achieved extensive coverage nationally, gathering a strong cult following across underground street press, bloggers, to mass consumer media in print, radio, television and online.

From Burgers to Broccoli

From a complete menu shake-up, an overhaul of its nutritional profile and a new marketing tagline, in 2011 Hungry Jack’s began the reinvigoration of its 40 year old brand.

It looked to its decade-long PR agency, Wrights, to make its first ever proactive announcement, launching probably the healthiest product ever sold by a fast food chain – a cup of raw vegies called Salad Stix.

This announcement marked the beginning of a long-term strategic communications program designed by Wrights to educate Australians about Hungry Jack’s new nutritional direction.

Our Salad Stix media angle – ‘from burgers to broccoli’ – captured the attention of consumer affairs, health and general news reporters nationally, resulting in almost 100 national print, radio and online news items and commentary. Salad Stix also featured twice on the ABC’s popular Gruen Planet.

A month later Wrights again applied its creative communication skills, announcing Hungry Jack’s as the first fast food chain to introduce menu boards with kilojoule counts nationally. This industry-leading initiative achieved television, mainstream print, radio and online news coverage, and was supplemented with media communication announcing a new marketing tagline and the first mainstream burger made with 100 per cent organic beef, which also generated significant coverage.

Work to position Hungry Jack’s as the progressive and innovative business that it is continues.