Project:
Campaign

Client:
Accor

'Stay Where The Players Stay' playfully positions Accor hotels as the preferred choice for players and fans alike, celebrating Accor's long-standing partnership as AFL’s Official Accommodation Partner.

We see AFL and AFLW talent, beloved footy legends, footy content creators and fans enjoying all the facilities Accor hotels have to offer.

Starring in the campaign:
Josh Weddle and Jarman Impey, Hawthorn
Dayne Zorko, Brisbane Lions
Tayla Harris, Melbourne AFLW
Brian Taylor “BT”, legend & commentator
Nathan Buckley, legend & commentator
Shepmates, content creators

The campaign included digital, TV, social and on-site hotel activations.

Agency credits:
Creative: Chisel
Production: Chisel
Director: Ethan McLean

Project:
Kit Launch

Client:
adidas

The brief from adidas was to launch Manchester United FC’s official 2022/23 away kit, and to bring the magic of their iconic home-ground, Old Trafford, to Australia during their tour down under.

The centrepiece was a re-skinned Melbourne tram wrapped in Manchester United club colours and adidas branding. VIP fans boarded at a nominated tram stop and were surprised mid-journey by United stars Luke Shaw, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay, who joined them for the ride to Federation Square.

The experience culminated at Federation Square, where thousands of fans gathered for the official kit launch hosted by club legends Andy Cole and Bryan Robson. Alongside the player appearance, an upside-down replica of Manchester United’s Old Trafford locker room was unveiled, a playful nod to playing football Down Under. Together, the tram design, the team’s visit and the kit launch combined to deliver an unforgettable, first-of-its-kind moment for Australian fans.

Agency credits:
Creative: Gemba

Project:
Campaign

Client:
Mastercard

Our love of sport is defined not by the outcome of the game, but by the moments that take our breath away. The record books capture the score, but they miss the story of the game.

Sport is about the moments in which heroes are built, nations unite and generations are inspired. These moments are Priceless, and it's these moments that matter most to Mastercard.

As the world leaned in to watch the Rugby World Cup, we turned the Player Of The Match Trophy from a static player reward, to a story of the players’ and fans’ priceless moments.

We live etched the player moments that meant most to fans directly onto each and every games trophy, down in real time in each stadium. We then gifted the trophy to the Player Of The Match, seconds after the final whistle, for the world to witness.

A trophy for one that won the hearts of millions. Now that's Priceless.

Awards:
• Cannes Lions: Mastercard The Live Trophy. Bronze Award, Entertainment Lions For sport. 2021
• CLIO Sports: Silver Award 2020 for Mastercard The Live Trophy
• Annual Chief Marketer PRO Awards: Gold Award 2020 for “Best Integrated Campaign”, for Mastercard The Live Trophy
• Annual Chief Marketer PRO Awards: Silver Awards 2020 in the “Best Sports Sponsorship or Tie-In” and “Best Use of Event or Experiential Marketing” for Mastercard The Live Trophy

Agency credits:
Creative: Octagon
Production: Milkmoney

Project:
Series Launch Promotions

Client:
Netflix

For 18 months Netflix briefed us to generate hundreds of ideas to launch their biggest series of 2024 and 2025: Squid Game seasons two & three, Stranger Things season five, Emily in Paris season five, and Wednesday season two.

I led the creative team developing pitch packs full of ideas for Netflix to then sell into brands.

This involved researching the best brands within industry sectors to partner with Netflix titles and generating ideas for every channel (content, events, popups, product collaborations, OOH, experiential etc) to promote their biggest global series launches. The best ideas which made the cut got bought and produced through the partnering brands' agency networks.

Over the 18 months of creating hundreds of ideas, a few got over the line. These went on to create unforgettable experiences for diehard fans. The Macca's Dalgona Cookie received the Grand Prix at the 2025 Cairns Crocodiles Awards.

Easily the best briefs I've ever worked on; promoting the biggest global shows in culture, with the biggest brands, with no limit to budget and no need to worry about how to actually produce the biggest idea you can think of.

Agency Credits Squid Games:
Creative Idea: Gemba Creative
Creative Development Delivery & Production: OMD & Akcelo

Agency Credits Stranger Things:
Creative Idea: Gemba Creative
Creative Development, Delivery & Production: Amplify Australia & Initiative

Project:
Social Content Series

Client:
Transport for NSW

PLAN A vs PLAN B… What will you choose?

Cricket stars are faced with tough choices both on and off the pitch every day.

We gave fans the chance to get to know their heroes as players answer random questions covering pop-culture, cricket fandom, and the importance of having a Plan B to get home safely when you've been drinking.

The social films leverage Transport for NSW's partnerships with Big Bash teams Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder.

Agency credits:
Creative: Gemba
Production: Gemba Productions
Post: Mr Fox

Project:
Social Campaign, Digital Rewards

Client:
McDonald's

Macca’s turned the most emotional moment in football into instant reward. Every time Melbourne City or Western United scored at home, fans could score too, simply by celebrating the goal the way they already do.

Fans were invited to post their goal celebrations as Instagram Stories. By using official team stickers and tagging @mcdonaldsau, a custom-built “Score Yours” bot automatically replied with a unique code for a free Big Mac. No forms, no friction, just pure match-day energy turned into burgers.

The campaign rolled out through player-led social content for both clubs, showing fans how to get involved and setting the tone. This was amplified with fan and player content that leaned into the weird, loud and wildly personal ways supporters celebrate goals.

Running across the 2022–23 A-League season, Score Yours rewarded fans for doing what they already love most, backing their team, losing their minds when they score and sharing it with the world.

Agency credits:
Creative: Gemba
Production: Betty Wants In

Project:
Campaign, Social Content, TVC, Broadcast Integration, Digital

Client:
Westpac

Westpac came onboard as a main sponsor of the NRL/NRLW for the 2023 season, a key part of their sponsorship was to have their logo grace an NRL/NRLW Official Match Ball.

But they wanted to do something a little different. Something which rugby league fans would remember… Westpac would give the ball away every time it landed in the crowd.

The Westpac CATCH & KEEP promotion was first launched during State of Origin and — unsurprisingly — has proven a massive hit with fans at every game since.

The in bowl activation was so popular with fans that we took the promotion beyond the stadium.

Enter the content series titled Art of the Catch. The series stars a likely bunch of NRL and NRLW heroes — including Josh Addo-Carr, Tamika Upton, Millie Boyle, Kodi Nikorima and legendary veteran Nathan Hindmarsh — who all offer some light-hearted tips on how to snatch the prize whenever opportunity falls from the sky.

The Art of the Catch is rolling out through the NRL/NRLW, NSW BLUES, Fox Sports and players’ social channels, and will include a home page takeover of NRL.com leading into the NRL and NRLW 2023 Grand Finals.

As an extra bonus, Westpac have also launched a consumer promotion that gives rugby league fans a chance to win the best seats in the house for the Grand Final – which, quite possibly, might be the prime position to potentially take that magic catch.

Ball and bragging rights incoming, proudly backed by Westpac.

Agency credits:
Creative: Gemba
Production: Chisel

Project:
Campaign, Social Content, TVC, Broadcast Integration

Client:
Toyota

This campaign taps into the heart of cricket culture, emphasising the power of positive momentum both on and off the field. At its core, the campaign shines a spotlight on Toyota's highly successful Good for Cricket Raffle, a fundraising initiative that has already raised over five million dollars for grassroots cricket clubs over the years.

The hero is a 30-second spot that takes viewers on a journey through authentic cricket clubs across the nation. Real scoreboards from clubs large and small come to life on screen, with local cricketers, grounds keepers and fans. The climax of the spot features Australian national team stars lending their support to the cause.

The message: "Buy a ticket and support local cricket." By participating in the Good for Cricket Raffle, fans not only have a chance to win one of three new cars, but they also play a vital role in helping grassroots organisations survive and thrive. By ensuring 100% of the proceeds goes straight to local clubs, the Raffle and the campaign reinforces Toyota's enduring commitment to the community.

The hero video and cutdowns featured in live cricket broadcasts, in stadium big screens, on digital and social channels, as well as print and outdoor.

Agency credits:
Creative: Gemba
Production: Gemba productions
Post: Mr Fox

Project:
Social Content Series

Client:
Transport For NSW

Life for athletes is filled with stats and data. Wins and losses, possessions, time with the ball, shots on goal, top speeds, kms travelled etc… it’s endless.

In a multi-episode, social content campaign, the banter of football fandom and statistics combines with the serious realities of road safety stats.

What begins as light-hearted trivia tossed around between teammates, ends as a serious exploration about how much you know about speeding and road safety.

Agency credits:
Creative: Gemba

Project:
Campaign, Social Content, Activation, Digital

Client:
Transport for NSW

‘Decision Time’ is a social campaign that brings to life the importance of making good decisions on the road. It leverages Transport for NSW's partnership with the players and coaching staff of the Westpac NSW Blues.

The idea was simple: on & off the field, players are faced with everyday decisions that have an impact on their lives – so we put our players’ decision-making skills to a little test.

‘Decision Time’ saw players responding to a series of rapid fire ‘this or that’ questions on an interactive touch screen. Whilst the questions started light-hearted to get to know our players’ personalities – sauna or ice Bath, cardio or weights, heavy metal or hip-hop? – they quickly changed to more serious road safety issues including questions related to speeding, fatigue and drink driving. When it came to decisions on the road, it became clear there really was only one correct answer.

This content features Rugby league stars including James Tedesco, Josh Addo-Carr, Cameron Murray and Rugby League legend Greg Alexander.

Mr Alexander says ‘Some decisions are all about you, some are much bigger than that’, which highlights the impact of making decisions on the road.

Accompanying the Decision Time content, Gemba also produced in-stadia and digital assets to support the campaign that will be live for the duration of The Knock-On Effect Cup season and live across NSW Rugby League’s social channels and website.

Agency credits:
Creative: Gemba
Production: Gemba Productions
Post: Mr Fox

Project:
Campaign, Social Content, TVC, Broadcast Integration, Activation, Digital

Client:
TOYOTA

‘Feeling It’ features incredible moments and celebrates the way Australian Rules Football has us feeling every possible emotion.

The 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season marks the 20th year that Toyota has been the Premier Partner of the Australian Football League, and to celebrate the milestone, Gemba and the iconic automaker have launched an all-new sponsorship activation campaign.

‘Oh What A Feeling’ is a tagline synonymous with Toyota, and after so many years supporting the game, the brand truly understands how footy makes fans feel. The joy, the agony and the elation. The pride of pulling on your first jumper, and the validation of raising up the cup. How this game, more than ever before, is open to everyone. Footy has us feeling every emotion, at every level. That’s Good for Footy.

A hero film that launched on Channel 7 and Fox Footy shows the pride of the Adelaide ‘Camry’ Crows first game in 1991, the joy of the Swans breakthrough premiership win of 2005, and the agony and elation of Dom Sheed’s incredible premiership winning kick of 2018, depending which side of the fence you were on.

It showcases the raw ambition of a young Daisy Pearce, and the validation she felt raising the premiership cup years later. It heroes the inspiration and inclusion of those playing the game with a disability, and the belief and positivity felt from local footy clubs, raising almost $10 million to date with the Toyota Good for Footy Raffle.

The campaign celebrates more than just a legacy with the AFL. It demonstrates Toyota’s impressive contribution to footy communities at every level, including ongoing partnerships with the AFLW, the Toyota AFL Wheelchair Championships and the Toyota AFL Inclusion Carnival.

Each of these Toyota partnerships has their own cutdown film, including print and OOH executions (featuring AFL community photographers work) that are being rolled out during the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.

Agency credits:
Creative: Gemba
Production: Gemba Productions
Director: Bill Irving
Post: Mr Fox
Music: Tristan Dewey – Bang Bang Studios

Project:
Social Content Series

Client:
McDonalds

Macca’s Mic is a social series that drops the Big Mac-rophone into the middle of AFL, AFLW, NRL and NRLW, bringing fans closer to the players through quick, funny chats, powered by Macca’s.

Players flip the script and interview each other, firing off a mix of footy banter, dumb questions and the all-important Macca’s order chat. It’s loose and unscripted, letting fans see the personalities behind the guernseys and jumpers, not just the highlight reels.

Launched in 2024, Macca’s Mic has rolled out 40+ episodes so far, racking up over a million views and strong engagement across club and partner channels.

Agency credits:
Creative: Gemba
Production: Gemba

Project:
Social, PR & Earned

Client:
Operation Crayweed

Sydney AFL, soccer, netball, rugby, and surfing athletes joined forces at Coogee Beach to support seaweed restoration through Operation Crayweed, a project dedicated to re-establishing native seaweed habitats on Sydney reefs.

‘The Ultimate Recovery Session’ was a winter crayweed planting event raising awareness and funds for a local cause improving our oceans.

Thanks to all contributors who gave their time, skill and products to make this happen.

Talent: FrontRunners Athletes
DOP: Paul Van Kan
Photography: Ben Sanford
Editor: Kirk Mihelakos
Swimwear: Budgy Smuggler

Agency credits:
Creative: Gemba
Production: Gemba Productions

Project:
Activation

Client:
Toyota

Lifting the Premiership Cup is the ultimate footy feeling, so our final piece in the Feeling It campaign for Toyota's AFL 2023 season, gave footy fans the chance to experience just that.

Feeling The Grand Finals was an experience at the MCG which gave footy fans the chance lift the 2023 AFL Premiership Cup, on a replica stage – the ultimate footy finals pic.

Fans who shared their trophy pic using #FeelinItFinals went in the running for Grand Finals tickets.

To land the 20 years of partnership Toyota was celebrating, we also created a perimeter fence covered with 20 years of trophy lifts. We even got players from every years’ photo down to our activation, so fans of teams beyond the Pies and Brisbane Lions got to get a photo with a legend of their team.

Finally we had the perimeter fence posters signed by the player legends in them, to be given away to lucky fans as prizes.

Oh What A Feeling

Agency credits:
Creative: Gemba
Production: Republic
Digital: Polite Playground

Project:
Activation

Client:
TOYOTA

We recreated a life size local footy clubhouse for Toyota, full of footy passion.

Fandom was rewarded in numerous ways with footy activities. It featured a centre circle bounce experience; the harder you bounce, the more you win, manifesting on a digital scoreboard.

Within we featured footy nostalgia; the walls adorned with local and professional AFL jerseys, flags and photos as well as trophy cabinets filled with footy memorabilia going back through the years.

Over the four days we had AFL and AFLW player appearances, taking part alongside fans in the clubhouse action. Fans also had the opportunity to get up close to the official AFL Premiership Cup and take photos.

Finally we hosted daily footy sausage sizzles – every local club has to have a post match BBQ! (also raising over $2,000 for charities).

Toyota’s reason for existing though, was to share the great things they’re already doing at all levels of footy. Our club walls celebrated the top performing local clubs in the Toyota Good For Footy Raffle - a raffle that’s allowed local clubs to raise over 1 million dollars this year alone, with all funds going directly to local clubs.

Agency credits:
Creative: Gemba
Production: Republic
Production Tech: Futerlabs

Project:
Campaign, Social Content, Broadcast Integration, Digital & Preroll, Activation

Client:
Transport For NSW

‘Don’t Fly Blind’ is a fun experiment with three Sydney Swans players, a blindfold and a pointed message: Don’t get distracted by your phone while driving.

We wanted to see how the Swans performed their elite skills blindfolded. Can they take a specky, run through the pack or even kick a goal when they can’t see? The content captured on the day showed that it was next to impossible for Swans stars Tom McCartin, Harry Cunningham and Callum Mills.

So why ‘Flying Blind?’ It was all based on one hard hitting fact – looking at your phone for just two seconds while driving at 60km per hour means you’re ‘driving blind’ for over 33 meters. A lot can go wrong over that distance.

The social, digital and in-stadium content raises awareness of the dangers of driving illegally using a mobile phone and encourages drivers to avoid mobile phone distraction through the ‘Get Your Hand Off It’ campaign message.

Accompanying the ‘Don’t Fly Blind’ campaign is the in-stadium big screen activation – Distracted Cam. Distracted Cam finds fans distracted by their phones rather than enjoying the full matchday experience. Distracted fans will see themselves captured on the big screen at the SCG, once they look up from their phone. The message here is simple – it’s easy to be distracted by your mobile phone from what’s happening around you, so get your hand off it while driving.

The campaign is currently live in the market, leveraging Sydney Swans players, stadium big screen, digital, social, and other in-stadia assets.

Agency credits:
Creative: Gemba
Production: Chisel

Project:
Campaign, Social Content, Digital Preroll, Activation

Client:
TAC

In late 2022, Victoria’s Transport Accident Commission (TAC) tasked sports and entertainment agency Gemba with finding a way to leverage their ongoing brand partnership with Melbourne Victory FC and build upon the commission’s existing road safety campaign – ‘If you’re on your phone, you’re driving blind’.

Using three of the club’s top players Chris Ikonomidis, Noah Smith and George Timotheou, Gemba created a world-first experiment, The Tunnel Vision Experiment. The test saw each of the footballers attempt what (at first glance, anyway) appeared to be an easy task – all they had to do was pass a ball through a custom-built tunnel to one another.​

The catch, however, was the entire interior of the tunnel and the ball itself was painted in Black 3.0, a substance that absorbs 99% of light, rendering any object or surface absent of form, structure, or depth. ​This meant that during those moments when the ball traversed the tunnel, it briefly disappeared. The exterior facade of the tunnel structure resembled a giant smartphone screen to remind people that if they’re on their phone while behind the wheel, they’re distracted and blind to the task at hand.

TAC’s Head of Road Safety, Samantha Cockfield, said, “The experiment was very interesting. Aside from it being a bit of fun seeing the players disorientated by the unnaturally dark tunnel, it also brought a very serious road safety message to life. The reality is, if we’re behind the wheel and we glance at our phone, then we’re driving blind in what can be crucial life-or-death moments. To put it in football-related terms, at 50kmph, a two-second glance at your phone means you’re travelling blind for 28 metres, that’s a quarter of the length of AAIMI Park”.

We created a series of films to feature in stadium at AAMI Park and social and digital channels.

Agency credits:
Creative: Gemba
Production: Ant Alekna

Project:
Social Content Series

Client:
Transport For NSW

‘Don’t Fly Blind’ is a fun experiment with three Sydney Swans players, a blindfold and a pointed message: Don’t get distracted by your phone while driving.

For the second year we put our players in the position of the fan – could they perform footy fan activities blind?

Agency credits:
Creative: Gemba
Production: Chisel

Project:
Social campaign

Client:
Optus

The Optus 2016 Olympics campaign was huge — and that meant a lot of stakeholders were involved.

#FanUpAUS was a call to arms to get all of Australia to show support for our athletes.

The campaign launched with a tongue in cheek film featuring Ian Thorpe, Lee Lin Chin and the Bondi Hipsters, all encouraging the public to get involved and show support. On Facebook this achieved 3.95m views and 22.5k engagements

Following this the message was amplified with influencers, creating content that is authentic to their audiences and channels, one of which being the Bondi Hipsters.

The #FanUpAUS campaign showcased how, by effectively leveraging the mood of a nation and inspiring engagement via influencers, athletes and fans, a brand can standout and dominate the Olympics on social.

The public response was enormous, with the #FanUpAUS hashtag becoming the most used brand hashtag during the Olympics, and Optus was the most talked about brand sponsor during the Olympics with 27% share of voice.

Agency credits:
Creative: Emotive
Social: We Are Social
Featuring: Bondi Hipsters

Project:
Campaign

Client:
Optus

With Optus you can stream endless entertainment without using data.

To bring this to life we follow our dancing girl as she seamlessly loops entertainment into her day. Characters representing the various entertainment on offer (Netflix, Stan, Optus Sport & Spotify) burst into the different environments, interacting with her as she effortlessly grooves through.

Filmed at Fox Studios in Sydney, using a motion controlled camera rig to stitch the multiple takes together.

The soundtrack is “Let it roll” by Ladyhawke.

Agency Credits:
Creative/Production Company
Emotive
ECD/Creative Director
Charlie Leahy
Optus Creative
Mark Harris & John Weir
Director
Darcy Prendergast
(Oh Yeah Wow / Exit Films)
DOP
Evan Papageorgiou
Executive Producer
Simon Joyce
Senior Producer
Hayley-Ritz Pelling
Activations Director
Alison Mitchell
Producer
Johnny Greally
Production Manager
Serena Rettenmaier
Production Designer
Aaron Crothers
Editor
Uthayan Selvaraj
VFX House
Oh Yeah Wow
VFX Producer
Christina Remnant
VFX Supervisor/Lead
Josh Thomas
Sound Design
Ryan Granger (Dead On Sound)
Colour Grade
CJ Dobson (Pocket Post)
Optus Marketing
Michelle Katz, Bo Van Graan, Jennefer Elten
Optus Brand
Jane Saleh and RE
Media Agency
UM
Digital Agency
Amobee

Project:
Content Series

Client:
Optus + Swimming Australia

This film series 'Moments' was produced to drive awareness of FINA World Championships in Budapest, and the Partnership between Optus and Swimming Australia.

To give our current swimming champions the platform they deserve we  partnered them with past Australian Olympic swimming greats, to hear from them just how talented our next generation are.

Tallent included:
Mack Horton and Ian Thorpe
Emma McKeon and Susie O’Neill
Cam McEvoy and Michael Klim

The series ran on Facebook, Instagram and during live broadcast.

Agency Credits:
Creative & Production: Emotive

Project:
Campaign, Social Content Series, TVC, Broadcast Integration, Activations, Digital

Client:
Hyundai

The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was held in France.

As official partner of the Matildas, Hyundai used the global event to drive the women’s game forward with a campaign focused on messages of support.

Starting with our Letters campaign, we used the Matildas biggest stars including Sam Kerr, to define what support means to them by writing a letter of thanks to the person most important in their sporting success to date.

The heart felt messages grabbed huge attention amongst fans, which triggered the fan engagement phase of our campaign where fans were invited to get involved too.

We made a canvas out of a Hyundai i30 car, and invited 1000’s of Australians to write personal messages of support to the team.

We then drove these messages of support all the way to their training camp in Paris, so the team could read at a time they needed it most.

Agency credits:
Creative: Octagon
Production: Milkmoney

Project:
Social Content Series, Programatic Branded UGC, Digital

Client:
QBE

QBE’s 34+ years of partnership with the Sydney Swans has resulted in strong national brand awareness from fans, however there was a drop in brand consideration. We dialled up the length of the partnership to tell a story about a brand focused on commitment, loyalty, and consistency of support. We were able to go beyond the functional understanding of “we sell insurance” into the emotive realms of confidence, ambition, and loyalty.

At a time when all sport had been suspended and Australian Rules Football fans were longing for a meaningful connection to the sport and team they love, our goal was to provide that connection.

We leveraged the exclusive access we have to Sydney Swans players, game footage and stats to bring fans closer to the team, at a time they felt the most distant.

Insight:
Every Footy fan has a different story.

Challenge:
Insurance customers can sometimes feel like just another number.

Solution:
Introducing QBE Swans Story; A data driven interactive personalised film, bespoke to every single fan.

How:
It all started by gathering the fans data… sounds boring right? Nope, no dull forms here. We made fun of identifying key moments of a fans journey and in doing so gave them the chance to relive their most treasured Swans memories.

Every fan film was unique; introduced by their favourite players, showcased their favourite highlight moments, gifted them moments relating to their personal fan milestones, showcased their AFL fan stats, and even matched up their stats with their favourite players for comparison – bringing fans closer to their hero’s.

The questions were so diverse that there were over five million possible film outcomes. Each and every one of the 44 epic highlight moments, picked from 34 years worth of AFL archives, were also illustrated and animated by artists to celebrate their glory. The bespoke platform then stitched everything together using algorithms, combining everything into a highly engaging, personalised fan film.

Results:
Each Film was unique to every individual fan. And with the campaign launching during COVID lockdown, we were able to generously reward sport starved fans with epic highlights, and a fun way to engage with the players and club they love. QBE Swans Stories even got acknowledged as the top Sports campaign globally during COVID 19.

1644 total fan films
500,029 views
1,846,644 total reach
34 years of archival footage
58 hours of bespoke content
109 hours spent on platform by fans

Awards:
• ANA International ECHO Award for data inspired creativity 2020: best video content
• Nielson Sport 2020: Top sports campaign globally during Covid 19

Agency credits:
Creative: Octagon
Production: Milkmoney
Digital Agency: Zebrar

Project:
Campaign, Social Content, TVC, Broadcast Integration, Digital

Client:
realestate.com.au

realestate.com.au (REA) signed a 1 year deal with the AFL to become the Online Property Partner of the AFL.

Octagon were briefed to bring to life the brands role, purpose and creative for the partnership.

We helped them realise this by helping them take to market their first campaign: The Other Saturday Game

Taking a content led approach, REA shone a light on the lead up before and debrief after the ‘big game’. Using shared terminology and analogy, REA helps Australians and Footy fans prepare (and rehab) each week to get the competitive edge in the other Saturday game.

The campaign featured TVC spots to be used across the season featuring former Sydney Swans and Melbourne Demons coach Paul Roos, AFLW player and Channel Seven commentator Daisy Pierce, and West Coast Eagles star Nic Naitanui.

Output:
11 episodic TVC’s
11 social recuts
10 pre rolls
3 OOH
6 Social long form content pieces
Multiple News Ltd & REA website takeovers

Results:
12% points uplift brand preference in target market

Agency credits:
Creative: Octagon
Production: Milkmoney

Project:
Campaign, Social Content, TVC, Broadcast Integration, Activations, Hospitality

Client:
Hyundai

Australia is a sports mad nation. We love our footie, we’re rugby obsessed, cricket mad and swimming is in our blood….

However every 4 years something comes along so exciting that we all put our first love aside and embrace something new: the FIFA World Cup™.

Hyundai have always always loved football, in fact they’re the only brand in Australia supporting across all levels of footballs sponsorship, from grass routes, to A League and of course the national Socceroos teams.

The Socceroos were playing in Russia for the IFA World Cup™, so national excitement would be at a high as the global event brings in a huge football audience, beyond the core football fans.

So we created a provocative campaign to engage the large number of ‘bandwagon’ fans as well as core fans. We encouraged all to jump in, even if its for the first time, and even if its just for a a short but beautiful 4 weeks.

‘Have a Fling with Football’ was Hyundai’s message, and we used other codes to bring in passionate fans to enjoy FIFA World Cup™

To champion our campaign message we use famous stars from other codes such as Wendell Sailor, Luke Hodge and Damien Flemming to encourage everyone to get involved.

We even put the challenge out on social for fans to show us just how they were having a fling with the game for the chance to win a Hyundai i30 using #footballfling.

Finally we hosted all hours viewing events at locations across the nation, best known to fans for sports other than football.

Brisbane Event:
We took over the Caxton Hotel in Paddington, famous for it’s devotion to Rugby League. Much to the shock of locals, a giant soccer ball appeared on the roof and Rugby memorabilia was swapped out for soccer memorabilia. Staff, fans and celebrities were kitted out in a sea of green and gold to enjoy their 'fling with football’ in a place where maroon is normally compulsory.

Sydney Event:
The North Sydney Olympic pool is normally associated with world class swimming events, but on this night football took over. Sydney fans came together on a chilly night at the famous pool to ‘have a fling with football’. Fans, former Socceroos and sporting celebrities from other codes came together is a sea of fleecy-lined green and gold to support Australia as they took on Denmark.

Melbourne Event:
We created an star-studded event opposite Ethiad stadium in Melbourne, the heart of AFL land. The plan was to hijack die-hard Carlton fans after a game as they exited the stadium and invite them to cross the road and 'have a fling with football’. The plan worked. Fans swapped their team colours for Socceroos kit and joined celebrities from other sporting codes doing exactly the same thing.

Agency credits:
Creative: Octagon
Production: Milkmoney

Project:
Campaign, TVS, Social Content, Activations

Client:
Aldi

Aldi created a new range of healthy of kids friendly family meal ranges, as part of a play to improve brand quality perception.

To launch this initiative we used Aldi’s partnership with the Mini Roos , Australia’s largest grass roots football program, to get the healthy message out there.

Specifically we use the exponentially growing fame of star Matilda Sam Kerr to become ambassador to our ‘Mighty Mini Chefs’ campaign, a campaign that put kids in the driving seat of the kitchen meal preparation, healthy food made easy.

We created the Aldi ‘Mighty Mini Chefs’ food truck, which travelled the nation turning up to Mini Roos events as well as W-League and Matildas games, spreading the Aldi healthy food message.

Agency credits:
Creative: Octagon
Production: Milkmoney

Project:
Experiential, Broadcast Integration, Hospitality

Client:
Mastercard

The theme of the Australian Open Grand Slam Oval was the Australian beach. So we created the most talked about Happy Slam brand experience and built a three story beach club house, equiped with its own pool. Priceless

Nothing was spared on the quality of this build, details including a real functioning pool, 3 story vertical garden in stair well, open sun decks, a back porch beach view (created with a 7x4 meter LED screen) and a roof top spa operated by ‘One & Only’. Lastly, given this is the Happy Slam we had lots of fun surprising and delighting lucky fans with random ‘happy moments’ including much sort after center court box seats and player meet experiences.

The Mastercard Beach Club served many purposes throughout the two week tennis festival; hospitality for International Mastercard C-SUITE guest, pool escape from the 40°c Melbourne heat for fans, Mastecard Payment technology showcase experiences, live music and entertainment and finally the destination of choice for media interviews and escape for the VIP of tennis.

The back porch of the club house ground level was actually an impressive 7m x4m high definition 4K LED screen, playing a lopped film of a beach, perspective matched to give the Illusion of a beautiful Australian beach day. It threw brilliant light into the space, but importantly it became a way to weave in Mastercard contactless payment technologies into the experience. We did this by calling out realistic and beneficial beach scenarios where Mastercard payment technology could be utilised. These included beach goers, surfers, joggers a SUP boarders purchasing ice creams using Kerv Rings and Mastercard enabled Fitbits, a lost wallet scenario solved with MasterPass, a series of Mastercard enabled tennis experiences with the Mastercard Fanbot, and finally various ecommerce services with Mastercard ChatBot.

Agency credits:
Creative: Octagon
Production: Milkmoney
Build: Republic

Project:
Brand Identity

Client:
True Protein

What started as a tee-shirt design brief, became a total brand redesign.

True Protein don’t just claim purity and quality, they bake it into every step of every single product they create. 

They source premium ingredients globally, blend everything locally in their Sydney facility, and control every step of the production process. No fillers. No hidden sugars. Nothing artificial. Just transparent, high-performance nutrition that tastes good.

Back in 2014, I was briefed to design a limited run of athlete-only ambassador tees. While working on it, I questioned the brand name. Why call it True Protein when they could simply rename to True, and really own that powerful word?

Simplifying the name and creating a new logo for true instantly elevated the brand’s emotional value. It also unlocked flexibility well beyond protein and other sups; True Merch, True Events, True Athletes, True communities and more.

Most importantly, it helped create a platform for the bigger, more ambitious future that founder Ben Kierath envisioned for the business. Big things in health, nutrition, lifestyle and wellbeing.

Be you, be true.

That, and true just looks great as a word.

Project:
Social Content Series

Client:
Optus

The #FanUpAUS campaign finalised with an exclusive social-only six part series starring Ian Thorpe, where he brought all the support messages straight to the athletes in Rio. Ian also joined in on various fun and games alongside a traditional interview format, only, in a pool.

As Optus Creative Director I developed the show identity and generated ideas for the shows format and treatment, working closely with the team at We Are Social and Jungle.

Highlights include:
• First consumer brand to release a social talk show
• 6.6 million total impressions
• 1.1 million total views
• 16K engagements

Agency credits:
Creative: We Are Social
Production: Jungle (David Curry & Craig Melville)

Project:
Activation, AR Selfie

Client:
QBE

As part of QBE's 'Swans Story' campaign, we created a fan activation that appeared at major games.

'My Swans Selfie' used augmented reality tech to enable fans to take a selfie with their chosen Swans players. The takeaway was a photo and film for socials.

Agency credits:
Creative: Octagon
Production: Milkmoney
Digital Agency: Zebrar

Project:
Partnership Platform, Social Content, Activation

Client:
QBE

The Challenge:
QBE had been principle partner of the Sydney Swans for 33 years. Whilst 52% of fans were aware of the QBE brand only 17% were considering buying their insurance products and only 3 % held a product with QBE.

Research showed that whilst fans were more than familiar with the logo, they had little connection to the company. There was little meaning in the partnership.

So our objective in 2019 and beyond was to use the partnership to inject meaning - the why - into the QBE brand.

The Solution:
We had a plethora of assets that can carry our brand name. LED, static signs, banners… great awareness drivers. Poor vehicles for meaning. But there is one asset that exists in a place above all others. A place which QBE owns. A place that no our brand has sat on the hearts of fans and players for more than three decades: the famous Swans Guernsey, thats had the QBE logo front and centre since 1986.

This became our singular canvas to deliver messages of meaning to over a million fans – The Fabric Of The Swans.

The Fabric of the Swans goes far beyond the literal guernsey, it celebrates all the threads that make up the wider Swans community; from the fans, players, coaches and back team staff, right through to the volunteers and Swans Academy members.

As a partnership positioning, QBE would focus all activity on showcasing their proud part of the the fabric of the swans. A part they’ve played since 1986.

The Launch:
We launched Fabric of the Swans at Fan Day commencing the 2019 season. We created a ALF banner sized wall which we encouraged all fans to write a message of support to the club and players. We captured all messages and in the process gathered meaningful fan stories. The best of which became part of our launch content, where selected fans got to help make the teams home game banner, and run out onto the field with the players.

Agency credits:
Creative: Octagon
Production: Milkmoney

Project:
Activation, Social Content

Client:
QBE

The Challenge:
QBE had been principle partner of the Sydney Swans for 33 years. Whilst 52% of fans were aware of the QBE brand only 17% were considering buying their insurance products and only 3 % held a product with QBE.

Research showed that whilst fans were more than familiar with the logo, they had little connection to the company. There was little meaning in the partnership.

The Idea:
Introducing QBE Swans Flash Fabric.

The worlds first Australian Football jersey that reflected car headlights – getting Swans fans home safely after the game.

We worked with chemical engineering experts to bring washable, reflective paint into Australia for the first time. Then we created the flash Lab. A fully self-contained booth; dropped into the stadium for Swans home games. Our booth ensured thousands of fans had their beloved team shirt upgraded from a reflection of their passion to a lifesaving reflection of car headlights.

This became our 1st manifestation of QBE’s new partnership platform ‘The Fabric of the Swans’

The Results:
Fan awareness of the QBE brand had claimed to an all time high go 69% (a 33% boost). Consideration of QBE products rose to 26% (and increase of 53%) and sales spiked with Swans fans more than three times as likely to hold a QBE product (up to 233% from 3% to 10 % of people).

Agency credits:
Creative: Octagon
Production: Milkmoney

Project:
YoPRO TVC

Client:
Danone

‘Chasing Passion’ is a film featuring seven-time World Champion Stephanie Gilmore, and showcases how YoPRO can help give you the energy to pursue and fuel your passion.

Shot in Indonesia, on the island of Sumbawa at Lakey Peak, directed by surf legend Taylor Steel, using the best water cinematographers and DOP’s in the business (Talon Clemow and Chris Bryan respectively).

Agency credits:
Creative: Emotive
Production: Emotive

Project:
Award design

Client:
Google

The YouTube awards are awarded to the creative agency, media agency and client behind the most watched ads on YouTube within Australia. 

I designed and produced the physical awards – 3D versions of their play lozenge logo, moulded from clear resin blocks.

Working with an artist who specialises in clear resin, we created 20 1kg 3D YouTube lozenges (the play symbol logo), each with an embedded key frame from the featured commercial.

Each award came in its own box: an extruded YouTube play symbol / triangle. The boxes were finished in rubberised PU (texture ping-pong bat material) which gave them a wonderful feel.

Inside, each was individually foiled with the recipients details, and the award itself was set into a velvet flocked rubber housing.

Agency Credits:
Creative: Fabric / Ogilvy & Mather

Project:
Brand Identity

Client:
BSkyB

Team Sky was launched in January 2010. I worked closely with Sky and Team Management to create and evolve the Team Sky brand. While heading this project I got to work on a huge range of creative applications of branding, spanning all the media and touch points that an international sports team requires.

Central to both the philosophy and graphic identity of the Team Sky brand is ‘The Line’. This is a graphic representation of Dave Brailsford’s approach to coaching whereby every perceivable factor in the day-to-day routine of an athlete is scrutinised and then perfected in order to achieve marginal performance gains. These performance gains when added together are the difference between winning and losing, the line between good and great.

I got the oportunity to work closely with great brands like Adidas, Jaguar, Gatorade, Rapha, BSkyB, Pinarello, and Shimano to name a few.

Team sky has gone on to become an iconic brand in the cycling world, playing a huge role in inspiring more people to cycle.

Agency Credits:
Creative: Antidote London

Project:
Brand identity

Client:
British Olympic Association

The brief here was to update the identity system for the British Olympic Association.

The British Olympic Association needed a modern evolution of its identity system to take them up to and beyond the London 2012 Olympic Games. The identity system needed to comply with the strict rules of the IOC with regards to using the Olympic rings, as well as having the flexibility to span all the organisation’s subdivisions such as Team GB.

Agency Credits:
Creative: Antidote London

Project:
Brand pop-up store

Client:
Rapha

Rapha redefined the cycling world through a distinctive approach to product and brand. They built a fiercely loyal global community online but had never translated that passion into a physical brand experience.

The brief was to bring Rapha’s disruptive spirit to life in a temporary pop-up store in Clerkenwell, London. Designed as a reward for their most dedicated fans, the space spoke directly to style-savvy, high-performance cyclists who live and breathe the sport.

The store was wrapped in Rapha’s rich storytelling. Walls and cabinets showcased cycling ephemera, while dado rails, styled like classic steel bike down tubes, featured photography from Rapha’s iconic Rouleur magazine. Customer bike racks were set at varying heights, each referencing legendary European mountain passes. A fitting room was built inside a real Citroën H Van, and a barista served some of the best coffee in London.

The Clerkenwell pop-up proved so successful it became the blueprint for Rapha’s permanent retail format, later rolled out across New York, Sydney, Japan, San Francisco and beyond.

Agency Credits:
Creative: Antidote London

Project:
SMB campaign

Client:
Optus

Leveraging the current SMB positioning of “Believe Big, Big Support”, we needed to create a through-the-line campaign offering SMBs the chance to win $30,000 by signing up to Optus.

Using a real Optus Small Business customer as our hero, we created a lighthearted campaign that dramatised the savings benefit in an interesting and engaging way. 

Agency Credits:
Creative: Yes Agency Optus

Project:
Social video

Client:
Optus SMB

To promote the Optus Business $40 SIM and drive traffic to the website, we targeted SOHO and Micro Business owners with a social campaign.

We created a series of hyper-lapse videos to bring to life the value of the offering, with each one providing a short visual that’s fun and fascinating to watch via mobile — our primary comms channel.

This campaign proved to be one of the most successful SMB SIM promos ever, with a record low cost per click of 20c.

Agency Credits:
Creative: Yes Agency Optus

Project:
Optus Sport 30' TVC

Client:
Optus

As part of the deal to allow SBS to show a Premier League match each week, Optus were given TV spots during the game.

The idea was to smuggle a channel promo onto another network, every week.

Working closely with Brand & Comms and Optus Sport, we set ourselves the task of creating a new ad each week for the rest of the season (seven months).

Each one is written, recorded, produced and despatched in a matter of days. This ensures our football content is as up to date as possible, delivering on the brand’s promise to move at the speed of culture.

Agency Credits:
Creative: Yes Agency Optus

Project:
Optus Pay launch video

Client:
Optus

Optus Pay, they needed a video to showcase the exciting, and market leading, new wearable payment accessories.

Using a unique illustration style we brought the story to life in light-hearted and fun way, showing all the creative ways you can use payment wearables in the hope of encouraging behaviour change.

Agency Credits:
Creative: Yes Agency Optus

Project:
Personal Brand, PR & Earned, In-game Stunt

Client:
Kevin Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen is arguably of the most prolific batsmen to play the game of Cricket, however not necessarily loved in Australia.

Whilst a lot of conversation is driven by the rivalry he has with Australia, it has been show that when given the opportunity, Kevin shows another side to himself, and this human side resonates in particular with Australian audiences. Actions speak volumes.

This opportunity translated into a rebrand of Kevin Peterson, switching the conversation to the numerous initiatives Kevin has put his efforts towards and, as a result, achieved great things. We called this 'The KP Effect'

The idea being that through The KP Effect we provide a platform for Kevin Pietersen to be able to have others shout about who he is and what he does. We are going to provide Aussie fans more reasons to share the bright side of KP. 

Kevin's un-sung initiatives include he is passionate and effective conservationist, he runs the KP24 foundation (helping disadvantaged youth around the world), and he does lots of great work for OcuMel (ocular cancer charity).

The first manifestation of the KP Effect was, through using a clever interpretation of the ICC's bat branding rules we enabled Kevin to use his platform in the Big Bash League to elevate his passionate concerns for Rhino Conservation in Africa.

To do this we actually had to parter with Spartan to create a custom Rhino bat, made available for purchase, to navigate in-game bat branding restrictions.

The result was a brilliant Rhino conservation awareness campaign that crescendoed in the final games of the season, where a children's bat design competition got huge participation and media coverage.

The net result was a mass of positive sentiment online for Kevin Pietersen in Australia and world wide.

Agency Credits:
Creative: Octagon
Social: We Are Social

Project:
Campaign

Client:
Shell

Shell Helix engine oil cleans while it lubricates. Encapsulated by the line ‘clean on the inside’  and brought to life by creating a life size piece-for-piece model of a Nissan 300ZX, assembled entirely from clear moulded acrylic (built by Asylum London).

My involvement included art direction of the print photo shoot using photographer Dan Tobin Smith, art direction of the film shoot working with director Ivan Bird and finally design of print and outdoor advertising.

Agency Credits:
Creative: Antidote London & JWT London
Production: Rattling Stick London
Photography: Dan Tobin Smith
Director: Ivan Bird
Prop Design: Asylum London

Project:
Office interior design

Client:
British Olympic Association

The brief here was to bring the BOA brand to life in their new office space.

The BOA brand was losing relevance and had become a little disconnected from the athletes. In the run-up to 2012, the BOA wanted to refresh their brand and re-energise their staff. We created a positioning that would reconnect the athletes and inspire the BOA staff to emulate their Olympic spirit: Better Never Stops.

This was then brought to life at their new London offices on Charlotte street.

Thirteen original Olympic torches were sourced and placed along the perimeter of the office reception. Using Gebler Tooth Architects we designed a mount which was a physical graphic device used to highlight a BOA ‘Better Never stops’ story. Stories were picked from records, all telling of a moment in which the BOA had made a difference in each of the Thirteen showcased Olympic games.

To showcase all the British sporting NGB’s (National Governing Bodies) which the BOA supports, we created a installation wall of take-away postcards, each representing a different Olympic and/or Paralympic sport. The cards were printed as black halftones on a heavy weight reflective gold stock. Each card included a brief description of its respective sport.

When viewed from a distance the 42 box display creates a Union Jack.

Agency Credits:
Creative: Antidote London

Project:
Book Design

Client:
Wayside Chapel

The Wayside Chapel is a famous charity in Kings Cross Sydney, existing to help those in need in the surrounding community.

To commemorate their 50th anniversary we created a book, which would go on to become a powerful fundraising tool at subsequent events.

The book idea was 50 years looking back and 50 years looking forward.

The author Ron Ringer wrote the book as a formal documentation of Kings Cross and its colourful history, but importantly the role that the Wayside Chapel has played over the last 50 years.

To give this book a little bit of intrigue we used 804c fluro special throughout – which brought to life what was otherwise a clean grid and design.

Agency Credits:
Creative: Fabric / Olgivy & Mather

Project:
Brand identity

Client:
Evans Cycles

Pinnacle was a brand of bicycles which Evans had been trading for two years, but sales had been poor, prompting the need for a re-brand.

I created a new identity, the bike naming system, bike graphics, colour-ways, instore POS and website.

The new range naming system gave bikes names relating to their use and environment. Road bikes were named after types of stone, mountain bikes after species of wood, and hybrid/commuter bikes names came from elements on the periodic table.

Each frame had its own logo developed.

Each bike category is graphically represented by a pattern relating to its naming theme – wood for mountain, stone for road, and elements for hybrid and commuter bikes.

The bike graphics were applied in a unique way whereby all the frame information (model, size, material, make) was enclosed on a graphic wrap positioned on the down tube, leaving the rest of the frame clean and simple.

Agency Credits:
Creative: Antidote London

Project:
Brand identity

Client:
Evans

Evans wanted to create a new brand to be used to sell a range of cycling apparel, parts and tools.

I came up with the name, brand identity and packaging design system. FWE stands for Frederick William Evans, the founder of Evans back in 1921. The approach to the identity and packaging was to reenforce the heritage and simple, functional quality Evans is known for.

FWE has been rolled out across 55 different products and is sold online and stocked in all Evans stores across the UK.

Agency Credits:
Creative: Antidote London

Project:
Identity & Website

Client:
Lee & myself

"LiversedgeWeir is a creative collective with the depth and reach of a full service design agency. We have no permanent studio or full-time staff. We don’t have a coffee machine, plasma screens, receptionists or personal assistants. We’ve been there, we’ve done that, and it just wasn’t us. Instead, we rely on the drive and experience of two creative people; ourselves – Lee and John.”

The identity and website was created to reinforce the simple premise of our business model – clean, simple, heroing the partners and letting the work speak for itself.

Agency Credits:
Creative: LiversedgeWeir

Project:
Brand identity & website

Client:
Fabric / Ogilvy & Mather

I created the brand identity, visual language, website and other promotional material to showcase Fabrics work and capabilities.

Agency Credits:
Creative: Fabric / Ogilvy & Mather