2005 BEST INTEGRATED MEDIA CAMPAIGN WINNER

CAMPAIGN - How to "Ace" The Competition

AGENCY - Starcom Worldwide, Brisbane

CLIENT - Colorado Group

SPONSORED BY
Multi Channel Network

OBJECTIVE

Also the Grand Prix winner, the challenge for Starcom was to put Lynx on the map. It appealed to mums as it could claim performance parity with Nike and adidas, but retailed at half the price. The issue was credibility with children - Starcom had to make Lynx desirable with primary school kids, and achieve 20% growth on 2004 target sales.

CAMPAIGN

Starcom's success depended on the media team's knowledge of emerging trends in schoolyards.

Handball had experienced a huge resurgence in popularity and fitted well to the brand; it was inclusive - a game any kid could play - and importantly, distinctive from Lynx's competitors who play in the more elite sports area.

With handball's grass roots heritage, the game had remained free of marketing associations and provided the forum for a media first: Lynx had to become an intrinsic part of the growing trend - every contact made with the kids built association with the game.

A TVC, "The Galactic Handball Championships", was developed in conjunction with Nickelodeon using The Incredibles characters, running in programs that had talkability - The Simpsons, WWF and Yu-Gi-Oh - (a TVC called "Let's Play" also ran), and 170 cinema screens aligned to the biggest kids' release of summer - The Incredibles put Lynx on the map. Cinema foyers were converted into makeshift handball courts, with kids challenged to a game.

Chat rooms devoted to the craze were set up on Nickelodeon where kids could brag and talk, and K-Zone websites and a minimagazine were developed through K-Zone (the number one kids' magazine) giving them "Tricks to Ace their Mates."

In addition, K-Zone's editor gave the inside scoop on handball, with content in the K-Zone Sunday newspaper supplement.

Magazines sampled 100,000 Lynx balls to fuel play, and promotions ran with the chance for kids to win a pair by sending in the coolest thing about Lynx shoes. In a four-week campaign, Lynx became cool with kids.

RESULTS

The brand had recorded a 19% decline versus the previous year. Against a 20% target, Lynx achieved 22% growth. This equated to an additional $988,816 to the comp-any's bottom line. And for every dollar spent on advertising, the brand returned $14.84.

JUDGE'S COMMENTS

"Brilliant consumer insight driven directly from the playground itself which led to an innovative strategy. Using handball as the link to kids, the media ideas were executed brilliantly and turned declining sales into a commercial success."