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SUB CATEGORY :
SPORTS & ESPORTS
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COMPANY ENTERING :
LEO BURNETT AUSTRALIA, SYDNEY
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TITLE :
BUNDY MIXER
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BRAND :
BUNDABERG RUM
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ADVERTISER :
DIAGEO
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AGENCY :
LEO BURNETT AUSTRALIA, SYDNEY
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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER :
EMMA MONTGOMERY
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MANAGING DIRECTOR :
JAMES WALKER-SMITH
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EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR :
ANDY FERGUSSON
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CREATIVE DIRECTOR :
MICHELLE WALSH/MARIJKE SPAIN
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COPYWRITER :
ERIC FRANKEN
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AGENCY PRODUCER :
JUSTINE DOONER
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DEVELOPER :
NRL (NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE)
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ACCOUNT DIRECTOR :
ANDREW INMAN/PRUDENCE PURNELL
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ACCOUNT MANAGER :
JAYDE MACHELL
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STRATEGIC PLANNING DIRECTOR :
CATHERINE KING
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STRATEGIC PLANNING MANAGER :
ABIGAIL DUBIN-RHODIN/ALEXANDRA NEL
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SOCIAL & CONTENT LEAD :
IRNIN KHAN
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MEDIA AGENCY :
FOUNDATION, SYDNEY
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PR AGENCY :
HERD MSL, SYDNEY
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PR DIRECTOR :
JANETE SAMPAIO
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PR MANAGER :
ISOBEL RAMSAY
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EXECUTIVE PR :
MICHAEL MILLIMACI
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CHIEF CLIENT OFFICER :
JEN BROWN
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FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY :
MINT, SYDNEY
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DIRECTOR :
ANDREW SEATON
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DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY :
MATT SAMPERI
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CAMERAMAN :
JO DUCK
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FILM PRODUCER :
NICK MUTTON
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CAMPAIGN SUMMARY :
1 in 8 men think they can win a point off Serena Williams. And that's not just a tennis problem, it’s a deeply entrenched global issue that many men don't respect the skills of female athletes. Diageo wanted to change that, as part of a global push towards more inclusive portrayal. Their most loved Australian rum brand, Bundaberg Rum (Bundy), was a major sponsor of the Australian men’s and women’s National Rugby Leagues (NRL & NRLW) Unfortunately, most fans of Bundy, weren’t fans of women’s sport, so we created a trojan horse that would make them fans of the women’s game without even realising it. The women’s stats were just as good as the men’s. And NRL fans loved stats. So we hijacked the largest global online sporting community for stats-obsessed fans – Fantasy Football. A place restricted to men’s sport where participants pick dream teams and compete for points, based on stats. In partnership with the NRL, we created Bundy Mixer – the world’s first mixed gender fantasy competition. Fans could finally pick the best of the best, not just the best of the blokes. We built Bundy Mixer into the official NRL fantasy website, to ensure the widest reach. We launched to coincide with the 2022 NRLW season through an integrated social, digital, PR and earned campaign. Then each week, fans picked their teams at the Bundy Mixer website, choosing the best performing players, regardless of gender. By studying the women’s stats, NRL fans started respecting the players and watching the game. Bundy Mixer got national news coverage and attracted 13,000+ registered players and over 10 million media impressions. Most importantly, in its first season of many, Bundy Mixer had begun to level the playing field with viewership of the NRLW up by +50% (compared to previous season).
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THE BRIEF :
Bundaberg Rum (Bundy) was a major sponsor of the Australian men’s and women’s National Rugby Leagues (NRL & NRLW). And while the men’s league was thriving, the women’s league was still in its infancy. As part of a global push towards more progressive and inclusive portrayal, Bundaberg was determined to drive more fans to the NRLW, increase viewership and, in the process, change men’s perceptions of the female players and their skills. It was a difficult task made even more difficult by the fact that most Bundy-drinking NRL fans were blokes who had no intention of ever supporting the women’s game. We knew these guys weren’t going to respond to messages of female empowerment and we had to preserve their affinity and loyalty for Bundy, which meant making sure we didn’t emasculate the brand. We needed to insert ourselves into their world and speak to them in a language they would understand.
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THE STRATEGY :
Our primary target audience was NRL fans – predominantly men, who loved drinking Bundaberg Rum a whole lot more than women’s sport. In fact, they had very little respect for the female players and their skills. To create more interest in the NRLW and grow its viewership and fan base, we needed men. Lots of them. But first, they had to start respecting the players and messages of female empowerment weren’t going to work. We needed a trojan horse idea that would make men fall in love with the women's game without them even realising it. We identified that, in terms of stats, the female players were just as good as the men. And we knew that NRL fans loved stats. So, we hijacked the largest global online sporting community for stats-obsessed fans – Fantasy Football. A place where participants pick dream teams and compete for points, based on the stats of their players. As a destination previously restricted to men’s sport, we saw Fantasy Football as an opportunity to level the playing field through the introduction of women. Because you can’t argue with stats and stats have no gender.
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THE EXECUTION :
Instead of just sponsoring the NRLW, Bundaberg Rum created a trojan horse to make men respect the women's game, without them even realising it. In partnership with the NRL, we created Bundy Mixer – the world’s first mixed-gender fantasy competition. So NRL fans could finally pick the best of the best, not just the best of the blokes. We worked with the NRL to build the Bundy Mixer into their official fantasy football website, to ensure the widest reach. We launched to coincide with the 2022 NRLW season through an integrated social, digital, PR and earned campaign. We created TV and online films featuring some of the best NRL and NRLW players, to drive fans to sign up and play. We also worked with the players and NRL coaches to create additional content driving participation, including films showing NRL coaches picking their teams blindly on stats alone. Each week at the Bundy Mixer website fans picked their teams – selecting the best performing players regardless of gender. When their players accrued stats in real world games, they accrued points online, so the impetus was on fans to study the stats in order to score the most points and win prizes.
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THE RESULT :
By studying the stats of the female players, Bundy-drinking NRL fans started respecting the players. And by respecting the players, they started watching and even loving the game. Bundy Mixer got prime time, national news coverage and widespread online coverage. It attracted 13,000+ registered players and over 10 million media impressions. Most importantly, in its first season of many, Bundy Mixer had begun to level the playing field with viewership of the NRLW up by +50% (compared to the previous season). On a behavioural level, Bundy Mixer shifted men’s perceptions about female athletes, converting them from NRLW rejectors to NRLW fans. Women were also applauding Bundy for its progressiveness and positive portrayal of women. It was even deemed “a Masterclass in women’s sport sponsorship marketing” by Sports Director and former New Zealand Fern footballer, Rebecca Sowden.
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