Hug a Geek

Background

AUSTAR is the regional subscription TV service in Australia. It was testing trialling the launch of unwired broadband into the regional market of Wagga Wagga. It was an especially difficult challenge for several reasons: AUSTAR is late to market; it's a challenging and complicated product to explain; there's no shortage of healthy competition; and Australia has a sceptical rural market bombarded with ‘techie messages’.

Idea

The broadband market wasn’t just crowded - it was complicated, with lots of acronyms and long copy ads. Customers lacked confidence and needed to consult their resident ‘IT’ friend to translate and install. Mostly it was just too hard to decode so they’d postpone getting broadband. The opportunity for AUSTAR Broadband was ‘simplicity’. But BMF had to reframe the problem: the category wasn’t complicated, it was a foreign language, which they coined ‘Geekineese’. Out of this emerged the proposition - ‘Geek-free broadband’ – a proposition that fitted with the quirky, warm tone of voice of the entertainment brand.

The idea was that AUSTAR was apologising to geeks for making broadband so simple that they’re now redundant. This was an unintended consequence. In sympathy, AUSTAR was encouraging everyone to hug a geek. The tone was innocent and sincere rather than mocking, being faithful to AUSTAR’s values and personality. A television campaign, consisting of the launch spot as well as shorter spots introducing specific product features, was accompanied by radio ads featuring the same stirring music and passionate narrator. The nerds featured online (naturally) as well as in press. They also ran a full-page apology letter from AUSTAR to Australia’s geeks for the hurt caused by these simplified internet plans. The geek-free message made it to the retail floor with POS signage inviting shoppers to enter the AUSTAR Broadband ‘Geek-Free Zone’. Even the packaging played a part in communicating the easy-to-install message. The hero geek featured on a customised screensaver and staff in branded t-shirts handed out ‘We Don’t Speak Geek’ stickers.

Results

In the five weeks following the launch in the rural town of Wagga Wagga, there were 103 AUSTAR Broadband packages sold. Even more impressive is that 46% of those customers chose to bundle their AUSTAR Broadband subscription with AUSTAR TV.

Target Audience

The town of Wagga Wagga in Australia - country families who would like the best in entertainment. They are straight forward and like being told things in plain English.

Size

Eight-week test in the town of Wagga Wagga

Our Thoughts

For a lot of people, the internet is still pretty scary. It’s the jargon that worries people as much as anything. In Australia, Austar’s strategy is to sell broadband made simple. The creative device is (surprise surprise) to take the piss – but in a caring sort of way - this time out of geeks.