Anz Bank: Anz #Holdtight

Credits & Description:

Title: Anz #Holdtight
Agency: Tbwa\Melbourne
Brand: Anz
Country: Australia
Entrant Company: Tbwa\Melbourne
Advertising Agency: Tbwa\Melbourne
Media Agency: Phd, Melbourne
Pr Agency: Eleven Pr, Melbourne
Production Company: The Glue Society, Sydney / Revolver/Will Orourke, Sydney / Level Two Music, Melbourne
Chief Creative Officer: Paul Reardon (Tbwa\Melbourne)
Creative Director: Tara Ford (Tbwa\Melbourne)
Creative: Tim Woolford (Tbwa\Melbourne)
Creative: Scott Canning (Tbwa\Melbourne)
Head Of Broadcast: Margot Ger (Tbwa\Melbourne)
Head Of Integrated Production: Dave Keating (Tbwa\Melbourne)
Content Director: Harrison Webster (Tbwa\Melbourne)
Content Producer: Stephanie Leddin (Tbwa\Melbourne)
Content Creator/Editor: Jesse Richards (Tbwa\Melbourne)
Composer: Michael Edwards (Level Two Music)
Director: Pete Baker (The Glue Society)
Managing Director/Executive Producer: Michael Ritchie (Revolver/Will Orourke)
Executive Producer/Head Of Projects: Josh Mullens (Revolver/Will Orourke)
Producer: Jasmin Helliar (Revolver/Will Orourke)
Dop: Geoffrey Simpson (Revolver/Will Orourke)
Regional Group Head: Ricci Meldrum (Tbwa\Melbourne)
Group Business Director: Claire Tenzer (Tbwa\Melbourne)
Project Director: Amelia Van Veenendaal (Tbwa\Melbourne)
Project Manager: Todd Mclerie (Tbwa\Melbourne)
Project Manager: Paul Arena (Tbwa\Melbourne)
Managing Director Melbourne: Fee Townshend (Eleven\Pr)
Managing Director Auckland: Angelina Farry (Eleven\Pr)
Senior Account Director: Louise Cargo (Eleven\Pr)
Account Director: Jade Glashoff (Eleven\Pr)
Executive Creative Director: Christy Peacock (Tbwa\Auckland)
Creative Director: Karen Maurice Oleary (Tbwa\Auckland)
Head Of Client Service: Robyn Budd (Tbwa\Auckland)
Group Account Director: Maike Blackman (Tbwa\Auckland)
Account Manager: Ruby Soole (Tbwa\Auckland)
Execution:
The campaign began with ANZ publishing a series of interviews online, featuring staff members sharing stories about holding hands. A day ahead of Valentine’s Day, Media relations provided the sobering support by going to market with ANZ’s research findings.A film was then shared online, showing a situation all-too-real for so many LGBTI people when holding hands in public - the moment where they let go.It appeared via every ANZ owned social channel.Radio was put to air featuring key spokespeople, ensuring the message would be heard well beyond metro cities. Bringing the message to life during Mardi Gras, ANZ launched a piece of wearable tech, a custom wristband that used infrared to detect proximity between two wearers - lighting up when they held hands.Billboards featuring same sex couples holding hands wearing the wristbands also ran.A custom emoji was also developed to appear when people used #HOLDTIGHT
Relevancy:
ANZ Bank wanted to do something that would resonate in a meaningful way with not just the LGBTI community, but spark change beyond it. However, being that the campaign insight was something nuanced and personal to the community, many outside of it lacked an understanding of how meaningful and important it was. PR, therefore, was fundamental to the success of the work, ensuring ANZ’s #HOLDTIGHT message filtered into the mainstream, sparking the necessary conversations, and changing perceptions.
Synopsis:
The bank of Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) was entering its 11th year of support for Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and fifth as partner of Auckland Pride. ANZ has become one of the loudest and most consistent corporate supporters of the LGBTI community. The ongoing sponsorship of Sydney Mardi Gras and Auckland Pride events allow them to demonstrate their internal values of diversity, inclusion and respect. After years of celebrating the events in a fabulously, fun spirit we wanted to do something that contributed to LGBTI equality in a more meaningful way, that showed a deeper understating and empathy. Even in 2017, not only were we still waiting for marriage equality (Australia), but the simple act of holding hands was still difficult for many LGBTI people. We wanted to change behaviour and perceptions and show support for this, the simplest gesture of love and a basic human right.
Outcome:
Media were keen to report on the evolution of ANZ’s support of Mardi Gras, with 456 media items falling across Australia New Zealand and international titles. Coupled with the films’ more than 12 million views and 150,000 shares, there were nearly 750 million campaign impressions in total. The most resounding result was the 100% positive tone in the reporting by third parties. In past years the flamboyance of ANZ’s Mardi Gras campaigns had sometimes divided the community, however, the truth at the heart of #HOLDTIGHT resonated extremely well.Social sentiment was at 98% positive in response to the campaign - The highest the bank had ever seen. Official brand tracking data put ANZ as the only one of the big four banks in Australia to achieve nett positive sentiment on social media during this time. All of this resulting in the most successful sponsorship campaign ANZ had ever created.
Strategy:
ANZ wanted to show support for the LGBTI community so media targeting began with LGBTI publications. #HOLDTIGHT, however, also targeted non-LGBTI, as it gave this loving gesture new perspective.The media relations strategy was significantly different to earned efforts of ANZ’s past campaigns in that it went beyond being ‘out and proud’, and instead, started a conversation in earned channels around a genuine issue facing the community. The role of PR was to support the campaign by sharing evidence of the insight gained through research, that could then be shared by credible third parties.The research not only validated the insight, it demonstrated a disconnect between what the community feels holding hands in public, versus how the public views the act, which is what third-parties predominantly took up.The campaign was then launched in the lead up to Valentine's Day, when the subject of showing love was being publicly discussed.
Campaign Description:
For many in the community even if you're ‘out’ and completely comfortable with your sexuality, holding hands with a partner in public can still feel awkward, tense or even scary – sometimes making it easier to just let go. So we encouraged people to #HOLDTIGHT instead. We wanted to celebrate the simple act of LGBTI couples holding hands. We made it a mainstream conversation, spreading ANZ’s message to the community to ‘stay strong, be resilient, equality is coming.