MICHAEL HILL: EVERY PIECE TELLS A STORY

Credits & Description:

Category: Best Use of Radio

Advertiser: MICHAEL HILL

Product/Service: JEWELLER

Date of First Appearance: Sep 30 2009 12:00AM

Entrant Company: UM, Sydney, AUSTRALIA

Managing Director: Debbie Stevens

Client Services Director: Josh Gallagher

Communications Strategist: Lauren Cassar

Media placement: Radio - Metro Radio – Today Network - 31/08/2009

Media placement: Digital - Corresponding Radio Websites - 12/10/2009

Media placement: Jewellery Appreciation Events - Westfield Shopping Centres - 01/08/2009

Media placement: Microsite - National - 12/10/2009



Results and Effectiveness

The story that this piece tells, is one of success.

We captured over 2,100 real stories and told 15 on radio.

By dropping TV advertising Michael Hill claimed their position as Australia’s favourite jewellery store!

Furthermore, we were able to substantially shift brand measures:

• 48% of people recognised the campaign as being Michael Hill’s
• Claimed favourite brand increased by 10%
• The No.1 position for Top Of Mind awareness was secured
• Prompted brand awareness rose to 99% from an un-increasable 97% base!

Most importantly, year on year, sales were up by 12%.



Creative Execution



We partnered with Australia’s strongest radio network to execute our idea.

We started the journey by inviting people to tell their stories at jewellery appreciation points in high footfall shopping malls.

To interest people we offered free jewellery valuations, the perfect setting to get people talking about their jewellery.

In this same relaxed setting, people had the opportunity to have the stories behind their jewellery recorded to be later broadcast on the radio.

Across 8 weeks we captured over 2,100 stories and broadcast the 15 best on radio, demonstrating that every piece does in fact, tell a story.



Insights, Strategy & the Idea

There is very little differentiation between lower-end, mass-market jewellery brands. They all say the same things and they all say it on TV.

We needed to create a connection that resulted in preference for shopping at Michael Hill. No easy task with only a fraction of the budget that our competitors had.

The specific objectives were to reposition the Michael Hill brand and establish it as the ‘favourite place to shop’ amongst its competitive set.

Retailers have no trouble attracting people to buy jewellery for themselves. The greatest opportunity lay with people buying gifts for others. Motivations for gift-giving vary but are all laden with emotion.

Jewellery tends to mark significant moments in people’s lives, all of which have a story behind them.

To stimulate gift-giving we put the spotlight on the many emotive stories surrounding individual pieces of jewellery.

Our idea: every piece tells a story.