Rebranding can sometimes work magic for your business

You probably noticed the aggressive media campaign for the newly rebranded radio station, KIIS FM from 106.5 MIX FM, back in the December – January period. Promotional material ranging from posters slapped on bus stops, YouTube videos, TV advertising and media announcements of Kyle and Jackie-O’s poaching from 2DAY FM built up sufficient hype for the newly rebranded station’s launch on the 20 of January 2014.

A few months down the line, how did the rebranding go? Well, the results were in recently as the commercial radio station announced that it's breakfast show featuring the infamous Kyle and Jackie-O was tied in equal place with WSFM’s Jonesy and Amanda. That’s not all: the audience share for KIIS has jumped 3.3 per cent since the rebranding from MIX FM, giving it a grand total of 9.3 per cent of audience share and making it the second most popular commercial station behind 2GB, and the most popular FM commercial station with an overall audience share of 8.4 per cent. How is 2DAY FM faring? In overall audience share, 2DAY FM has the lowest audience share of all commercial FM stations with a measly 4 per cent. To make matters worse, its breakfast show, which was shown as being in top position in previous radio ratings, has sunk to the bottom of pack.

What made the rebranding so successful?

Funnily enough it was the pair, Kyle and Jackie-O, who were the driving force behind the success of KIIS. Their fan base, which approximately made up 60% 2DAY FM’s listeners, directly followed them across to KIIS. 242,000 listeners were estimated to have made the switch, showing Sydney that despite the controversy of the hosts regarding Kyle Sandiland's behaviour, they still have a massive loyal audience base.

Another success factor was that MIX 106.5, as a smaller station, shared a greater proportion of listeners with 2DAY FM than 2DAY FM did with it. Once elements that people enjoyed about 2DAY FM moved to the new MIX, there was really no reason for the previously split audience to flick back across to 2DAY FM. MIX was already positioned to the 25 to 54 demographic, and their rebranding was done with the intention of capturing and holding more of this target demographic.

This successful example of rebranding has shown that if you strategically identify what your brand is lacking, and go out with the idea of filling this gap, you can achieve great results. MIX FM knew its current demographic; they knew that Kyle and Jackie-O had an active fan base; and they made a gamble as to whether 2DAY FM’s listeners would make the switch to continue listening to their favourite radio show hosts and it definitely paid off. Their efforts to promote the rebranding and showcase their newly poached radio show hosts also shows a well-executed marketing plan of attack that we all, as aspiring marketers, can learn from to apply to new and existing brands that we encounter.

Kori Bassi
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at The University of Sydney Business School

From Planes to Trains: Famous Aussie Safety Campaign

How many dumb ways to die are there? So many! Which is exactly what Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM) wants their city-goers and train passengers to keep in mind. Preceding Air New Zealand’s more recent take on updating safety announcements, a Victoria state transportation company decided they needed a viral campaign to help lessen train, platform, crossing and station incidences along their busy rail network.

While some people are busy criticizing the compilation of freak accidents musically depicted throughout the commercial, clever underlying psychological tactics are at play to help define this company’s mission. By initially over-exaggerating potential causes of bodily harm during random activities, viewers start becoming hyperaware of their own behaviors, so that they can then relate to the examples of injuries at train stations towards the end of the ad. This hyperawareness gives MTM a good repositioning strategy in that it moves the fundamentals of transport safety back into the foreground, thus making the travel experience safer and more conducive to everyone. This repositioning may also help alleviate any previous doubts on safety monitoring.

Winner of seven Webby awards including, Best Viral Marketing Interactive Advertising & Media, Best Public Service & Activism (Social Content & Marketing), and Best Animation Film & Video, just to name a few, this ad truly puts Australian creativity on the map with help from McCann Australia (Melbourne advertising agency). With this ad they have found a successful way to communicate safety tips to Australian commuters, and they produced a safer public transport system, with some reports claiming up to 30% reduction of “near miss” incidents.

Having personally learned of the campaign in March 2013, the catchy tune and funny, memorable characters have since become the face of their own brand. The “Dumb Ways to Die” game and iPhone application were launched in May 2013, which was followed by multiple apparel items. I would not be too quick to throw on the gear, but if I ever need some entertainment while waiting for the train, I’ll be sure to download the app and brush up on my station safety knowledge, and have a little fun while doing so.

And remember, there are so many dumb ways to die, so just don’t let “getting run over by a train” be one of them!

Christine Drpich
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at The University of Sydney Business School

Analysing “Compare the Meerkat”

This campaign for www.comparethemarket.com (UK) is a brilliant concept that has been rolled out through multiple executions in the UK – 19 to be exact. It featured a TV spot, companion website and social media links. It generated such a buzz amongst the general population in the UK, that it is unprecedented within the Insurance Comparison Industry. It is arguably one of the most successful long-running campaigns in the UK. It has been running for five years and has resulted in the entering of the catchphrase, “Simples,” from the main character, Aleksandr Orlov, into the Oxford English Dictionary.

The campaign has now been rolled out to the Australian market and is on its 3rd execution here. It has been voted 2nd in the Ipsos ASI People’s Choice Awards August 2013, but it remains to be seen if it will have the run-away success here that it did in the UK.

The version of the campaign – Commercial 10, I have featured is an all-time classic (as many of them were), and this one really resonated with the audience. It features Aleksandr visiting his ageing Russian relatives in a retirement home.

I have applied the SCORE framework for my analysis as follows:

SIMPLE – the clear single-minded idea is once again (as in the prior 9 ads), that Alexandr is attempting to illustrate the confusion people are experiencing in mixing up his website www.comparethemeerkat.com (UK website) with the insurance comparison website www.comparethemarket.com (UK website). It reinforces the web address in an unforgettable way.

CREATIVE – the fact that the ad ran for 19 different executions illustrates the effectiveness of the creative.

The character development of the meerkats is incredibly detailed and tells their story. I have also shown the 6th execution which illustrates their migration from the Kalahari to Russia. It ends with the classic tagline used in so many of their ads, “Simples”. This became a saying in the UK that was used in so many work and social situations – a classic ‘water cooler moment’.

The repetitive use of the copy – “comparethemarket.com” in the 10th execution between the crazy old retirees makes the message memorable. The Russian accenting and phrasing in all the TV, website and social media copy further develops the personality of the characters and the brand.

The campaign was incredibly ORIGINAL and made an insurance comparison brand one of the most memorable and top-of-mind brands in the UK. It's goal was to double the Compare the Market business and the campaign helped its owner, Douw Steyn, achieve an estimated fortune of £420m. It was also voted the most liked ad of 2012.

The ad was obviously RELEVANT to its broad target market – adults requiring insurance aged 17+. The meerkat’s fame has most certainly transferred onto the brand. The website is now ranked the 4th most visited insurance website in the UK, up from 16th in January 2008. Aleksandr has 80,753 fans on Facebook; 62,971 followers on Twitter; and even has a LinkedIn profile.

The ad is ETHICAL. The only problem that occurred during this campaign was in August 2009 when the Guardian newspaper ran an opinion piece accusing the advertising of racism for mocking Eastern European accents. The Advertising Standards Authority stated that this was the only complaint they had received from this one author of the opinion piece.

Overall, one would have to agree that this ad is incredibly effective and forms part of a much larger successful campaign. Most importantly, the ads are memorable and likeable. The consumer response was so great that people started using the www.comparethemarket.com website just to receive a free meerkat toy of their choice. It seems everybody wanted one.

Elizabeth M.
National Account Director - Blaze Advertising (Y&R Brands)
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School