The Challenge
In 2019, thebox were invited to a competitive pitch for the development of a new campaign for the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. At that stage, the campaign was focused on ways to encourage people to move to Regional Western Australia, creating a decentralised approach to the State’s growth.
With 5 key target audiences to engage, the campaign needed a strong foundation and a critical link that would peak the interest of such a diverse audience.
Adding to this was the distinct diversity of Regional WA itself. From the open plains of the north to the lush green forests of the south, every region had to be appealing and relevant.
The Idea
Having lived and breathed ‘Regional WA’ for so long, thebox was perfectly positioned to develop the strategy for this campaign. Focused on storytelling, we focused on what it was that made for a catalyst moment in your life where moving to a regional location became appealing. We discovered that this was the common thread to everyone who had left the city to move to the region.
We set out to capture the stories of 9 people across Regional WA who had left the ‘big smoke’ to discover so much more.
The Solution
With a crew assembled, we set off to 9 locations across the state to follow 9 stories over the course of 2 – 3 days each. Taking the kids to sport, at the workplace, out with friends…you name it, we were there filming. At each location we shot a range of scenic shots, being careful not to create a tourism campaign but to paint a new picture of ‘life in Regional WA’.
Each story was accompanied by a narrative told in the words of the subject. No prompting. No script. We had no idea what we would get. Just the name of the person, a general idea of their movements over the days we were shooting and a brief outline of their story.
This was a HUGE risk for the Department as there was limited creative control. We were capturing real stories.
After shooting 2 pilots the full suite of 9 stories were shot before being edited into a 2 minute longform video please a suite of 30sec and 15sec vignettes which were to be used on social.
A comprehensive website was also created to direct people too from the campaign.
The Last Word
Like most things around 2020, this campaign was significantly impacted by COVID. With the continued housing crisis taking place across the state, it became impossible to release a campaign encouraging people to move when there was no housing to accommodate them.
The campaign needed to pivot and the video’s were re-edited to be given to each of the regional Development Commissions for use at their discretion.
Despite this, the campaign was heralded as being highly innovative by the Department. This led to our invitation to pitch for the Department of Premier & Cabinet’s ‘Work and Wonder Out Yonder | Phase 2” campaign.
This campaign presented an opportunity for thebox to demonstrate their craft in storytelling. This authentic approach was what made the project so special to work on.
What we’ve done
- Concept Development
- Campaign Development
- Name Creation
- Corporate Style
- Design
- Photography
- Video Production
- Television
- Press
- OOH
- Digital & Social Media
- Website
- Project Management
The Award
thebox were awarded a Silver Summit Creative 2020 International Award for the Kalgoorlie (Goldfields/Esperence) video production . The Summit Creative Awards recognise organisations internationally who excel in marketing initiatives.