08/06/2019

NRL’s State Of Origin ‘Dont Stay On TheSidelines’ Mental Health Initiative (& #RivalryWithoutRivalry)

As the annual Holden State Of Origin series kicked off, the NRL rolled out a fresh campaign shining the spotlight on mental health.

 

The initiative, developed in collaboration with agency R/GA Sydney and production outfit AIRBAG, runs under the hashtag #DontStayOnTheSidelines.

 

It was fronted by a flagship spot amplified across the NRL own channels

 

 

 

R/GA Sydney executive creative director Craig Books explained: “There’s a real hesitancy for Australians to take action when it comes to the mental health of their mates. Men especially aren’t comfortable approaching the topic or offering support. We wanted to make it clear that they can’t stay on the sidelines. If they see their mate struggling, they need to step in and help them out.”

 

“This subject matter has touched the lives of me and many of my friends. In fact, most of the crew who banded together to create this film have been affected by friends who have suffered with mental health,” commented AIRBAG director Ariel Martin.

 

“Tonally, we were going for a bit of an absurd vibe – we didn’t want the audience to be put off by something that felt too earnest, where they could feel the message coming. So visually, I was eager to make it feel as real as possible.”

 

AIRBAG executive producer Alex Tizzard added: “I love Ariel’s vision in bringing this metaphor to life – what a game of footy looks like if we treated it like a conversation around mental health. It’s a sensitive yet visually arresting way to approach this subject matter we all need to be talking more about.”

 

The campaign was developed for the NRL’s Senior Marketing Manager Kate Chapman, Community Manager of Health and Projects Neesha Eckersley and Marketing and Brand Specialist Lani Evans by an agency team at R/GA Sydney with production company AIRBAG.

 

The hero video was helmed by Ariel Martin and the campaign was produced by Megan Ayers.

 

Comment:

 

Perhaps because it is so relatable (and also because of the smart shooting and editing), this is impressive and admirable work.

 

A powerful message effectively communicated that is seamlessly and smoothly connected to the brand and thus feels genuinely authentic.

 

Much of the NRL’s other marketing content around the 2019 State Of Origin mentions unity and what brings fans together rather than enmity and opposition and runs under the ‘Rivalry Without Rivalry’ tagline: as illustrated in its ‘Friendversary’ spot

 

 

 

(although the #ThisIsWar copy doesn’t quite keep the approach consistent).

 

 

as well as the usual hype videos,

 

 

ticket sales,

 

 

and game data promos such as #TesltraTracker,

 

 

 

there were also plenty of fun and fresh fan content pieces too: such as the NRL’s Origin Insta stickers,

 

 

while the league also worked with its sponsors around Origin on various partner activation strands such as its Coca-Cola’s 2020 NRL membership competition.

 

 

This phase of marketing from the rights-owner follows on from May’s NRL ‘A New Era Begins’ 2019 new season campaign focused on the next generation of super stars (see case study).

 

While another NRL campaign from 2019 that is worth noting and learning from was its cheeky Super Bowl ‘Real World Champions’ ambush (see case study).

 

Links:

 

NRL

https://www.nrl.com/

https://twitter.com/NRL

https://www.instagram.com/nrl/

https://www.facebook.com/nrl/

https://www.youtube.com/user/NRL

 

R/GA Sydney

https://www.rga.com/offices/sydney

 



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