In a year turned upside down by COVID-19, the 2020 Federal Budget was always going to be a big deal for Australians. We just needed them to realise that.
Which is why, together with client NAB, we went to such great lengths to bring home the momentous nature of Budget 2020 – its inherent relevance for every Australian – while also providing cutting edge, real-time insights and expertise to make sense of it all.
Strategy
Facebook Messenger
Pre-budget eDMs
Creative campaign
Budget day eDMs
Banker eDMs
Twitter First View
Spotlight takeovers
150+ assets
Our ‘Anticipate, Engage, Learn’ model exceeded all expectations. Of all the budgets NAB has covered, this one gained huge attention, from NAB’s Federal Budget Hub (Business Research & Insights) to Twitter.
Twitter, 7th October 2020
NAB, working with SBP, has covered the Federal Budget for a number of years now. But for such a standout budget, the bank wanted a standout campaign. As Australia’s biggest business lender*, NAB also wanted to meet the needs of the nation’s small and medium businesses, a group especially rocked by the pandemic’s new order.
With this in mind, we designed a three-stage campaign program, ‘Anticipate, Engage, Learn’, to ensure NAB made this a budget as many Australians as possible were primed for, tuned in to – and understood what it meant for them.
First, we worked to build curiosity and anticipation around the budget’s momentous nature through creative messaging – launching a ‘burning platform’ that spoke to its significance. Our concept of ‘floating opposites’ added intrigue around the outcomes of this year’s announcements. All of this was amplified through social media and multiple eDMs, with SBP creating a total of 120 assets to ensure the message got through.
Next, we designed a distinctive and engaging experience. The introduction of a Facebook Messenger Bot was a first for NAB’s Federal Budget program. Requiring multiple sequencing and copy variations, the bot ultimately delivered a highly interactive experience where customers could tailor their content preferences and get access to budget updates.
Lastly, we captured a multitude of insights from NAB’s expert team and presented them in article, podcast and video form before, during and after the budget. This informed commentary included pre-budget insights and in-depth analysis, plus a comprehensive post-budget review.
“Our Federal Budget 2020 campaign was a huge success, thanks in large part to the work of Six Black Pens. With their help, we managed to deliver a multitude of diverse assets via social media, on brand and on time… all while working remotely. We look forward to working with them again this year!”
Teegan Beschi, Senior Consultant, Marketing Campaigns, NAB
Our campaign culminated in the NAB and SPB instant-response team working through budget night.
This saw NAB’s economic experts break down the vast scope of the budget into several insightful papers while the NAB marketing team and SBP collaborated to identify and summarise the key facts, rolling these out through dozens of assets posted in real time across multiple social channels. To top off our joint efforts, we produced a video of NAB Group Chief Economist Alan Oster’s budget response in the early hours of the morning.
*NAB is Australia’s Biggest Business Bank according to Monthly Banking Statistics lending data (non-financial corporations) published by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority as at January 2020.
Ideas, inspiration and other interesting stuff from the Six Black Pens team.
