Behind the Work: How MyDeal Gave Aussies a Reason to Shimmy in New Brand Campaign
Today, many of us have become avid online shoppers for one reason or another. Be it because of the events in the past couple of years or the fact that you might just prefer shopping from the comfort of your living room, we are all familiar with the rush of joy when we finally find that one perfect purchase.
In their new brand campaign, MyDeal, one of the leading Australian marketplaces, collaborates with 72andSunny to remind shoppers of that particular feeling. Everybody loves a great product, at a great price, and the campaign tells customers that whatever they need, whatever they want, MyDeal can provide it.
With exciting visuals, memorable colour palettes, combined with the iconic track by Devo ‘Whip It,’ the ad tells viewers that no matter your personality or lifestyle, it can definitely be improved by a good deal. Ryan Gracie, CMO of MyDeal and Luke Martin, executive creative director at 72andSunny, told LBB’s Zoe Antonov more about the importance of “zhuzhing up” your lifestyle, Australia’s thriving eCommerce landscape and the importance of a good soundtrack.
LBB> How did the idea of the campaign first come about and what were the conversations surrounding it?
Ryan> When I first arrived at MyDeal, I knew that we needed a rebrand to make MyDeal famous for something other than just great prices and fast delivery, the hygiene factors that most retailers want to be famous for. We needed to build on MyDeal’s personality, so during the briefing process, we really pushed for growing the MyDeal feel, celebrating the joy of shopping and creating emotion around the brand.
I always knew that in order to expedite the growth and personality of the brand, we needed to use music to make MyDeal well known for its positive shopping vibes - the MyDeal feel. The track that we selected, Devo’s ‘Whip It’ seemed to work perfectly because it has the same energy and positive vibes that we want to be associated with MyDeal - it’s loved by everyone and puts a smile on their face, which is what we want to happen when people shop at MyDeal.
LBB> The colours of the campaign films are so satisfying to watch. What was the process of selecting the colour themes and how do they fit with the general feel of the campaign?
Ryan> When we redid the logo and colour palette of the rebrand, we made sure it was vibrant, energetic and unique, and worked well in eCommerce. During the briefing process with the agencies, we ensured that they adhered to our style guide and colour palette when bringing our brand to life in each scene – you’ll notice that each scene is aligned to each one of our colours. Orange is MyDeal’s primary colour, so that’s the background colour of the opening scene, and each scene following is set to the colour palette.
Luke> We drew directly from the MyDeal brand colour palette and built the campaign design system from there. The wardrobe, decor, featured products and styling all came together to create environments that reflected the personality of each of our characters and the joy you get from the MyDeal shopping experience.
LBB> There is a lot of emphasis on “zhuzhing up” your surroundings with the help of MyDeal. Tell me more about the set design selection and how that process went.
Ryan> MyDeal has over six million products on the website, and they are primarily made up of home and lifestyle products. We wanted to show people that they can improve their lives by shopping on MyDeal – no matter what consumers need to ‘zhush’ up or make great, they can quickly head to MyDeal to pick out the product they need and find it at a great price. The lyrics of Devo’s “Whip It” nicely lends itself to exactly that mindset.
Luke> We recognise that ‘zhuzhing it up’ has become increasingly important, even more over the last couple of years. We wanted to bring the joy of an upgrade to life, showing the literal before and after effect of a wise online purchase. Each set was designed to hero the products and personalities, using colour to tie it all together, and with the help of our production partners we were able to craft the studio environments into something truly chic and aspirational - then scale them back for the before shots.
LBB> How long did the production process take from start to finish?
Ryan> This campaign started and finished in what feels like record timing. It took place across six weeks - the first production meeting was on 2 September and the final cut was ready on 22 October - the TV aired only two days later on 24 October.
LBB> Were there any big challenges that you faced during production?
Ryan> While working virtually isn’t as much of a challenge anymore, we haven’t actually met any of the team. We’re in Victoria, and 72andSunny is in New South Wales, and collaborating from afar can be quite time consuming so our main challenge was working within a really short timeframe. Originally, we looked at a 10-week production schedule, however, since we were coming up to peak retail season, we needed to get the commercial live as early as possible in October – so we had to get it finalised in just six weeks. Consumers have started shopping for the festive season earlier than ever so airing a commercial before, and during, peak retail season is a key factor in driving customer acquisition because every day before the holidays really counts.
Luke> Working in lockdown situations presents its challenges. 72andSunny worked half the week remotely pre-Covid so we’re pretty skilled at it and have shot a heap of high-quality productions remotely now. A good video conferencing system so everyone can be involved wherever they are is key. Luckily we had a great crew, masked, practising social distancing, sanitising and all the rest.
LBB> What emotions were you aiming to invoke in the viewer with the campaign?
Ryan> We wanted to make people smile - we want to make them smile all the way through the journey of shopping with MyDeal. Each element of the new MyDeal brand has been designed with this in mind because we know that consumers get an endorphin rush when they shop online, and that rush happens again when they have their parcel waiting for them at their door and we want that to be synonymous with MyDeal. So when people see a MyDeal ad now, we want to evoke that ‘MyDeal feel’ and we hope that they give a little shimmy, and crack a smile.
LBB> The soundtrack and the dance in the campaign are definitely memorable! What was the process of selecting the music?
Ryan> Originally, we picked another track but it just didn’t quite fit, so 72andSunny went back to the drawing board and scoured through many, many tracks before pitching Devo’s ‘Whip It’ to us and from the very first moment we knew that this was the right song. Our tagline ‘MyDeal It’ fits perfectly with the iconic bass lines. From the first bar, everyone knows when ‘Whip It’ has started to play.
Luke> We did an extensive search to find tracks that captured the right emotion for the brand, which we could re-record to land the story we wanted to tell and work within our budget. Whip it’ by DEVO was at the top of a shortlist of only two tracks. Both were famous, both were catchy, but we collectively felt that ‘Whip it’ expressed the joy we wanted happy customers to feel and fitted perfectly with our brand platform thought “MyDeal It”. We really built the footage and casting around the track and when we pieced it together we felt like we’d done justice to the classic.
LBB> The song is super catchy too! How have consumers reacted to it?
Ryan> It's a bit too early to tell but the team and everyone we've spoken to so far loves it because everyone knows that song, the visuals are great and it’s got a certain look to it that keeps you watching. After only a week the anecdotal feedback is very positive. We do have brand surveys in place to give us a quantitative measure.
It almost feels like the song found us and has brought the energy and emotions we were looking for, so we hope that people will enjoy it as much as we do. You’re right, it’s very catchy. I’ve listened to it way too many times, I sing it in my sleep.
LBB> From a business perspective how has MyDeal weathered the Covid-19 storm especially as Australia has been hit by lockdowns over the last few months?
Ryan> We’ve built up systems, processes and technology that can flex to the scale, so we have been well-positioned to capture the increased demand. The last mile experience, which we rely on third-party logistics networks for, has not coped as well under the strain, and that’s always going to happen when you do Christmas-like figures in August.
LBB> How have CX practices adapted throughout this period to ensure the process of using MyDeal is smooth for consumers and sellers alike?
Ryan> MyDeal launched native iOS and Android mobile apps in May 2021 to help make the process smooth and convenient for both consumers and sellers. Everyone is on their phones, so we wanted to make sure that anyone who wants to shop on MyDeal, whether that's on a desktop or on their phone, has a really easy and enjoyable experience. The app has been really well-received by all, it converts at a higher rate and drives higher lifetime value, so it will remain a key focus for us as we all move forward into a new era of eCommerce.
LBB> What is Australia’s eCommerce landscape like at the moment and how do you think it will fare in the future?
Ryan> It’s absolutely thriving. Consumers lived through a time where there was no other option other than to shop online, so it became a necessity and it was like that for long enough that consumers built new habits. The trepidation and friction have been taken out of shopping online. The pandemic forced mass migration to online and therefore expedited innovation in the space, especially by players that had been slow to embrace the channel. Consumer expectations have been reset – now it’s up to eCommerce players, like us at MyDeal, to meet or exceed those expectations and to not give consumers a reason not to shop online with us.
