CAMPAIGN How To "Ace" The Competition AGENCY Starcom Worldwide, Brisbane CLIENT Colorado Group OBJECTIVES Lynx suffered from anonymity, and the challenge was to put this unknown kids' shoe brand on the map. It appealed to mums as it could claim performance parity with Nike and adidas, but retailed at half the price. The issue was credibility with children - Starcom had to make Lynx desirable with primary school kids, and achieve 20% growth on 2004 target sales. CAMPAIGN If kids take their cue from the playground, Starcom's success depended on the media team's knowledge of emerging trends in schoolyards. Handball had experienced a huge resurgence in popularity akin to the brand; it was inclusive - a game any kid could play - and importantly, distinctive from competitors who play in the more elite sports area. With handball's grass roots heritage, the game had remained free of marketing associations and provided the forum for a media first: Lynx had to foster a desire to play handball and become an intrinsic part of the growing trend - every contact made with the kids built association with the game. A TVC, "The Galactic Handball Championships", was developed in conjunction with Nickelodeon using The Incredibles characters, in shows that had talkability - The Simpsons, WWF and Yu-Gi-Oh - (another TVC called "Let's Play" also ran), and 170 cinema screens aligned to the biggest kids release of summer - The Incredibles put Lynx on the map. Cinema foyers were even converted into makeshift handball courts with kids challenged to a game. Chat rooms devoted to the craze were set up on Nickelodeon and K-Zone websites, and a mini-magazine was developed through K-Zone (the number one kids' magazine) and gave them "Tricks to Ace their Mates". In addition, K-Zone's editor gave the inside scoop on handball, and there was content in the K-Zone Sunday newspaper supplement. Magazines sampled 100,000 Lynx balls to fuel play, and promotions ran with the chance for kids to win a pair of Lynx by sending in the coolest thing about Lynx shoes. In a four-week campaign, Lynx became cool with kids. RESULTS The brand had recorded a 19% decline versus the previous year. Against a 20% target Lynx achieved 22% growth. This equated to an additional $988,816 to the company's bottom line. And for every dollar spent on advertising, the brand returned $14.84. JUDGES' COMMENTS Brilliant consumer insight driven directly from the playground itself which led to an innovative strategy. Using handball as the link to kids, the media ideas were executed brilliantly and turned declining sales into a commercial success.
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