Mad Mex Give Away Burial Plot To Combat Permanent Food Comas Via Connecting Plots
Not for the faint of heart, the cult-classic is back by popular demand, returning for its 14th year for a limited 6 week period until 21 July. During that time, the iconic double-sized burrito will come with a free can of Liquid Death, promising to murder both your hunger and your thirst.
Anyone daring enough to take on the challenge will go in the running to win a grand prize to die for – their own personal plot of land in a cemetery. Entrants just need to purchase a Big Burrito combo, go to the website and write the inscription for their own tombstone in 25 words or less to go into the running to win their very own burial plot.
The campaign uses popular content creators @lach_mac and @jonbernardk to deliver eulogies for friends and family who tackled the combo, while the ever-popular satirical institution, The Betoota Advocate is publishing bespoke content to give the combo mass appeal.
“While Aussie property prices soar and cost of living grows more expensive than ever, the cost of dying just got that little bit easier. Partnering with killer brands like Mad Mex and Liquid Death gives us the creative freedom to push boundaries for greater ROI – we’ve had a lot of fun bringing this to life across creative, influencers and content partners.”
Connecting Plots Creative Partner, John Gault.
The campaign aims to drive foot traffic and sales during the limited period, while also starting the brand on its journey to bring the “Mad’ back into Mad Mex.
“The Big Burrito is a staple of our marketing calendar. We were excited to step things up this year and partner with the team at Liquid Death to really embrace the food coma that is more or less guaranteed when you down a 1kg burrito with a 500ml tallboy. Kudos to Connecting Plots for bringing the madness and developing a campaign that’s made us all a little uncomfortable – in a good way.”
Mad Mex General Manager of Marketing, Nick Cook.
The campaign is rolling out across social, digital, POS and owned channels, as well as across PR, influencers and content partnerships.
View the full campaign here →
a.glo launch 'Influencers Reimagined' to combat absence of science in influencer marketing.
Influencers aren’t a new concept. Take your boy Jesus for example.
For over 70 years businesses have leveraged people of influence in marcomms as a strategy to build their brand and grow their bottom-line.
The $250B Creator economy has been a ‘gold rush’ on a new type of influencer, one who operates autonomously and can deliver immediate short term results but who has very little understanding of how brands are built over time.
Put simply, the long-term impact of using influencers is unknown.
‘Influencers Reimagined’ reimagines the brave new world of influencer marketing with a twist of long term brand building to identify the real potential – making it invaluable in delivering bigger brand and business impact in both the short term and long term.
Connecting Plots Recruits TBWA\Eleven's Kent Pearson as Managing Partner
Widely regarded by industry peers as a visionary in social and influencer marketing, Pearson has held senior positions at leading agencies including TBWA\Eleven where he was Head of Social & Content and Managing Partner at GROUND where he supercharged client growth for Bumble and Pet Circle.
At a time when the influencer industry is booming and the use of vanity metrics to quantify success has become commonplace, Pearson’s remit is to weaponise social and influencer to deliver brand growth and sales for clients to make their businesses shine.
As a business, we have a strong track record in growing our clients’ businesses in digital and social channels – it’s how we started. As influencers grow, we’ve recognised the need to apply the same rigour you would to any advertising or marcomms and have the best specialist talent leading the charge. Kent has a reputation for his technical understanding and strategic know-how. He is supremely talented in connecting influencer and content creator activity to business impact. We are beyond excited to have him join the team and grow the a.glo offering further.
Connecting Plots Co-Founder & CEO, Tom Phillips
‘Glow Up, Glow Out’, a.glo’s new influencer offering has been designed by Pearson and applies marketing science and full-funnel thinking to influencers and content creators in campaign and always-on activity to achieve long-term brand effects and short-term goals.
The new influencer product has already been rolled out to a number of clients and is part of a string of capabilities now offered by a.glo including always-on performance creative and media, always-on social media management and channel specific creative. a.glo also holds partnership accreditation with Meta and Snap Inc. and is a foundation partner of the TikTok Creative Exchange (TTCX) which helps advertisers connect with experts to create native TikTok videos for ad campaigns.
I’m thrilled to be joining the team during this exciting time for the business. Tom and Dave have built a great reputation for social that delivers genuine business impact and I’m excited to bring my expertise to build upon that specialist social and content offering further.
a.glo Managing Partner, Kent Pearson
Connecting Plots wins three Cairns Crocodiles
Gold – Travel/Leisure Campaign
‘Find Your Happy Place’ – The Royal Agricultural Society of NSW
Silver – Radio & Audio
Let’s Clean Things Up’ – 30 SECONDS
Bronze – FMCG Campaign
‘The Experts in Air’ – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Air-Conditioners Australia
Connecting Plots Welcomes Craig Page & WeirdWorks
Craig Page, esteemed integrated strategist and founder of strategic consultancy WeirdWorks, joins Connecting Plots as Strategy Partner to lead the company’s strategic services.
Page, who founded WeirdWorks after holding strategy leadership positions at Saatchi & Saatchi, CX Lavender, VMLY&R and R/GA, will join the Connecting Plots leadership team alongside Client Service Director, Emma McJury; Creative Operations Director, Sarah Miller; and Creative Partners, Matt Geersen and John Gault whose agency Two G’s was acquired by Connecting Plots last year.
Craig is highly-regarded and comes with a wealth of knowledge that will certainly help grow our clients’ businesses and evolve the Connecting Plots service offering. The work that Craig has been doing with his own consultancy, WeirdWorks, marry perfectly into our growth ambitions and we’re thrilled that he’ll be bringing this offering into Connecting Plots.
Connecting Plots Co-Founder & CEO, Tom Phillips
With an illustrious track record of growing brands and transforming organisations through the integration of brand, creative, channel and experience strategy, Page has worked with a diverse range of clients including Westpac, Australian Defence Force, NBN, NRMA, Pizza Hut, Colgate, Arnott’s, McDonald’s, Wine Australia, Telstra, Rip Curl and Google.
The pace since founding WeirdWorks last year has been insane, so this chance to join forces is a perfectly-timed, win-win-win opportunity – for Connecting Plots to offer clients’ holistic brand thinking across their entire ecosystems, for WeirdWorks to offer clients’ the ability to put their strategic consulting into practice, and for me to enjoy working with this awesome team of brilliantly-talented and fun-slash-weird-in-a-good-way people.
Connecting Plots Strategy Partner, Craig Page
The new appointment comes as incumbent Strategy Partner, Tim Collier departs after more than 6 years of dedicated service.
It’s bittersweet for us – Tim’s been with us since day dot, weathered many storms and shared in plenty of the successes we’ve had along the way. He’s left an indelible mark on Connecting Plots and is a major factor in its success to date.
Connecting Plots Co-Founder & CEO, Tom Phillips
6 years is a long time in this game. We want to thank Tim for his commitment, loyalty and brilliance over that time. I’ve learnt a lot from him, he’s become a good mate and he’s shared A LOT of stories… I look forward to having a beer with him in the future and not talking about DBAs and Howard Gossage. We all wish him every success in his next role.
Connecting Plots Co-Founder & CCO, Dave Jansen
MHIAA is shortlisted at the 2024 WARC Awards for Effectiveness
Air conditioning isn’t something people know or care about. It’s a purchase that might happen once, maybe twice in their lifetime (if ever) but when it does, it’s technical and hard to know the difference between brands, resulting in consumers more often than not letting installers decide what brand they buy.
This created a massive problem. The only way for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Air-Conditioners Australia (MHIAA) to grow market share would be by getting buyers to actively choose them and not just wait for recommendations.
This meant we needed to break the rules of the category with a B2C2B approach.
MHIAA had won the CHOICE Best Brand Award for the 6th year in a row and Canstar Blue Most Satisfied Customers award for the 5th year in a row – proving them as the expert choice in A/C.
And that created the opportunity we needed. Not just to position MHIAA as ‘The Experts in Air’, but to do so by being distinctive and memorable in a category known for retired sports presenters and cash back deals.
We weaponised humour to deliberately stand apart from competitors and appeal to both consumers and installers, doing it in a way that reinforced the brands’ expert credentials – showing MHIAA takes mastery of air to the extreme.
Through brand mascots and entertainment, we broke the traditions of a boring category and tickled the funny bone of audiences, making our brand more memorable and reminding consumers that we were the smarter choice as the most trusted and satisfying brand in the market.
The campaign boosted sales, significantly grew market share, delivered a massive ROI and helped customers make the expert choice in A/C.
Royal Agricultural Society of NSW Remind Us You Can't Put A Price On Childhood Memories
Hoping to mirror the success of the 2023 campaign which saw 58% of all tickets sold before the event opened, the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW is again reminding consumers that the Sydney Royal Easter Show is a chance to ‘Find Your Happy Place’.
But with further cost of living pressures on Aussie households, a focus on showing value for money is a critical shift in the campaign’s messaging.
With the Show boasting exceptionally high awareness within the state of NSW (over 90%), the ‘Find Your Happy Place’ brand saliency message will continue to solidify its place in people’s minds, over the Easter period.
“Our ‘Find Your Happy Place’ brand message evokes memories and joy in young and old, evidenced by how it exceeded targets by more than 10% last year. It has become part of the vernacular in media reporting and with our Show audiences, so we remain confident and passionate about the long-term life of the branding. It resonates deeply with our customer base, as well as our Show team.”
Royal Agricultural Society of NSW Head of Marketing, Frances Jewell.
A multiple messaging approach to mid funnel comms will target multiple audiences across different motivators – showing there is something for everyone at the event, with sales driving, action-oriented messages being used to land ‘value’ in a more literal sense (i.e. savings).
“The brand platform ‘Find Your Happy Place’ has struck a chord with people. It reminds them of the power of joy in creating life-long memories, and we’re confident it will continue to build on the success of last year.”
Connecting Plots Creative Partner, John Gault.
The Sydney Royal Easter Show will run from Friday 22 March 2024 to Tuesday 2 April 2024.
Australian Eggs Launch Latest Instalment of 'Bring The Bright' Via Connecting Plots
The new work continues to drive this positioning while elevating the use of eggs to consumption beyond just breakfast.
“The ‘Bring the Bright’ brand platform has been received incredibly well, people really connect with it. It’s encouraging to see people start to embrace eggs in a broader range of meals and occasions.”
Australian Eggs Managing Director, Rowan McMonnies.
The latest chapter tells the story of a playful family dinner occasion where the core ingredient goes missing.
“The ‘Bring the Bright’ platform is about the inherent joy that eggs can deliver. The platform has enormous potential. This is just the start of showcasing the breadth and versatility of the humble egg.”
Connecting Plots Creative Partner, John Gault.
The work has come to life in partnership with Infinity Squared, UM and Liquid Ideas, rolling out across digital channels including BVOD, DOOH, social and owned channels over the coming months.
The new age of advertising: Persuasion & craftsmanship rise in the wake of the death of the cookie
On a bleak, chilly and rain-soaked morning in late 2024, a funeral service is being held in a cemetery somewhere on the outskirts of Silicon Valley.
Big tech execs, performance brands, and marketers huddle under black umbrellas to pay their respects to a promising life cut short.
The 3rd party cookie has died.
But there’s someone noticeably absent. The creative industry. As a betting man, I’d guess they were celebrating.
It’s been 15 years since Facebook launched its ad products and heralded the dawn of a new age of advertising effectiveness.
What has followed has been a decade and a half where we’ve been so focused on performance and promotion we’ve forgotten the necessity of persuasion.
This obsession with the delivery of advertising to consumers has meant we’ve neglected the intuitive breakthroughs of yesteryear that made advertising work with consumers.
Maybe that’s because advertising, for the most part, is the dark arts of probables and likelihoods. Saying the same thing enough in an entertaining and memorable way so that maybe, just maybe, someone will buy it one day (when they’re actually ready to buy it).
Which is pretty much a direct conflict with the promise of exactness and efficiency of digital and performance.
With both sides of marketing tending to gravitate towards what’s shiny and new, perhaps, now is the time to pause and get back to some of the basics and regain the attention and, indeed, affection of the buying public. After all, we’ve now got access to marketing science literature to help shape and defend persuasive thinking.
I believe the way forward is a bit of both. Of the timeless proven practices of effectively growing brands balanced with new-school media thinking to increase effectiveness and efficiency.
Especially for those brands who’ve hacked growth and have maxed out on performance advertising. Without the resources of the large sized companies who will be able to effectively access and leverage first party data, these others will now need to reorientate and consider the longer term, slower play of brand marketing as well.
But for many this will come with a huge challenge. Growth marketers lack the experience of building a brand and managing that journey with stakeholders who have become accustomed to immediate results.
Take eco-cleaning brand, Koh, who launched their first ever TV campaign since launching in 2016. The result is a kind of confused brand/retail spot which doesn’t create any memorable distinction for consumers. It’s focused on the problem (people don’t like to be reminded of their problems) instead of the solution and lacks the craft of getting the message across in as simple and efficient a way as possible.
Now compare it to this Mr Clean ad which probably has a similar insight. It’s steamy and attention grabbing, funny, has a story, a great use of their distinctive brand asset, no time wasted.
Whatever the case, we should applaud Koh for taking the step forward and realising that longer growth as an area for investment. What their example does is shine a light on the timeless principles of marketing science that can’t be neglected when investing in a brand and that shit delivered at the speed of light is still shit.
For those of us working in the creative industry, let’s not mourn the passing of third party cookies too greatly. Yes, it’s time to reignite the flames of persuasion and craftsmanship in advertising for longevity rather than the quick fix. But we must remind ourselves, that it was perhaps our too slow adoption of digital that opened the door to the influx of short term thinking in the first place. So let’s raise our umbrellas not in sorrow, but in celebration, where quality triumphs over quantity, where there’s a healthy mix of old and new, long and short and where impactful messaging resonates long after the rain has cleared.
Whatever the case, we should applaud Koh for taking the step forward and realising that longer growth as an area for investment. What their example does is shine a light on the timeless principles of marketing science that can’t be neglected when investing in a brand and that shit delivered at the speed of light is still shit.
For those of us working in the creative industry, let’s not mourn the passing of third party cookies too greatly. Yes, it’s time to reignite the flames of persuasion and craftsmanship in advertising for longevity rather than the quick fix. But we must remind ourselves, that it was perhaps our too slow adoption of digital that opened the door to the influx of short term thinking in the first place. So let’s raise our umbrellas not in sorrow, but in celebration, where quality triumphs over quantity, where there’s a healthy mix of old and new, long and short and where impactful messaging resonates long after the rain has cleared.
Read the article on B&T →
Super Bowl LVIII Ads: Touchdowns & Fumbles
Pre-game teasers, hijacking tactics and audience participation are all some of the tactics marketers are trying to leverage in an effort to stretch their dollars beyond the fleeting 30 second spotlight.
Rather than covering and rating every single ad from the Super Bowl, we’ll be looking at only the best, and the worst to see who nailed it, and who fumbled and dropped the ball.
TOUCHDOWNS
DOOR DASH ENCOURAGES VIEWERS TO ‘DOOR DASH ALL THE ADS’
A clever activation that hijacks every other Super Bowl ad and turns it into one for DoorDash by promising to deliver one lucky fan every product they see in every single commercial – snacks, beauty, holidays, beers, cars and tax services (to name a few).
It’s a unique way to show the breadth of their service, and create noise against competitor Uber Eats who enlisted celebrity heavyweights.
DORITOS, JENNA ORTEGA AND A PAIR OF DAREDEVIL ABUELAS
Kicking off the pre-Super Bowl buzz, Doritos dropped a teaser with Jenna Ortega that took a wild twist when the actual ad hit the screens.
The spot features her two abuelas, Dina and Mita going to extreme lengths to get some Doritos. Picture supercharged mobility scooters, a dash of kung fu, wire stunts, and parkour – all in one. It’s quirky, unforgettable, and a blast to watch.
OPENDOOR SELLS A HOUSE DURING HALFTIME
Opendoor makes it easy for people to sell their own with a Virtual Assessment tool. In the ultimate product demonstration during halftime, they advertised a real user’s home with a live stream to show just how simple and easy their platform can be.
We love how they transformed a simple product demonstration into a creative use of media which will undoubtedly find a buyer off the back of it, and generate further PR beyond the Super Bowl.
LIQUID DEATH USES ITS BIG GAME AD TO SELL LITTLE ADS
Liquid Death, a brand that sells tap water in a can with fancy packaging has taken a pretty unhinged approach. Their big game ad is an ad to sell ads on the side of their packaging via an eBay store.
In a sea of polished ads packed with celebrities it stands out like dog’s balls and gives them the potential to recoup the cost of their air time – because they certainly didn’t spend a lot on the production of the spot itself.
FUMBLES
MILLER LITE MISSES THE MARK IN AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
If convoluted was an ad, this would be it. Miller aimed to sign up 1,000 people before the Super Bowl to wear a branded QR code shirt and encouraged them to go for a run outside during the ad breaks for a chance to win beer. Why anyone thought fans would willingly leave the comfort of their sofas to run the empty streets while half cut is a mystery.
If you want to watch an example of a great activation turning fans into ads then look no further than Tui’s Catch A Million campaign.
MICHELOB ULTRA’S AD FEATURING MESSI IS A COMPLETE MESS
It’s basically just Messi dribbling (and that’s exactly what this ad is – dribble) a CGI soccer ball on the beach for two minutes while he waits for the keg to be replaced.
The amount of high powered talent in this spot isn’t enough to make this one interesting. It’s celebrity for celebrities sake. At least the other beer brands tried to be interesting with this year’s spots.
UBER EATS FORGETS YOU CAN’T JUST WHACK A CELEBRITY IN AN AD AND CALL IT DAY
Uber Eats’ teaser with Victoria and David Beckham showed some promise and intrigue by playing off a viral moment from the Beckham Netflix documentary.
However the final ad missed the mark with a barrage of forgetful celebrities. It’s a far cry from the local ‘Get almost almost anything’ work which, in our opinion, is much more clever and memorable.
In the battle of delivery giants, DoorDash takes out the championship.
TRENDS
THE ABSENCE OF AI
AI is the hot topic for everyone at the moment, yet there was a significant lack of ads in this space. In previous years when Crypto was all the rage we had Matt Damon, Larry David and others gracing our screens.
CELEBRITIES GALORE
The overwhelming majority of ads this year were packed with celebrities – some in lieu of having an actual idea. Chris Pratt sold Pringles, Post Malone sold Bud Light, Christopher Walken drove BMWs. Some of the most impactful ads this year actually featured no celebrities at all.
THE TAYLOR SWIFT EFFECT
Beauty brands saw an increase in spend during Super Bowl – not so much on TV but on social media, in large part due to Taylor Swift’s effect on ratings.
SPORTS BETTING CAN’T BE STOPPED
Since the legalisation of sports betting in the US in 2018 it’s becoming more and more prominent every year. With this year’s Super Bowl being held in Las Vegas it’s no doubt that betting brands made up some heavy rotation, not just during ad breaks but with broadcast integration as well.
VERY FEW HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTERS
With the exception of Ryan Reynolds and the launch of the Deadpool trailer, there was a clear absence of Hollywood blockbuster trailer drops which could be attributed to the writer’s and actor’s strikes last year causing a delay in titles being released.