Page 113 - AdNews magazine Mar-Apr-May 2023

Meet the Team
“In terms of the theory behind a Long Idea, we talk to the fact that building trust is the number one guarantor of business suc- cess. The reality of that is that authenticity and truth is critical. The best way of explaining that is to point to an example, such as ALDI’s ‘Good Different’.”
BMF won Ad Campaign of the Year in the 2017 Agency of the Year Awards for ‘Good Different’, while also claim- ing the AdNews Effectiveness Award in 2019 for ‘Good Different: Questioning the Cult of Loyalty’.
“Good Different was developed when ALDI had been in the Australian market for 15 or 16 years and had experienced extraordinary growth, but they needed to engage a resistance segment of customers - customers who didn't really quite get the ALDI thing.
“Shopping at ALDI is not your usual grocery shopping experience, and it’s definitely not like Coles and Woolworths - you won’t get a full ski outfit with your carrots there! Good Different is all about reflecting that truth. So, we built a story and nar- rative around that, which at that time, was about helping people understand why the business model was different and how they man- aged to keep their prices so low.
McArdle said that the other key part of building a Long Idea is around the concept of ‘the fresh and the familiar’: you don't want ideas to be so fresh that consumers don’t understand the concept, but simi- larly you don't want it to come across as too familiar so people don’t bother to think twice about it.
Giving an example, McArdle pointed to BMF’s ‘Come Down For Air’ campaign for Tourism Tasmania.
“If you think about that line, Come Down for Air, it’s common vernacular with a twist, which plays to the absolute truth of Tasmania - it’s the antidote to the relentless pressures of modern-day living.
“Beyond that emotional benefi,t it’s the most southern part of Australia, and when the wind is blowing in the right direction, it’s the purest air in the world! Obviously, there’s a narrative that you've got to tell through execution, but a platform like this gives you the ability to build on it over time whilst still keeping it fresh.
Above: Tourism Tasmania’s ‘Come Down For Air’ campaign.
“In the cases of Good Different and Come Down For Air, there were multiple campaigns over multiple years. For ‘Good, Different’, Christmas is a particular time when we need to embrace the season and retail hard, so we developed ‘You Can’t Overcook Christmas’, which has been a creative standout.”
McArdle said that with many agencies performing similar work in similar areas, it’s ultimately the output and the culture that differentiates BMF from other agencies in the market, something the agency prides itself on both internally and externally.
“To thrive, rather than just survive, it’s imperative we create a place where people feel safe and supported, a place which allows people to experiment and fail in the quest for work that’s fresh, distinctive, and effective. Doing this breeds creativity and bravery.
“When we set the positioning up for Home of the Long Idea, we also redefined our internal values. We previously had a set of six words, but no one could remember more than three of them. We wanted to articulate something more distinctive, compelling, and ownable, something more BMF. ‘Cheeky, Gutsy, Humble’ were the three values we landed on.
“While there are other agencies who are pretty good on the effective- ness front, our culture, the nature of the style of the work we produce, and ultimately the outcomes we deliver, is often what sets us apart.”
Having been at BMF for over 11 years now – and having served as CEO since July 2020 – McArdle said he’s seen the industry not only move much more to embracing technology, but also an embracing of the value of long-term ideas.
“In 2012, we built a direct business for Commbank that largely involved dropping letters on people’s door mat! Now it’s all about the tech, CX, AI, and deep personalisation.
“When we defined the ‘Home of the Long Idea’, it was at a time when marketing technology and social media were starting to dominate. This meant the majority of marketing was focused on the short-term and brand building work was really starting to suffer. So really, ‘Home of the Long Idea’ was pushing against the current at the time, but it felt like that was our special sauce. Something BMF had been built on and something we certainly saw as critical to the future of marketing effectiveness.”