Challenging perceptions of the profession.
The accounting profession has a problem. Consideration of the profession is severely lacking in the younger generation, while perceptions are deeply rooted in old truths that no longer apply.
As part of a longer-term platform to bring about change for the profession, Chartered Accountants ANZ has partnered with creative agency Connecting Plots to develop a creative platform and strategic approach that will span future communications, content and campaigns.
Gen Z don’t see accounting as 'cool'. Despite the importance of accountants in the economy, these preconceived notions have become a barrier for students when it comes to making decisions about their future careers.
Student enrolments in accounting degrees at universities have almost halved since 2018, leaving a gap in the profession’s talent pipeline.
Despite the decline in consideration, overall demand for accounting, audit and finance professionals is predicted to grow significantly, with forecasts showing that an additional 58,000 new jobs will be needed in the next 10 years to match demand.
Chartered Accountants ANZ, which supports the education, development and professional standards of more than 139,000 financial professionals across Australia and New Zealand, needed to future-proof the profession by challenging Gen Z’s perceptions of accounting.
“This is a marathon, not a sprint. From launching partnerships with Year13, YES and Explore Careers to establishing this new platform, we are still in the early stages of a much longer journey to change perceptions and drive consideration of a career in accounting," Chartered Accountants ANZ CMO Chelsea Wymer said.
Through qualitative research, Connecting Plots discovered that students don’t think a whole lot about their future profession, nor do they know (or care) much about accountancy.
But they are passionate about their interests, which are wide and varied. The task at hand was to show them how a career in accounting could help turn these passions into their career.
Behind every superstar athlete, every brand people love and every show they binge watch, there’s a financial specialist.
The new platform, Make Epic Things Happen, shines a spotlight on these unsung heroes, repositioning accountants as the stars of the show by featuring them in a movie trailer.
Connecting Plots creative partner Matt Geersen said from out in the field to festivals, from global conservation to gaming, the new campaign provides context for the real work of accountants.
"That our audience can understand, relate to and aspire to become. We wanted to inspire the next generation to see that people in accounting make epic things happen every day," he said.
The new work launched in cinema in July 2024 before the film premieres of Deadpool & Wolverine.
The campaign will continue to roll out across careers events, online video, YouTube, Meta, Instagram and TikTok, OOH and targeted display media over the coming months.
Credits:
Client: Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand
Chief Executive Officer: Ainslie van Onselen
Chief Marketing Officer: Chelsea Wymer
General Manager, Brand: Rachael Rankin
Head of Brand & Creative Services: Al Gounder
Senior Manager, Brand: Jess Elwood Smith
Creative Lead: Michaela Ashford
Creative Agency: Connecting Plots
Chief Executive Officer: Tom Phillips
Chief Creative Officer: David Janson
Creative Partner: Matt Geerson
Senior Art Director : Alexa Burchell
Senior Copywriter: Lisa Jackson
Integrated Strategy & Planning Partner: Tim Collier
Client Services Director: Emma McJury
Group Account Director: Dan Larcombe
Account Director: Roshani Mehta
Creative Operations Director: Sarah Miller
Freelance Stills Producer: Emma Shaw
Production Company: Killa Kreative
Director: Darwin Schulze
Executive Producer: Louella Campbell
Assistant Director: Adam Saunders
Producer / 1st AD: Zac Perry
Photographer: Toby Burrows
Media Agency: Involved Media
