CHEP Network on breaking taboos with Flipvertising

CHEP Network in Sydney won a Grand Prix in the Social & Influencer Lion section for Flipvertising, for Samsung. 

In the words of Samantha Almeida, president of the Social & Influencer Lions, Flipvertising “broke some taboos about the things that we think are possible to do with ads”.  

Gavin McLeod, CHEP Network chief creative officer, said this was a great summary on how Flipvertising became such a ground-breaking social campaign.  

“When it comes to social and influencer led campaigns, it’s important to go beyond using the channel as another broadcast platform,” said McLeod.  

“What Flipvertising did brilliantly was it encouraged our audience to participate in a way that was true to them, while providing a genuine value exchange.” 

The Flipvertising campaign also won a Silver Lion in the Direct category, a Silver in Social & Influencer, another Silver in Direct and a Bronze for Media.  

The idea of Flipvertising came about when the agency recognised its need to work much harder to capture the interest of an audience who don’t have any affinity to the Samsung brand, said Mcleod. 

“Especially in a world which is so heavily saturated with brands fighting for share of voice and attention, and people who are actively tuning ads out and demanding protection of their online privacy,” he said. 

The agency recognised that the idea didn’t stop with consumers dislike towards targeted advertising, said Mcleod. 

“As large digital engines like Safari continue to block third-party cookies, the implications will see brands forced to become more subtle in their approach, tap into creative use of data more innovatively and not rely on the ability to ‘chase’ people around the internet,” he said. 

This frame of thinking became the catalyst for flipping the power of the Google algorithm on its head, notes Mcleod, and rather to get people to hack their algorithm to chase Samsung and create an experience that people actually wanted to participate in. 

“The Grand Prix is a huge credit to the power of collaboration and belief in making ground-breaking work," he said. 

The victory at the prestigious Cannes was a rollercoaster of emotion for CHEP, says McLeod. The team received a call 24 hours prior that they had won a Grand Prix.  

“Will, our Art Director, had his eyes set on a Gucci shopping spree, thinking our agency needed to look like the crème de la crème on that stage,” said McLeod.  

“We had to remind him that Zara is more our style and budget. Ah, the financial realities of our times!” 

A true career highlight for McLeod was the night itself, standing in front of his peers and for a moment feeling like "David Droga", he said. 

“After the ceremony, we strutted our stuff to a nearby restaurant, flashing our Grand Prix trophy like it was the Premiership Cup,” said McLeod. 

“As luck would have it, a bunch of starry-eyed young creatives passed by, cheering us on and vowing to take our place someday. It was a humbling moment of inspiration!”  

The iconic Massive Music party then began.  

“And boy, did we dance like nobody was watching (or remembering the details later). The beats were so cool that half of us didn't recognise the songs, but that didn't stop us from shaking our tail feathers, or at least trying to,” said McLeod. 

“Let's just say the memories after that are a bit blurry, but hey, what happens on the dance floor, stays on the dance floor, right?”