Top Dodo marketer Andrew Wynne admits some may have seen its past advertising approach as “cheap and nasty”, which is why, after 17 years, the time was finally right to ditch the animated bird and catchy tune.
Wynne, who joined Dodo six months ago from AGL, says the outdated advertising approach was “inhibiting” growth for the brand, which is why he was quick to make his mark on the marketing department, bringing in PHD as its media agency and Deloitte Digital as its creative partner.
Wynne joined AGL as CMO in February last year from NAB, where he spent 12 years in a number of roles. He is the GM of sales and marketing acros the Vocus Group, the parent company of Dodo.
The Deloitte Digital creative team, which Wynne worked with when they were at McCann, created the new approach that introduced a more sophisticated bird and ditched the ‘Internet That Flies’ tune.
The first ad, released last week, promotes Dodo’s internet plans and is one of many that will roll out over the coming months.
The approach aims to build credibility across Dodo’s three offerings of mobile, energy and broadband, with a brand campaign also expected to roll out this year.
“The way we were going to market was limiting the reach of the brand,” Wynne admits.
“I’m not criticising what has been done in previous years but there are very few brands who would still be using fundamentally the same creative treatment they did 17 years ago.”
He joked Dodo will always have Tara Reid, referencing an ad from the early 2000s, but needed to move away from that type of advertising.
The new creative and media approach aims to position Dodo as a more credible brand through a sleeker creative approach and a focus on conversions, Wynne explains.
“Around 90% of people know what Dodo is but our conversion of that awareness is half what it needs to be,” Wynne says.
The campaign will be executed through TV, print, online and outdoor mediums as well as a new brand website and a renovation of their social media channels.
Working with PHD, Wynne is focused on lifting conversions rather than reach through building an in-house programmatic stack and hiring a digital team.
Dodo's previous ad featuring Tara Reid
“The appointment of PHD was fundamental to changing the way we used media. The old Dodo way was very low cost reach, whereas PHD’s approach uses the Ehrenberg-Bass strategy and focuses on effectiveness,” Wynne says.
“We are now prioritising frequency over reach because when we looked at the analysis of our previous TV buys, the media activity wasn’t sinking with the sales performance. It wasn’t as effective as it needed to be.”
Historically Wynne says you wouldn’t have seen Dodo advertising via video or display, relying largely on TV, but those mediums are now incorporated into its media plan.
Having spent a year leading AGL’s marketing department, Wynne recognises the challenges facing marketers in the energy category.
“The proliferation of programmatic offerings is making it much more difficult to execute effectively in the digital environment. We are working hard to be worthy but it’s a challenge for every brand,” he says.
“Bigger brands have a leg up in that challenge. When I compare shifting AGL as a brand to shifting Dodo as a brand, they have a similar level of awareness but the difference is, when you have three million customers, you have a lot more ability to generate momentum."
As Dodo has one-third the customer base of the bigger energy players, it’s advertising has to work harder, Wynne says.
“One of the biggest challenges on Dodo is to reinvent a brand that bas been synonymous with cheap. We want to be known for value,” he says.
“Some could say Dodo was seen more as cheap and nasty, but that’s not the case and that’s not the way all customers see it, but shifting that perception is important to attracting new customers.”
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