Bundaberg and Leo Burnett threw a wedding for one Australian couple, planned entirely by fellow Bundy fans.
That’s how the The Wedding That Fans Built campaign came about. Whatever fans suggested and proposed, one couple had to say "I do".
On Valentine's Day, Bundaberg Rum asked its community to tell them their love story, how Bundaberg played a part of it and if anyone would let fans on social media plan the biggest day of their lives. It turned out that 1100 people were game.
“The inspiration is always our fans. Bundy is one of those rare brands that has a really proud, invested and parochial fanbase. It’s the kind of brand people get tattooed on themselves, emblazon their utes with and staunchly vouch for,” Leo Burnett Australia group creative director Tommy Cehak told AdNews.
“It’s this love for the brand that brings people together. So, we decided to put that love to the ultimate test. A wedding crowdsourced from our weird and wonderful community seemed like a fun, if somewhat insane way to do this. Most importantly however, it felt like a Bundy thing to do.”
Bundaberg’s goals with the campaign were to increase social engagement, positively shift its brand equity metrics and to deliver an earned outcome.
The spirits company achieved an OTS of 24,829,500 with 169 pieces of earned coverage.
Diageo, the Australian spirits company, has an engaged Bundy community, willing to always share their thoughts and ideas.
Diageo marketing manager - rum portfolio, Matthew Miles, said the team wanted an idea that would engage directly with that audience.
“We also receive many requests to host weddings at our famous Bundaberg Distillery, so we thought why not, and while we are at it, let’s give our Bundy community the opportunity to have skin in the game and plan the wedding themselves – what could go wrong!,” he said.
Cehak and Miles weren't sure they totally understood how ambitious the project was initially.
“The creative process was split into two parts – the ‘crowdsourcing (and moderation) of inspiration and suggestions for every aspect of the wedding from the Bundy community’ bit, and then the ‘oh crap, now we have to actually put on a wedding at the Bundaberg Distillery’ bit,” Cehak said.
“Fortunately, we had a gun team on the line and on the ground to help us pull this off, which was important because at the end of the day, one Aussie couple were getting married for real. But that doesn’t prevent things like the bride’s mother misplacing her earrings moments before the ceremony!”
Leo Burnett and Bundaberg also slightly underestimated the Bundaberg community and how many people would willingly hand over the planning of their big day to their fellow fans of the rum brand.
On selecting the chosen couple, round by round the 1100 respondents were whittled down to a top three who were then subjected to a video interview to decide the most deserving couple.
Of course, an affinity with the Bundy brand was a must, Cehak says.
“The winning couple Brooke and Jake met at a B&S ball thanks to a Bundy rum sticker on Jake’s ute. Barely a family event went by without Bundy being present, the groom’s father was even buried with a drink and the words “Bundy & Coke. In a tall glass. Lots of ice.” inscribed on his headstone.”
In terms of creative execution; ‘Whatever you propose, they’ll say I do’ was the name of the game.
Cehak says that meant fielding real suggestions and contributions from fellow Bundy fans for every aspect of the wedding.
“These were then turned into polls and other posts on social channels for the community to then decide on. That dictated everything at the ceremony – for example the bride’s dress, groom’s haircut, decorations, catering, transport, rings and even their wedding vows.
“We then captured all of this as it played out on the big day.”
For Miles, the process was seamless. Diageo kicked off with its ‘Love is in the Bear’ launch video (timed to go live on Valentines Day) amplified through eDM, paid and organic social.
“We saw a whopping 1100 Bundy-lovers enter the competition. We picked the lovely Brooke & Jake and then we were full steam ahead with planning the most Bundy-ified wedding of all time,” he said.
The campaign was a chance to generate fame for the Bundy brand beyond its heartland audience.
While it was a clear way to engage with fans, Cehak says, the idea had potential for earned attention and amplification.
“There was also a clear role for the product and allowed us to connect the world of our drinkers with broader cultural events.”
Bundaberg also had Channel 7 present on the day with a live cross to the Bundy distillery.
"So it was great to share such a special moment beyond our dedicated Bundy community,” Miles says.
“We wanted to give something back to our community, allow them to be part of the creative process, have some fun along the way and to create something that would drive talkability in a highly competitive market.”
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.