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Bonds avoids ‘self-obsessed’ trip down memory lane in move to remain relevant to cosumers

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Bonds will roll out the second phase of its centenary celebration push early next month as its marketing head explained why it resisted the temptation to reflect on the brand’s history in its campaign material.

Group marketing manager for Pacific Brands underwear group Tanya Deans told Mumbrella it deliberately steered away from a trip down memory lane as it wanted to remain relevant to today’s consumers.

She said too many brands become self-obsessed when they mark a milestone anniversary and incorrectly believe consumers care about their history.

“We have an incredibly rich history but we didn’t want to be retrospective about that history. We wanted it to acknowledge that it takes 100 years to make a brand but to make it future focused,” Deans said.

“The thing about Bonds is that it has stood the test of time because we have always been 100 per cent relevant to the time.

“I think when brands go retrospective, while it’s important to the brand custodian, I’m not so sure how interesting or important it is to the consumer.

“A lot of brands get a little bit obsessed with themselves, and for the consumer it’s like, ‘it’s all really nice but who cares?’ So we thought let’s not do that. Let’s do something that is relevant and keeps their interest and is very much about Bonds.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-MSy90J7vw

Deans described Leo Burnett’s idea to involve people of all ages in the campaign as “creative gold”.

“Most importantly we wanted to invite everyone into the brand. We are a brand for everyone, from the cradle to the grave is the expression we use, and we thought it would be a lovely way of showcasing people of all ages,” she continued.

“When Leo’s came to us with their idea we thought it was creative gold. It was a simple idea that ticked every box and objective.”

The initial wave of the campaign features a range of new styles and designs which have been 12 months in the making. Deans said the designs are a “contemporary nod to the Australian landscape and colours”

A more product centric phase of the campaign, with an out of home and digital focus, will kick off on August 9 and retain the centenary theme under the tagline “100 years of wow”. Its latest brand ambassador, Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, will feature in the push.

The multi-million dollar campaign, which represents the largest spend on a single campaign in its history, will be in market until the end of September.

Bonds has rolled out several marketing campaigns since the turn of the year to mark its 100th anniversary and teamed up with video bloggers Guy Turland and Mark Alston of Bondi Harvest to celebrate everything quintessentially Australian.

It also celebrated its past ambassadors with an out of home campaign featuring Rachael Taylor, Kelly Gale, Samara Weaving, Ruby Rose and Miranda Kerr.

Steve Jones

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