"The massive success of this campaign underscores the historic shift that is revolutionizing the advertising industry and its leaders - where technology plays a central role through enabling multichannel brand experiences," said SapientNitro Chief Executive Officer Chris Clarke. "In fact, we're seeing more and more clients wanting to tap into our distinctive offering that combines brand strategy and creative excellence with digital innovation as a way to create more powerful and lucrative customer experiences."
In creating "The Best Job in the World" campaign for Tourism Queensland, SapientNitro began by developing a strategic, insightful idea that would capture the imagination of people all over the world, generate mainstream media interest and produce new content for social media dissemination. The campaign kicked off with a series of traditional classified job postings and banner ads strategically placed in target markets advertising "the best job in the world" - a live-in caretaker for an island on the Great Barrier Reef. The central component of the global integrated campaign was an innovative social media initiative that engaged consumers by leveraging their zeal for generating their own content. Interested candidates were invited to create a one-minute video application and then post it to a central site, from which a caretaker would be selected.
At the end of the campaign, almost 35,000 individual videos from 197 countries were uploaded. On an estimated advertising budget of $1.2 million, the campaign garnered media attention worldwide valued at $165 million. Coverage of the campaign spanned Germany, Japan, the UK, the United States and included CNN news broadcasts, Time Magazine articles and a BBC documentary. What began as a few strategically placed job postings transformed into one of the most innovative, viral and highly awarded campaigns in history. In 2009, "The Best Job in the World" Campaign has already received the following awards:
2009 MIXX Awards
Best in Show
Social Marketing - Gold
Direct Response and Lead Generation - Gold
International - Gold
Cross Media Integration - Gold
2009 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival
Cyber Lion Grand Prix - Interactive Campaigns
PR Lion Grand Prix - Best international PR Campaign
Direct Lion Grand Prix - Best Integrated Campaign led by Direct Marketing
PR Lion - Travel, Tourism & Leisure
PR Lion - Best use of the Internet, Digital Media & Social Media
Direct Lion Gold - Traffic Building
Direct Lion Gold - Travel, Entertainment & Leisure
Media Lion Gold - Travel, Entertainment & Leisure
2009 New York Festivals
Grand Trophy - Digital and Interactive
Avant-Garde Gold World Medal - Word of Mouth/Buzz
Mixed Media Gold World Medal - Transportation/Travel/Tourism
Interactive Gold World Medal - Transportation/Travel/Tourism
2009 One Show
'Best in Show'
Integrated Branding Campaign Gold
Interactive Digital Media Campaign Silver
2009 Clio Awards
Innovative Media Gold - Travel/Tourism
IAB Australia Awards
'Best in Show'
Winner Brand Awareness & Positioning
Advertising Federation of Australia EFFIE Awards
3 Gold Awards
1 Silver Award
The IAB MIXX Awards are the only advertising awards that honor innovation and impact, and are selected by a panel of senior executives from brands, agencies and media companies.