The first national award for radio advertising effectiveness has been won by health insurance company Australian Unity at the Advertising Federation of Australia’s (AFA) Advertising Effectiveness Awards.
The “Smart Start” campaign was enormously successful at promoting the health insurance product to young adults – often the most difficult market to convince of the need for health cover.
Commercial Radio Australia chief executive Joan Warner congratulated Australian Unity and agency Leo Burnett on winning the new “Most Effective Campaign – Radio” award at the AFA Awards last night.
“It’s great to see radio being recognised for its effectiveness by the Australian Advertising industry, and hopefully this success will further encourage advertisers to make better use of radio in their campaigns,” said Warner.
“The Smart Start campaign resulted in a 44% increase in sales during six months post launch, 4,000 new members in 2002 and clear market leadership in its segment. Importantly, it demonstrated that radio advertising is an extremely effective tool for reaching target audiences and building a strong and clearly-defined brand.”
The Effectiveness Awards are the only national awards in Australia dedicated to proving the commercial value or financial return of advertising and are held every two years. Commercial Radio Australia is a first time sponsor of the Silver Awards and the Most Effective Campaign – Radio Award.
AFA Advertising Effectiveness Committee Chairman, Colin Wilson-Brown, said both radio advertising and on-air promotions helped the Smart Start campaign achieve the breakthrough it needed in a particularly difficult market.
“The campaign showed that young people were interested in health insurance – but it had to be presented in a funky and relevant way. Radio advertising and on-air promotions achieved this,” said Wilson-Brown.
Radio also featured in other award categories, with Saatchi and Saatchi’s campaign for the launch of NOVA in Sydney and then Melbourne in 2001 winning three awards – Silver, Most Original Thinking and Most Effective Campaign – TV.
“We congratulate Saatchi and NOVA on a campaign that was very creative and hit all its targets. NOVA 969 was the first commercial FM radio station to be launched in Sydney in 20 years and their Sounds Different campaign had an enormous impact on the level of public interest in radio,” said Warner.