SweeneyVesty only New Zealand agency to win Silver Lion in Cannes PR Lions category
SweeneyVesty has won a Silver Lion at the 2015 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, together with project partner Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore. There were a record 40,133 entries for Cannes Lions from around the world this year.
The client is Scoot, a low-cost airline operating in Asia, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. The Cannes Lion category is PR – Brand Voice (including Strategic Storytelling).
A team from four SweeneyVesty offices – Singapore (Sarah Tan, Vice President), Wellington (Tom Judd – account director), Auckland (Greg Fahey – general manager) and New York (Brian Sweeney – chairman) developed and executed a worldwide media strategy and engagement programme for the creative work developed by Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore.
The campaign for Scoot involved a tongue-in-cheek series of communications to US budget airline Spirit for its branding, marketing and advertising that appeared almost identical to Scoot’s. SweeneyVesty’s work achieved over US$40 million in earned media, with the campaign being covered by over 100 regional and international media outlets including CNN, Bloomberg, USA Today, LA Times and The Daily Mail. Scoot experienced a 33% lift in Google searches, and Facebook video views were up 43% from their previous peak.
Says Campbell Wilson, Scoot CEO: “It was great to work with the SweeneyVesty and Saatchi & Saatchi teams on this unique project. They brought a real can-do attitude and their professional approach, creative thinking and tenacity made a real difference.”
Says Brian Sweeney, chairman of SweeneyVesty: “Collaboration was a key element. Many of our assignments are global in nature and this means working together as a tight team across different time zones. Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore saw this as a creative PR assignment and fully drew us into their creative process. And the client, Scoot CEO Campbell Wilson – also a New Zealander – brought a true entrepreneurial spirit to the initiative.”