Home of the long idea: BMF Sydney crowned Campaign Brief Australian Agency of the Year

Launching conversations to help put an end towards violence against women, changing the way Australians view the role of life insurance, tempting the world to run away to Tassie and helping a German discount retailer to become one of Australia’s most trusted brands are just a handful of feats from BMF Sydney, Campaign Brief’s Australian Agency of the Year.

As the self-confessed home of the long idea, BMF has produced work that’s helped to shape some of Australia’s most revered brands, and, along the way, has created campaigns to start important conversations in living rooms all around the country.

Continuing to disrupt the supermarket duopoly, BMF’s brand platform for ALDI, ‘Good Different’, helped to make Australia the discount retailer’s fastest-growing market in the world and Roy Morgan’s ‘Australia’s Most Trusted Brand’ – ahead of iconic Aussie brands including Qantas, Bunnings and the ABC. The agency also invited the world to ‘come down for air’ when it launched a unique brand narrative for Tourism Tasmania that brought the southern island to life with an invitation to break free from the stresses of modern life with the chance to breathe in the nature and culture that only Tassie has on offer.

And, it’s not often that you get six out of 10 adult Australians to take action – without tangible incentive, but that’s exactly what BMF did with the ‘Stop It At The Start’ campaign for the Department of Social Services.

While phase one of the Effie-winning campaign established the truth that the excuses we make for disrespect allow violence against women to grow, last year phase two tackled the arguably tougher objectives of getting Australians to reconcile their role and to respond. The Hon. Malcolm Turnbull, former Prime Minister of Australia, even weighed in, stating the campaign was “one of the most effective Government campaigns I’ve ever seen”.

Rather than playing on people’s fears, last year BMF celebrated everything that’s worth protecting in this sun-kissed Aussie, life for TAL Insurance, with ‘This Australian Life’. The agency’s challenge was to launch a brand that nobody had ever heard of, in a category renowned for fear mongering, and position it as a life insurance company that understands Australians better than anyone else.

Reflecting on the past 12 months, BMF executive creative director, Alex Derwin, says: “We had a lot of standout work this year but what pleased me most was the consist-ency across the board. ALDI was as strong as ever, TAL landed an incredibly powerful campaign and we struck a different note altogether with Tourism Tassie.”

What each campaign shares, he says, is an ability to connect emotionally.

“Whether it’s to make people laugh, cry, or feel incredibly chill, we work hard to chase down truths and make ideas that make you feel something. We definitely don’t discriminate – we apply the same care and attention to all of our clients, and it has delivered results not just this year but for the past few years.”