Beyond the Brief: Unpacking the creative behind Mirvac’s ‘Building The Imagine Nation’ campaign

For the first time in its history, Mirvac has stepped into integrated brand territory with the launch of its new campaign ‘Building The Imagine Nation’. In this edition of Beyond the Brief, CB speaks with Dan Beaumont from GAME Creative, Steve Jackson of Jacko Jacko & Jacko, and director Toby Pike to unpack how the platform came together – from the strategic foundations and internal alignment to the craft challenges of blending live action, animation and AI.

What was the original brief from Mirvac, and how did it challenge you given this was their first integrated brand campaign in 54 years?

Dan Beaumont: We went through a thorough strategic process to diagnose the brand situation. Mirvac has an incredible legacy and customers trust the brand immensely. However, the brand was defined by it’s various projects rather than an intentional brand position that engaged with potential customers. Our challenge was to introduce Mirvac to millions of Australians who were unfamiliar with the brand.

The platform idea came first, from an inherent truth about Mirvac – that people who work there have an ability to harness their creativity and experience to better understand how Australians will be living, working, shopping and interacting with one another in designed spaces. That ability to optimistically ‘see what can be’ relies on imagination. This got us to the platform idea – building the imagine nation.

Signing off this idea alone required a lot of courage. Then the pressure was on to come up with the first campaign that did this strategy justice.

Mirvac has a deeply integrated business model spanning residential, retail, office and industrial – how did you translate that complexity into a single, unifying creative idea?

DB: Right from the start we outlined and documented the master brand architecture to help organise the business units, asset class operations and various products and services. So the strategy helped to clarify the tasks and simplify the communications. There also exists a highly collaborative relationship amongst all the teams within Mirvac. This ‘One Mirvac’ idea helped to align all the operational and commercial priorities around a unifying brand platform.

What was it like working so closely with Mirvac’s internal brand team, particularly on something that would define their brand expression moving forward?

DB: It was very effective. The whole team acted like one. We had to work through a lot of discovery together and make hundreds of critical decisions. The CEO, Campbell Hanan, was the ultimate brand champion and set the vision clearly for us. Then through the executive team, and senior marketing leadership group we built a wonderful expression of the strategy together. It was honestly one of the best client partner experiences of my career. Everyone understood what needed to be done and gave us ‘plenty of rope’.

How did you build trust with the client to move away from category conventions and lean into something more imaginative and emotionally led?

DB: We want to turn the Mirvac brand into an Australian icon and subvert the property category, with a campaign that was outstanding. Throughout the research and strategy process the objective became clear. It also can’t be underestimated how much impact the brand platform – building the imagine nation – informed everything we created. You can’t launch this platform to the market and under-deliver in the campaign, but nothing existed that we could take inspiration from. We needed to be as original as we could.

So, the trust was there from the start, but as the project gathered momentum we all believed even more strongly in the concept. This was backed up with data when we researched the concept and final film with System 1.

Dan and Steve, you’ve both just come off your collaboration on ‘The Quest’ for Midkey, how did your creative chemistry influence the ideas and execution here?

DB: Steve is an incredible creative person to work with. There’s an inherent trust between us that comes from working together in past agencies, but also from our combined experience. We’ve both spent our careers around great work and knew what we needed to do. It’s strategy informing creative and creative thinking informing the strategy. A shared sense of humour and approach with clients also helps. Steve smells nice too.

Steve (Jacko) Jackson: Dan and I click on every level – it just flows naturally. While we each bring our own distinct strengths and styles, they complement each other perfectly, which means we can think and act very quickly. For me Dan is a real class act: he sets the tone, builds strong rapport with clients, and recognises, loves and champions great ideas and craft as much as I do.. Most importantly, we have fun along the way.

The film features a rich mix of styles – collage, animation, live action, AI, craft-based techniques – how early was that mixed-media approach decided?

Jacko: The mixed-media idea sat at the heart of the concept. To create The Imagine Nation, we first had to spark the imagination. Mixed media became the way to show these projects and places as born from imagination, giving the film a more creative, evocative feel. While we initially saw mixed media woven through live action, Toby pushed it further, proposing that each scene live in its own distinct visual style.

Toby Pike: From the get go. GAME & Jacko presented us with an amazing brief and had done a lot of the conceptual heavy lifting. We came on to further the visual development and build the film narrative.

Can you talk us through the thinking behind using different craft styles for different scenes, and how each one reflects Mirvac’s imagination-led philosophy?

Jacko: Toby sums it up perfectly. To add a little colour, we worked in close collaboration to develop a style that reflects the distinct personality of each Mirvac project, whether already built or still taking shape. The aim was to capture how rich, textured and layered The Imagine Nation is, shaped by Mirvac’s many ideas, disciplines and ways of imagining.

TP: The concept of the ‘Imagine Nation’ is nested in the different mindstates and creative approaches to design. Mixed-media was the perfect expression for this thought. We looked at the design of each of the developments that were to feature in the film and we tried to place ourselves in the headspace of the architects and what may have inspired the thinking behind their designs.

Was there a particular scene or technique that proved the most challenging to get right – creatively or technically?

TP: Every scene had its challenge, but the most difficult part for me was crafting the narrative and flow from scene to scene, especially when working across the additional edits. It was a suite of scenes that all needed to be conceived in a specific way to create the dynamic flow throughout each output.

Jacko and I have known each other for years and we trust each others’ judgments (most of the time). A project like this is solved through process and ‘in the doing’, it can’t be solved upfront. While I’m sure Jacko read between the lines when I was occasionally deep in the weeds, he gave me the time and space to solve what needed to be done.

AI was used alongside traditional craft methods – how did you ensure technology enhanced the imagination rather than overpowering it?

TP: I’m the first to say that I don’t like AI when it’s used to cut corners. I’m a firm believer that a visual approach should be done because it’s right for the concept, not because it’s ‘convenient’.

In the hands of a visionary artist, AI is an amazing form of visual expression and is capable of incredible things.

We were extremely lucky to work with artist Infiniteyay on a key scene. I was blown away by his work the first time I saw it. He has created this ‘psychedelic nostalgic futurism’ aesthetic that reminds me of 70s album artworks. It’s insanely detailed and takes me to an incredible dreamspace. He’s an amazing talent.

What was the shoot experience like, given the scale, ambition and number of creative collaborators involved?

TP: With so many layers it’s logistically really tough. Our producers Bryce Lintern (Finch) and Susannah Myerson (GAME) were really the backbone of this project. They had some big ideas thrown at them from both myself and Jacko and to keep us reigned in and inline with all of the artists and suppliers is what made this project a reality. Producers don’t get enough credit, but we’d be lost in the clouds without them.

How did the production and post-production partners help bring such a complex, layered vision together?

DB: We couldn’t have done this without Finch and Toby. His treatment was on the money and the vision for how the concept could be brought to life excited Steve and I, and especially the Mirvac team.

Jacko: Toby did what every good Director does, stay true to the idea but take it a step further. The team from Finch, Mighty Nice and Heckler then worked seamlessly together, to bring every detail to life with uncompromising love and attention. The task was always to reflect the same level of craft that Mirvac brings to their design thinking and execution, and I think it was a great opportunity for the entire team to show what they could do.

Looking back, what surprised you most about how this campaign came together?

DB: I was surprised by how beautifully all the differing artistic styles and mediums came together so well in the final editing phase. It’s a visual feast for the audience but I don’t think one scene dominates another. I wasn’t surprised by how much everyone loved it when they saw it for the first time.

Jacko: I wasn’t surprised by the outcome, I was just happy everyone was given the support and space. Trust and time are equally as important as budget and, in my experience, ideas are at their best when people are allowed to do what they do best.

TP: Mirvac’s trust and enthusiasm. This is a big concept and wildly different to anything I’ve seen in this segment of the market. Wild ideas like this take a lot of backing and trust to bring to life. I was anticipating a more conservative response, but it was almost the opposite. It was a great client experience from start to finish and it made the work so much better for it. That merit really has to go to Dan and Jacko for building that trust before they brought me into the circle.

Client: Mirvac
Chief Stakeholder Relations and Customer Officer – Amy Menere
GM Brand, and Customer and Innovation – Ben Allen
Marketing Brand and Customer Engagement Director – Megan Thomas
Marketing Brand Manager – Joanne Tran

Agency: GAME Creative
Founder/ CCS: Dan Beaumont
Creative Leader / Writer: Steve Jackson @jackojacko&jacko
Art Director: Cam Hoelter
Design Director: Pim Van Nunen
Executive Producer: Susannah Myerson
Film Production Co: Finch
Director: Toby Pike
Senior Producer: Bryce Lintern
Post-Production Co: Heckler
Sound: Heckler Music
Animation: Mighty Nice/ Infiniteyay
Media: Metropolis

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