Stockland celebrates a Christmas full of cheer in new campaign via Host/Havas, Sydney
Stockland has released the next chapter in its annual Christmas campaign via Host/Havas, which celebrates the resilience and resourcefulness of our Retail Town Centres throughout a difficult year and encourages people to enjoy the Christmas cheer.
The latest chapter is designed to celebrate the hardy Aussie spirit that helps us overcome any hurdle to enjoy a special Christmas.
This year’s campaign playfully focuses on beating the inherent problem of ‘spreading’ Christmas cheer in a time of face masks and hand sanitiser, where the word ‘spread’ has an altogether different meaning.
Building on the story of Dunder, the Reindeer from Down Under, and the Rein-bird Ibis, the campaign celebrates the abundance of gifts and services at Stockland that can help Santa find hundreds of festive verbs to replace ‘spread’.
Says Ben Allen, general manager customer and group marketing at Stockland: “This campaign is a chance to reflect on and celebrate the incredible strength, creativity and resilience that Australian retailers and communities have shown throughout 2021.
“Christmas is a magical time where people come together to experience and share joyful moments. We are proud to be a place where people can come to find and enjoy all kinds of Christmas Cheer, whether it is discovering something delightfully unexpected in an augmented reality experience, creating timeless memories, or ticking things off your Christmas list.
“It was terrific to work in partnership with the team at Host/Havas to bring the third instalment of the campaign to life.”
Says Jon Austin, executive creative director, Host/Havas: “We always have a lot of fun showing how Stockland’s inclusive and relentlessly optimistic spirit can make every Christmas special, no matter what the challenge. And that spirit has never been more relevant than in 2021, which has challenged us in so many ways. The fact that even our most popular Christmas phrases have been impacted was a notion we couldn’t go past.”
In addition to “snap the Christmas Cheer” with Santa photos, “wrap the Christmas Cheer” with local gift wrapping services, and “create the Christmas Cheer” through various workshops, this year customers will have the chance to win a number of Stockland gift cards through the launch of an augmented reality (AR) Christmas game.
From 1 December, customers will be able to scan a QR code in each centre to activate an AR experience where they will be asked to help Santa to find the hidden presents within a scene. When customers find an item, they automatically go into the draw to win a gift card valued between $500 and $1,000.
Each Stockland Centre will also have a program of unique activities and events for their local community to enjoy, including the annual Super Sale Weekend running from Thursday, 25 November to Monday, 29 November.
Stockland is also proud to be giving Christmas Cheer through its annual donation campaign. In addition to a $30,000 donation to Foodbank, $20,000 will be given to employees to donate to their favourite charities.
Says Allen: “It has never been more important to share Christmas Cheer, and we hope that this year we can inspire others to share some Cheer with those in need.”
To ensure that the community is kept safe this festive season, retailers have also been supplied with a number of COVID Safety guides to protect the health of staff and customers.
Says Allen: “We are working closely with each Retail Centre to ensure that the health and wellbeing of our staff and communities are protected in line with State Government health guidelines.”
The campaign went live on 12 November, and will run across owned channels, paid social media, in-store activations, retail, out-of-home media screens and an AR-driven game. It will also feature across YouTube and Spotify, with a dedicated playlist titled “Hear the Christmas Cheer” to help customers to celebrate no matter where they are.
Client: Stockland
GM, Customer and Group Marketing: Ben Allen
National Manager, Brand, Marketing Communications and Web: Georgia Thomas
National Commercial Property Marketing Manager: Brooke Lee
National Campaign Manager, Retail: Ametis Croft
Regional Marketing Managers, Retail: Louise Moore and Wendy Mulligan
Creative Agency: Host/Havas
Production company: Mighty Nice
Sound: Song Zu
Media: AKQA Media
5 Comments
A Christmas spot with a very cute idea. The craft feels a little rushed, but my kids loved it.
This is rubbish, why even PR it, craft is poor, script is poor and has no actual idea in it..
Last year’s was the best of the three so far
In truth, it’s nicely written and the animation feels tight. Well done H/Havas-ians.
one’s first expectation is a Christmas tale to unfold. Delivered instead is a buy things spot—a disappointing chapter in the trilogy