The City of Melbourne twists the senses in new activation via cummins&partners

The City of Melbourne in partnership with cummins&partners, Twenty3 and AMPR is bringing the heat this winter with an activation that flips a summer favourite on its head.

With the cold weather comes the ever-present challenge of enticing Melburnians off the couch and into the city. The City of Melbourne needed to give them a reason to ditch the slippers whilst driving traffic to What’s On, its jam-packed, digital hub of winter experiences.

So, the city took a summer favourite, flipped it on its head, twisted it in every sense and created ‘Melbourne’s Hottest Ice Cream’. A two-day pop-up, that was held July 14th and 15th, celebrated Melbourne’s world-renowned food scene and helped cement Melbourne as a unique winter destination.

Says Lord Mayor Sally Capp: “We’re enticing workers, residents and visitors to come into the city early and stay late this winter – encouraging them to make the most of Melbourne’s world-class retail, hospitality and creative offerings that are available only in the city.”

The activation, a part of the City of Melbourne’s ‘Only in the City’ campaign, launched by cummins&partners in October 2022, was brought to life in collaboration with Twenty3, AMPR and local celebrity chef and MasterChef finalist Sarah Todd.

Together we developed a piping hot, savoury soft serve, inspired by the culinary melting pot of the city. The one-off dish merged traditional Indian flavours and native ingredients with a creative, Melbourne flair.

Melburnians braved the cold to enjoy Todd’s creation, of whipped Aloo Gobi soft serve topped with a naan wafer, Davidson plum syrup and candied fennel seeds. That was served in a savoury waffle cone with a saltbush rim – straight from the window of the City of Melbourne’s custom Only in the City ice cream truck.

Says Sophie Lander, national managing director, cummins&partners: “This is an exciting extension of our Only in the City platform that drives visitation and draws attention to Melbourne’s stellar line up of ongoing winter events.”

Client – City of Melbourne
Director, Experience Melbourne: Louise Scott
Senior Manager – Destination Marketing, Brand & Digital: Gabrielle Oldaker
Marketing Campaign Manager – Claire Frean
Marketing Campaign Coordinator – Julia Paxinos
Social Media & Content Manager – Kat Chomkowicz

Creative Agency – cummins&partners
National Managing Director – Sophie Lander
Heath Collins – National Creative Director
Phil Pickering – Head of Strategy
Tiger Hongmung – Art Director
Georgia Payne – Copywriter
Amy Simmons – Senior Integrated Producer
Jenna Collopy – Senior Account Director
Chloe McCormack – Senior Account Director
Matt Werkmeister – Content Director
Rowan Hammerton – Design Director
Ed Croll – Senior Retoucher
Emma Shaw – Finished Artist
Aloysius Teo – Editor

Event Production – Twenty3
Ricky Marcy – Head of Events
Jess Treloar – Senior Event Producer
Brittany Cheer – Event Producer

PR Agency – AMPR
Sarah Gale, Managing Director
Ashleigh Bonica, Communications Director
Rosie Dann, Communications Coordinator