The Spring Racing Carnival urges Victorians to ‘Get Back on Track’ in new campaign via BWM

Newly appointed agency BWM has today launched its first campaign for Racing Victoria (RV) and Melbourne Racing Club (MRC), to ignite passion and excitement for the quintessential Victorian tradition of thoroughbred racing.

Says Carl Ratcliff, managing director BWM Melbourne: “Our team is thrilled to be working on a brand that represents one of the most loved Victorian pastimes. We’ve hit the ground running with a campaign that hits the very core of our Aussie culture, reminding us that it’s not only a sporting event but a tradition that is part of who we are. We look forward to taking the brand into uncharted territory to achieve new things and get more Australians talking about horse racing.”

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The Spring Racing Carnival Campaign is the first campaign created by BWM and is also the first time the MRC has formed a marketing partnership with RV seeking to achieve greater cut-through and impact together. The newly created campaign is a bold new approach to rouse Victorians from their weekend activities and urge them to ‘Get Back on Track’.

Says Andrew Catterall, executive general manager, strategy & development of RV: “We’ve changed our strategy this year, pooling resources across creative development, media agencies and media buy, to achieve a better outcome for the industry and foster new and renewed engagement with the sport.

“Together with the Melbourne Racing Club we’ve developed a fresh and playful approach to encourage Victorians to get back on track and enjoy this iconic and unrivalled period on Australia’s sporting, social and fashion calendar.”

Says Brodie Arnhold, chief executive of Melbourne Racing Club: “Ultimately, all parties in racing share the goal of growing the sport, we applaud Racing Victoria for recognising the advantage of combining forces, and we would encourage as many organisations as possible within the industry to follow suit. We’re really excited to be working with Racing Victoria both as we approach the Spring Racing Carnival and throughout it.”

The campaign’s creative, led by new Melbourne executive creative director Murray White, adopts a bold new approach.

Says White: “As Victorians, we’ve taken our hands off the reins. We spend our weekends at hardware superstores. We text over dinner. And we watch reality television shows. We don’t even know what a good time is anymore.

“In this context, reminding people of the buzzing social scene, trackside glamour, unrivalled action and glory of the Spring Racing Carnival becomes a form of creative activation through sabotage.”

A playful media approach is also being adopted for the campaign. Traditional elements of tactical press, TV, radio and online advertising will be combined with guerrilla campaign tactics, human billboards and digital and social elements to unfold over coming weeks.

Says Murray: “Victorians should keep watch over coming weeks for surprise elements of the campaign as we work to encourage the state to better use their hard-earned leisure time and ‘Get Back on Track’.”

The campaign commences today with the launch of the Spring Racing Carnival website at www.springracingcarnival.com.au, which will be followed over the next week by TVC, print and online ads, with remaining elements of the campaign to be rolled out in September.

Client – RV and MRC

On Screen – Lucy Trengrove