News Corp’s Enid Blyton tentpole marketing campaign via Big Red taps into nostalgia

In celebration of the 75th anniversary of The Famous Five: Five Go Adventuring Again, News Corp is launching its New Year, back-to-school tentpole marketing campaign via Big Red this weekend, offering 15 Enid Blyton classics to collect over the next two weeks, with a copy of the newspaper.

This year, Enid Blyton classics were selected by News Corp, with the aim of inspiring more parents and more young people to channel Blyton’s spirit of mystery and magic, mischief and mayhem.

Says Tony Phillips, chief marketing officer, News Corp Australia: “Stories, and especially Enid Blyton stories, offer gateways into exciting new worlds. It’s these worlds which we hope will encourage children’s imaginations to soar.

“We hope these 15 classics will make reading fun, affordable and interactive. And with the beginning of the school year, it’s the perfect time to start forming new habits around story time in the home.”

Created by Big Red, the campaign is being promoted nationally, through print and digital marketing, television and PR initiatives. A social video created by Storyful, taps into the nostalgia of pre-digital age, showing a group of children climbing trees, swinging on ropes and playing with sticks. The message: “If you remember a time before padded playgrounds and safety nets; when ropes were swings and sticks were swords, then share the adventures of the classic Enid Blyton collection.”

The collection will launch on Saturday February 3 in South Australia, Tasmania and The Northern Territory and on Sunday February 4 in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales, with 15 books to collect for $3.00 each with a copy of a News Corp newspaper.

The first book – Five on a Treasure Island – and collector’s case to house the entire library are free with purchase of the paper this weekend.