Situation Analysis

Shopkeepers and residents of the City of Boroondara are in a symbiotic relationship. The public need a convenient, positive environment in which to do their living; meeting friends, getting their food and clothing, their essential lifestyle requirements, and the shopkeepers and business owners (who often are residents) provide all those things the residents enjoy. It works as a well-oiled machine in Boroondara, possibly Australia’s most affluent and well organised of cities.

The shopping strips needed serious help. People have lost their confidence, and stores were suffering. The Council needed a way to build trade in the city, which contains 53 shopping strips, of which many are small and under-resourced. These needed easily run-out campaigns to generate business.

Approach

Aimed at being fluid in nature, Starship recommended core exercises and processes, including a range of items to further individualise campaign elements and provide a sense of autonomy within the more general Boroondara approach. We developed our approach after several consultations with the city's key executive marketing team and with a group of the city's trade representatives.

The unifying and overarching message was ‘‘Love Local Life’, a customisable campaign that could be rolled out across Boroondara itself, integrated with a coordinated range of different media, with timed messages and a targeted approach aimed at generating traffic, awareness, and sales. We aimed to make Boroondara residents love the shops near where they live by highlighting the people and personal stories close by in a positive way.