In answering that brief and positioning CGU as a genuine thought leader, there was a singular piece of factual data that we unearthed (one that had been ignored by all other insurers in Australia) - over a third (33.3%) of all small businesses in Australia are migrant owned. That’s an astonishing figure. In the UK migrant owned businesses account for 14% and in the US 28%, so Australia is unique in the western world in its abundance of migrant business owners.

This opened up a fresh new insight for us - as Australians have always identified themselves with hard-working values such as grit and resilience. But ‘job-stealing’ migrants had never been included as part of that narrative, when in fact 1/3 were exemplifying the Aussie entrepreneurial spirit at its best. Our idea was therefore deceptively simple, we would champion and celebrate migrant small business owners as being as ‘Australian as it gets’. The intent of which was to get the nation to recognise that migrant small business owners typify the very best of Australian values.

First we commissioned a research report that unearthed how migrant entrepreneurs were playing a significant role in Australian society. The uncovered facts were disseminated into press and social, and debated on national news channels and in government, sparking a national conversation.

Secondly, we launched an advertising campaign to coincide with Australia Day. We knew that saying migrant small business owners were ‘ Australian as it gets’ on a day which was typically celebrated by only white Europeans would get the nation talking.

Our ad opened with our central fact that over a 1/3 of all small business owners are migrant owned, but also went beyond the facts by telling the authentic true story of a migrant business owner who risked everything to come to Australia. We also released a longer form version of the advert, so powerful it premiered at the world’s largest short film festival – Tropfest.

It’s fair to say that by embracing the facts, we got an entire nation talking – and noticing CGU.

We reached over 15.3 million people in Australia, generating 94,480 page views. Our campaign achieved a total of over 1.5 millon views on youtube, 2.5 million on facebook and 2.5 million on twitter. Achieved a 92.5% online video completion rate, an increase of 25% compared to previous campaigns. It also generated an uplift in brand interest, with search analysis showing a 1772% uplift.

Our advertising cut through; gaining a 43% increase in recognition compared to the previous CGU campaigns. It also created a positive impact on the brand, with many seeing the brand as more caring and empathetic – an increase of 35.7% from the previous campaign.

And even though it wasn’t the primary objective of the campaign, ‘ Australian as it gets’ also generated additional direct sales. In the campaign period we saw a 10% increase in like for like online sales.