At the beginning of every year, New Zealand banks have an 8 week window to get the attention of first-year university students and entice them into signing up for a new student account. Our objective was to drive uptake of the ANZ Student Account, not with free food or iPads, but in a way that genuinely connected with them during this pivotal time in their lives.

The country watched as a modern day fairy tale unfolded.

The story kicked off with a tease on world-famous choreographer Parris Goebel’s social channels. 24 hours later, ANZ launched an unscripted hero video that went behind the scenes from the moment student, Sam V, answered the ad, to his surprise when he discovers who he will actually be making a music video with. Sam premiered his official music video on his social channels and made his single available on all streaming platforms. Things got big, fast. Appearing across all the major media outlets, Sam was slingshotted into celebrity status, proving that fortune really does favour the brave.

This all happened in real-time on social media watched by hundreds of thousands of other young students, all made possible by ANZ bank.