Bunnings Warehouse has become a national treasure and leading retailer of home improvement and lifestyle products across Australia and New Zealand. However, year after year, they see a decrease in store visits and purchases after the holiday season – particularly in February. So we needed to 1) increase foot traffic and revenue during their quietest month of the year, and 2) create a unique summertime experience for their family-centric customers.

In an effort to increase foot traffic and revenue during their quietest month of the year, we brought together the world’s most watched kids show and Australia’s most loved hardware store to give children (and adults) the joy of having their own Bluey experience. For all of February, Bluey teamed up with Bunnings to recreate Hammerbarn, taking over 7 stores around Australia and New Zealand to bring Hammerbarn to life with children able to take part in free Bluey-themed DIY workshops with exclusive Bluey/Hammerbarn merchandise available to purchase.

Bluey is a much-loved global phenomena, following the adventures of a 6-year-old Blue Heeler and her family and friends. In an episode of the hit show, Bluey and her family visit Hammerbarn – a fictionalised reimagining of the popular big box hardware store, Bunnings – also an iconic Aussie and Kiwi brand. A trip to Bunnings is a classic weekend mission for hundreds of thousands each week, with younger fans of Bluey referring to Bunnings as Hammerbarn.

February is traditionally Bunnings’ quietest month so we needed something big to bring people, particularly kids and families, back into store. In an effort to increase foot traffic and revenue during their quietest month of the year, hardware store Bunnings Warehouse teamed up with the BBC’s hit show Bluey to conduct 7 full-store takeovers across Australia and New Zealand – rebranding their iconic warehouses to ‘Hammerbarn’ for all of February.

Seeing the natural and authentic fit between the two brands, we partnered with BBC Studios to bring the world of Bluey to life through a month-long campaign in February across our Australia and New Zealand store network. This activation saw the transformation of 7 key Bunnings stores into real life 'Hammerbarns'. This was supported with in-store activities such as Bluey-themed D.I.Y Workshops, in-store scavenger hunt, and a full range of exclusive Bluey products including the garden gnomes featured in the Hammerbarn episode, pet toys and accessories, craft kits, and limited-edition Hammerbarn branded merchandise.

With 1,829 pieces of coverage and $12 million in earned media – it reached a total of 39.5 million kids, and adults. All after just 2 weeks of launching, and with a PR budget of $0. Fans also showed their support for the partnership, with 371k+ engagements across the official Bluey Facebook page. And the exclusive Garden Gnomes quickly became a social sensation and sell-out item.

- $0 total media budget

- 1,829 pieces of press coverage

- 39.5M audience reach

- $12M earned media

- (All this in just the first 2 weeks of the campaign)