David Jones department store is an Australian institution with a 175-year heritage. But with that legacy comes certain perceptions. Research showed that while respected as a national icon the brand was suffering from an image problem.

There was a sense that David Jones was a brand identified more with the past than the present.

We needed to be brave and risk alienating a core long-term audience in order to make David Jones feel more contemporary and culturally connected to present-day Australia.

Our objectives were to:

• Empower David Jones customers to be their best, and use fashion to bring out their inner confidence

• Get the country talking about the new direction of David Jones

• Change perceptions of a heritage brand to create a new brand platform that felt relevant and contemporary

Alongside Adam we searched for a wide range of socially influential Australians from music, fashion, sport, TV, film, and the arts. We used our 3R (reach, relevance and resonance) methodology to ensure they were a great fit for the brand and would drive the conversation further.

Each individual was ascribed one of seven emotions relevant to their field – power, confidence, elation, swagger, fierce, sensual, courage – and was capable of being enhanced by the transformative powers of the clothes sold by David Jones.

Seven individual pieces of online film each concentrated on one person, one quality. We then combined the story-threads to make a powerful, brave statement combining all of our subjects and emotions into one piece of film to pack a surprising cultural punch in the digital channel.

Surprising and culturally impactful, the campaign re-established David Jones as a contemporary contender, not afraid to be provocative to stay relevant.