The short-term business objective was to position Samboy as a snack brand that delivers the strongest flavour hit. And in the long term it was to grow Samboy into a strong national teen brand and close the gap on Smiths.However, we recognised that we would need to channel the communication for Samboy in a way that would give credibility to the brand and engender a sense of ownership among the target audience. This meant that we had to work our how to speak their language, without appearing to try too hard.

The short-term business objective was to position Samboy as a snack brand that delivers the strongest flavour hit. And in the long term it was to grow Samboy into a strong national teen brand and close the gap on Smiths.However, we recognised that we would need to channel the communication for Samboy in a way that would give credibility to the brand and engender a sense of ownership among the target audience. This meant that we had to work our how to speak their language, without appearing to try too hard. A Samboyhit.com website was created with Austereo and sourface.com and this was used both to generate entries and for the voting. The site gave access to a highly targeted base of teenage boys who followed the progress of the competition feverishly as it reached its crescendo of excitement around the finals.We selected radio for the following reasons: -High listening by our target audience, and for long periods low ad avoidance – youth are loyal to their chosen stationfrequency medium – provides reinforcement, familiarity and reminder for impulse purchaseslow production costs enabled a high number of different treatments, which held the target audiences’s attention.The two best scripts were aired on the Austereo & MCM networks in October and the scripts of the losing finalists in November. Finalists won $1,000 worth of CD’s each and had the opportunity to attend the recording of their own commercial. Listeners were given the added incentive of winning $1,000 worth of CD’s to vote.In addition, there were weekly live crosses from the studio to the Black Thunder and Rock Patrol vehicles, which were used to sample product and distribute Samboy postcards, which in turn were used to drive the target on-line. Locations were selected that specifically targeted the youth market i.e. outside schools, bus stops, community sporting venues etc.

The sales results achieved represented “more than 10% growth versus the 4% target we had set” (Tim McTernan, Samboy Marketing Manager), which assisted in closing the gap between Samboy and Smiths.We received 873 script entries and 1,182 votes, nearly twice what had been predicted. An evaluation of the entries was carried out to determine the accuracy of our targeting - 67% male, split 34% 13-17 years and 33% 18-25 years.The banner advertising received an average click through rate of 0.64%, indexing at 160 versus the category average. It peaked at 2.67% on the Triple M Sydney site. The total number of click-throughs was 3,203 – an overwhelming response.The client was extremely happy with these results. In the words of Cathy Zeppieri (Marketing Director, Snack Brands Australia), “We were absolutely delighted with the innovation and results associated with this campaign. Mediaedge:cia added great value to the process and our consumers responded way beyond our expectations”.

Ultimately, though, the final verdict should be from the kids: -“I can’t believe that my ad was played on the radio – it’s so cool. Samboy rock!” - Mike Arnold – Year 11 schoolboy, Sydney…happy as a sand-boy! The idea of getting teenage boys to write their own radio ads came entirely from the media team. We came up with it after researching the attitudes of teenage boys, which revealed a more cynical, marketing ‘savvy’ audience than we had ever come across. We wanted to channel the communication in a way that would give credibility to the brand and ownership to the consumer. This meant that we had to work out how to ‘speak their language’, without appearing to try too hard. So instead of using an advertising agency creative team, we thought why not get the target audience to write the ads themselves? Ads that would appeal to them. To sell in the idea to our client we staged our presentation in Room 21, Block A, Shore Boys High School - the clients had no idea what they were in for. With the ‘self-penned ad strategy’ approved the boys got to work, and the scripts they developed blew us away. As the competition grew, so the boys’ own excitement fuelled the momentum of the campaign, ensuring that Samboy was kept top-of-mind throughout the process.

The challenge for Mediaedge:cia was to relaunch ‘Samboy Flavour Bombs’ after a lengthy period of inactivity and establish it as the male teen brand of choice.

Samboy competes in the ‘crinkle-cut chip’ segment of the snack-food category, where Smiths Crisps is the major player. Smiths contribute 60% of the category’s advertising expenditure, with Samboy less than 15%.

With Samboy occupying a classic ‘challenger brand’ position, the need for standout and differentiation through exciting use of media was vital. Our media campaign assumed a momentum of its own as young boys across Australia were inspired to drive the promotion forward and make it a huge success for Samboy. Our insight into young boys’ attitudes to being ‘advertised to’, as opposed to creating their own ads, was essential to the success of the campaign.We think this campaign is a winner because it demonstrates an imaginative media driven approach which helped Samboy achieve sales results well in excess of the client’s own high expectations.

The idea of getting teenage boys to write their own radio ads came entirely from the media team. We came up with it after researching the attitudes of teenage boys, which revealed a more cynical, marketing ‘savvy’ audience than we had ever come across. We wanted to channel the communication in a way that would give credibility to the brand and ownership to the consumer. This meant that we had to work out how to ‘speak their language’, without appearing to try too hard. So instead of using an advertising agency creative team, we thought why not get the target audience to write the ads themselves? Ads that would appeal to them. To sell in the idea to our client we staged our presentation in Room 21, Block A, Shore Boys High School - the clients had no idea what they were in for. With the ‘self-penned ad strategy’ approved the boys got to work, and the scripts they developed blew us away. As the competition grew, so the boys’ own excitement fuelled the momentum of the campaign, ensuring that Samboy was kept top-of-mind throughout the process.

The challenge for Mediaedge:cia was to relaunch ‘Samboy Flavour Bombs’ after a lengthy period of inactivity and establish it as the male teen brand of choice.

Samboy competes in the ‘crinkle-cut chip’ segment of the snack-food category, where Smiths Crisps is the major player. Smiths contribute 60% of the category’s advertising expenditure, with Samboy less than 15%.

With Samboy occupying a classic ‘challenger brand’ position, the need for standout and differentiation through exciting use of media was vital. Our media campaign assumed a momentum of its own as young boys across Australia were inspired to drive the promotion forward and make it a huge success for Samboy. Our insight into young boys’ attitudes to being ‘advertised to’, as opposed to creating their own ads, was essential to the success of the campaign.We think this campaign is a winner because it demonstrates an imaginative media driven approach which helped Samboy achieve sales results well in excess of the client’s own high expectations.

A Samboyhit.com website was created with Austereo and sourface.com and this was used both to generate entries and for the voting. The site gave access to a highly targeted base of teenage boys who followed the progress of the competition feverishly as it reached its crescendo of excitement around the finals.We selected radio for the following reasons: -High listening by our target audience, and for long periods low ad avoidance – youth are loyal to their chosen stationfrequency medium – provides reinforcement, familiarity and reminder for impulse purchaseslow production costs enabled a high number of different treatments, which held the target audiences’s attention.The two best scripts were aired on the Austereo & MCM networks in October and the scripts of the losing finalists in November. Finalists won $1,000 worth of CD’s each and had the opportunity to attend the recording of their own commercial. Listeners were given the added incentive of winning $1,000 worth of CD’s to vote.In addition, there were weekly live crosses from the studio to the Black Thunder and Rock Patrol vehicles, which were used to sample product and distribute Samboy postcards, which in turn were used to drive the target on-line. Locations were selected that specifically targeted the youth market i.e. outside schools, bus stops, community sporting venues etc.

The sales results achieved represented “more than 10% growth versus the 4% target we had set” (Tim McTernan, Samboy Marketing Manager), which assisted in closing the gap between Samboy and Smiths.We received 873 script entries and 1,182 votes, nearly twice what had been predicted. An evaluation of the entries was carried out to determine the accuracy of our targeting - 67% male, split 34% 13-17 years and 33% 18-25 years.The banner advertising received an average click through rate of 0.64%, indexing at 160 versus the category average. It peaked at 2.67% on the Triple M Sydney site. The total number of click-throughs was 3,203 – an overwhelming response.The client was extremely happy with these results. In the words of Cathy Zeppieri (Marketing Director, Snack Brands Australia), “We were absolutely delighted with the innovation and results associated with this campaign. Mediaedge:cia added great value to the process and our consumers responded way beyond our expectations”.

Ultimately, though, the final verdict should be from the kids: -“I can’t believe that my ad was played on the radio – it’s so cool. Samboy rock!” - Mike Arnold – Year 11 schoolboy, Sydney…happy as a sand-boy!

Sally Clark   Planner/Buyer   Mediaedge:ciaAdrian Smith   MD (Singapore)   Mediaedge:ciaDim Sarridis   Senior Planner/Buyer   Mediaedge:ciaCathy Zeppieri   Marketing Director   Snack Brands