Sharper Pencil launches rural WA radio campaign searching for rare creatures

Imagine David Attenborough wandering around the wheatbelt near Northam looking for three rare creatures threatened with extinction. The species in question – ‘Bankus Extinctus,’ ‘Bankus Ineptus’ and ‘Bankus Invisibilis.’
Thanks to the outstanding ‘Attenborough-like’ impressions delivered by the local actor, the inimitable Allan Symons, that is exactly the scenario behind a recently completed radio campaign developed by Sharper Pencil, produced by Julian Douglas-Smith (Julio’s Studio) and John Ilian for FEA – Finance Exchange Australia.
The campaign was created at the request of Gary Roberts for his colleague and friend, Paul Bransby. The brief was simple.
As it is widely known, the major banks have closed many of their local branches – especially in country areas like the wheatbelt. In addition to local businesses and rural townsfolk, this has created a serious problem for farmers. They are unable to access their local bank manager to seek the finance to sustain, let alone grow, their businesses. Buying or bidding for a farm machinery at an auction, much of which costs more than a million dollars, or expanding their local infrastructure, or acquiring additional acreage, requires pre-approval of the funds being available in a timely and affordable manner – something the big banks seem unable to do given the migration of their services to call centres or capital cities.
As a specialist agriculture finance broker, Bransby with his 40 year heritage in the wheatbelt, has stepped into the hole created by the loss of the friendly relationship that many farmers previously had with their local bank managers.
The campaign comprises three 60 second ‘Attenborough’ radio spots and six 4 minute radio advertorials on the Triple M rural network’s ‘Rural Focus’ segment that is broadcast throughout the Avon Valley and the Wheatbelt.
3 Comments
Nice one John,
Stands out and should work well for the client.
All the best,
Barry
The lost art of long form radio, brought to you by legends Ilian and Roberts.
Perfect recipe for brilliant radio ads. A great writer, a great talent and a great producer!
There you have it 👍