Thinkerbell and Bupa look ‘beyond the games’ in new Paralympic-themed campaign
As the official healthcare partner of Australia’s Paralympic Team, Bupa has launched a new campaign with Thinkerbell that shows off its dedication to providing Australians with accessible and inclusive healthcare “beyond the games”.
Starring Paralympians, Shae Graham, Ben Popham OAM and Curtis McGrath OAM, the campaign follows the star athletes outside of the stadiums and events of the Paralympic Games. Instead, choosing to focus on their home lives.
The creative reinforces Bupa’s commitment to “investing in accessible digital health services like Blua, developing its first access and Inclusion Plan, and funding inclusive grassroots sports programs”.
“At Bupa, we are incredibly proud to be the Official Healthcare Partner of the Australian Paralympic Team – but equally so of our commitment to make healthcare more inclusive and accessible for our members, said Penny Ryan, director of brand at Bupa.
“It’s a journey we are on, and we’re on it for the long run.”
The project’s entire lifecycle was inherently inclusive, with Thinkerbell and Bupa leveraging ambassador interviews, close collaboration with Inclusively Made (experts in inclusive production), and consultations “with an external strategy expert with a disability” to inform each touchpoint of the work – particularly within production, exploration and strategy, and creative development.
The platform satisfies “Inclusively Made’s 100 point accreditation process”. Moving forward, any projects carried out by Thinkerbell and Bupa are expected to harken back to the process’s teachings.
“The insight behind the work, and the quiet confidence with which it’s delivered, is sure to cut through in a time when athletic bravado is filling our screen,” said Thinkerbell’s national chief creative tinker, Jim Ingram.
“We hope it inspires more Australians to think more inclusively beyond the games too.”
The platform rolled out across Australia over the weekend via out-of-home, digital, TV and social channels.
The joint work comes around the time independent creative and strategic communications agency, Six Black Pens, announced it has secured a place on Bupa’s agency panel after working with the healthcare company on creative and strategic initiatives for the past two years.
“We’re excited to be able to build on what has already been a great working partnership with Bupa and to expand beyond our existing relationships to other parts of the Bupa ecosystem,” director of Six Black Pens, Chris Tappenden, commented.
The move will see Six Black Pens work alongside several other companies, such as Scooter and 2045, to bolster Bupa’s marketing efforts. It also coincides with full-service agency CHEP Network replacing Thinkerbell as Bupa’s lead marketing agency.
“As we continue to evolve our brand and vision, we wanted to refresh our approach to how we work with our creative agencies,” revealed Naomi Driver, marketing general manager at Bupa Health Insurance.
“Our new network brings together a tight suite of agencies who will understand us, our brands and our customers intimately and work with us to collaborate on some exciting future projects,” Driver finished.
The new network model is set to officially commence in October.
Credits
Client: Bupa
Agency: Thinkerbell
Media: Atomic 212
Consultants: Inclusively Made
Director: Dani Pearce
Production House: Revolver
Post and online: The Editors
Sound: Rumble
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