recent projects
AUSSie: positioning an australian icon for relevance and growth
Manifesto worked closely with Aussie during 2023 and 2024 on the development of a new brand strategy for the business post its merger with Lendi. The Aussie brand has always had strong awareness but in recent times this hadn’t translated into brand consideration and preference. Aussie needed a new story to connect with Australians. Manifesto assisted Aussie in the development of a new brand strategy and Customer Value Proposition (CVP). The work involved extensive consultation with brokers, consumers and staff to come up with the best idea. Manifesto and Aussie then worked together to translate the brand positioning into a communication and messaging strategy for a pilot test in South Australia that combined performance and brand marketing in one campaign - the new model for Aussie advertising. There is now a lot of positive change happening across the business that is driving exceptional results for the Aussie - and brand and communication is playing its part in this success.
UBANK - CREATION OF A NEW BRAND STRATEGY - MOMENTUM WITH MONEY
ubank wanted to take advantage of the acquisition of 86 400 to undertake an ambitious repositioning of the revitalised business. The aim was to position the brand as the leader in the digital banking category and to focus the brand on the up and coming digital native generation of young Australians. ubank engaged Manifesto to develop customer value propositions for each of the core banking products - saving, spending and home loans - and to create an overall brand strategy for ubank. Understanding the changing relationship young Australians have with money was central to this work. Manifesto worked very closely with the ubank team to deliver the new brand positioning “Momentum With Money”, brand personality and communication architecture. Manifesto also worked closely with creative agency White Grey to support their development of the brand campaign. The new brand positioning has helped underpin ubank’s strong growth and market position in the category.
ZIP - Customer Value Proposition and POS Strategy In Australia & NZ
Zip engaged Manifesto on a series of projects to develop Customer Value Propositions for Zip Pay and Zip Money in Australia, and Zip New Zealand. The market dynamics and competitive environment in each country meant the product offerings and optimum CVP were different. Manifesto was also engaged to develop the overall value proposition for Zip in Australia. The work was conducted over six months and involved extensive consumer research to identify critical consumer needs and tensions which were then used to inform the Customer Value Propositions. The value proposition work for Zip has informed not just the communication for each of the products but has also set the direction for product development and innovation. Manifesto was also engaged by Zip to develop a Point Of Sale communication strategy which led to the line “The Better Way To Pay’ which has been fundamental to Zip driving sales direct to consumer in thousands of retail outlets around the country.
Amaysim - Brand Strategy And innovation
Manifesto has been working with amaysim for over 5 years on a more than a dozen different projects including brand positioning, product innovation, consumer insight and communication strategy projects. The most significant project was working alongside the amaysim marketing team to co-create the ‘Affordable Freedom’ brand positioning that has informed their communication over the past three to four years. Over this time the amaysim brand has grown strongly in a highly competitive market. Manifesto helped amaysim to develop the Customer Value Proposition (CVP) for the brand’s move into the Home Internet Market with the “Speed Is Not Expensie at amaysim” idea. More recently Manifesto has worked on projects to identify switching drivers in the telecommunications category for small business and Australian families.
Manifesto recently completed a six month project to develop a new brand positioning and strategy for 7-Eleven in the Australian convenience market. The project involved extensive market research to understand consumer preferences and trends in the convenience category which was then used to inform development of a number of potential brand strategy options. A second round of consumer research was then undertaken to evaluate and refine the various options and to develop the final recommended brand strategy. The strategy included brand positioning, brand purpose, values, personality and examples of how the strategy could be rolled out to customers experience and communication.
Solo (SCHWEPPES) - BRAND STRATEGY
Manifesto completed an extensive brand strategy project for Schweppes to reposition the famous Solo soft drink brand. Solo had remained largely unchanged as a brand over the pre-ceding two or three decades with its focus on a very outdated version of masculinity. The task was to reposition the brand to both men and women today with an updated brand strategy that presented a new and more progressive definition of what masculinity means today. As part of the project we conducted extensive consumer research with men and women of various ages to understand contemporary perceptions of masculinity and how to reinvent the brand without losing some of the things that made it so successful and such an Australian icon. Manifesto worked alongside advertising agency TBWA and helped to develop communication for the launch campaign which has produced exceptional results in market.
Everlast - brand & Communication strategy.
Manifesto completed a research, brand and communication strategy for Everest Australia. The brand is a global success story originating in New York over a century ago. It has evolved from being famous for boxing gloves to become a boxing, fitness and active wear brand. The aim of the project was to conduct research with consumers in order to identify attitudes to the Everest brand and then to formulate a new brand and communication strategy for the Australian market. The world involved detailed depth interviews with current and potential Everest consumers, both boxing loyalty and those more into general fitness. One of the key challenges of the project was to identify a brand positioning that would appeal to both groups, an idea true to Everest’s boxing heritage but also relevant to a broader audience of general sport and fitness enthusiasts.
AREVO - BRAND AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
Arevo is a new journey planning brand that was created by RACV. The Arevo smart phone application has innovative journey planning and management functionality not seen before in the Australian market. RACV commissioned Manifesto to develop a brand and communication strategy for Arevo. The project applied our Emotional Design methodology to develop a range of positioning options for Arevo based on research into the consumer relationship to the category. The output for the project was a brand strategy for the new brand along with a communication proposition, key reasons to believe and brand tone of voice and personality. Research conducted by Manifesto on early idea concepts for Arevo confirmed the products initial viability and informed development of functionality for the new application.
ASAHI - Portfolio And Brand Strategy
Manifesto worked with Asahi Premium Beverages in Australia to develop a brand portfolio strategy for Peroni, Estrella and Asahi. One of the outcomes of the project was to develop a clear positioning space for each of the brands and specifically a new brand positioning for Asahi based on consumer research. In particular it was important to develop a direction for the brand that would appeal to young Millennial males who were increasingly looking to craft beer rather than premium international beers to signify and signal social status. The research and subsequent strategy work identified the idea of the discovery of unknown Japan, and its clash of tradition and modernity as the most appealing brand strategy for young men. This work helped inform the new campaign direction “Enter Asahi’ created by The Monkeys creative agency in Melbourne.
Wolf Blass Wines - Brand Strategy
Manifesto developed the brand strategy for the “Here’s To The Chase” campaign for Wolf Blass wines. The campaign has now been in market for several years and has been extremely successful in helping to drive a more premium image and long term profitability for the brand. The challenge for brand strategy was to help transform the image of the brand from 1980s icon to a make it more relevant and contemporary for todays’s millennial wine drinkers. To achieve this we shifted the focus of the brand strategy from a traditional view of status to the one that was more in tune with the times - rather than focusing on the rewards of triumph (the original brand strategy) we focused on the determination and dedicated that is required on the journey - hence “Here’s To The Chase”. The campaign creative idea was developed and executed by Wundermann Thompson in Melbourne.
AUSTIN HEALTh - BRAND STRATEGY
Austin Health, one of Australia's leading hospital groups commissioned Manifesto to undertake develop a new brand strategy for the organisation. To complete the project Manifesto developed a number of brand strategy options working closely with the CEO, board and executive team which were then researched with staff and patients of the hospital to ensure the reliance of the strategy across both stakeholder groups. Manifesto also developed recommendations for how the new brand strategy could be implemented right across the organisation.
racv - emergency Home Assist communication strategy
RACV engaged Manifesto to develop a positioning and communication strategy for its Emergency Homes Assist service. The key positioning challenge turned out to be explaining the need for the product and the role it played - that is, 'It's for times in life when you need help quickly". The project involved two rounds of consumer research and creation of a communication brief based on the new strategy. Manifesto also worked with the creative agency on the execution of the communication and advertising ideas.
Schweppes - Brand Review And Architecture Strategy
Schweppes commissioned Manifesto to conduct a detailed review of the strengths and weaknesses of the Schweppes brand from a consumer point of view. Schweppes was under pressure from supermarket value brands on the one hand and a new set of more premium competitors in the core soft drink and mixer market on the other. At the same time the brand needed to understand how it could best respond to increasing consumer preferences for low-sugar and healthier drink options. The project involved a series of ten focus groups with consumers and a number of in-depth interviews which were conducted over a six week period. The outcome of the project was a detailed set of recommendations concerning the future direction of brand architecture, brand strategy, product development, identity and communication.