It’s no easy task for a smaller audio house to get on creatives’ radars. So Bleublancrouge Toronto and Inlaws Audio teamed up to hack the judging process of advertising award shows with musical business pitches (disguised as radio spots) to highlight the talents of the nimble and hungry custom music house. In a sense, the campaign created a new media channel with its backdoor approach.
The three radio spots aim to help Inlaws Audio House find new clients. Their problem was that the majority of ad creatives would rather stick with what they’re comfortable and familiar with than take a perceived risk and try something new. With ad creatives unaware of the expertise and talents of Inlaws Audio, the small Toronto challenger brand had to find a creative way to capture their attention.
Spencer Hall, creative director and co-founder at Inlaws Audio, commented, “We could’ve spent money the more traditional way; wining and dining potential new clients, gifting sporting event tickets and organising sushi lunch n’ learns (not that there’s anything wrong with that). But this year, we wanted to do something different. Something that would truly differentiate us from the competition, get our name out there and showcase our in-house musical talents. Thanks to BBR’s creative and strategic help, we found a playful and crafty way to do just that.”
The strategic B2B self-promotion, disrupted the Atomics, Clios and Marketing Awards shows with hyper-targeted musical business pitches aimed at the ears of relevant creative decision makers – award show judges.
Brandon Tralman-Baker, creative director-writer at BBR, noted, “We had to act fast since awards deadlines quickly follow jury panel announcements. So, we did a bit of research to uncover jury members’ names, their claims to fame and other fun tidbits about them, then collaboratively wrote the songs in an attempt to convince fellow creatives to consider Inlaws Audio for their next commercial production.”
Bruce Harris, creative director-art director at BBR, added, “Like most sales pitches, these too came with just the right amount of butt kissing, flattery and voice modulation.”
To get through the cracks of the award show entry regulations, and to be mindful of a relatively small budget, the team aired each spot just once on radio stations with favourably-priced, late-night time slots, namely The Hog: Saskatchewan’s Country Music Station, Natural Healing Radio: The World’s only 24/7 Healing Station and Amherst Island Radio in Stella, Ontario.
Credits
Audio House: The Inlaws Audio House
Music Director: Spencer Hall
Music Producer: Rob James
Executive Producer: Tom Hutch
Vocals: Rob James, Gyles
Agency: Bleublancrouge
Executive Creative Directors: Julie Markle, Chris Dacyshyn
Creative Director/Writer: Brandon Tralman-Baker
Creative Director/Art Director: Bruce Harris
Senior Account Director: Julie Wierzbicki
Account Coordinator: Corina Pacheco
Producer: Casey Tanaka
Media: Julie Wierzbicki
Senior Strategist: Alec Pavlich
Production Company: Floydian Pictures
Director: Sonny Atkins
DOP: Rod Hafezi
Assistant Camera: Roham Abtahi
Art Department: Bruce Harris, Brandon Tralman-Baker
Editor & VFX: Bruce Harris
