Every now and then a campaign captures both the mood of the moment and the spirit of its brand. Australian indie, Born’s, campaign for Spring Bay Mill is one of those. You see, Spring Bay Mill was once the world’s largest wood chip mill. In 2011, investor, Graeme Wood (founder of Wotif), bought out his original funding partner in the Mill, and became its owner. He shut it down and turned it into something with a free spirit, a zest for the unconventional. It is now Tasmania’s most interesting and unique venue. Everything about the Spring Bay Mill is regenerative and on its way toward being better than carbon neutral as an operation. Native trees are being planted and the Mill is growing its own food for the restaurant. Even the birds have returned.

Born has injected that same free spirit and zest for the unconventional into its rebrand and campaign for Spring Bay Mill. Both stand apart in their category, events, that has a fondness for what has been done before. Born’s rebrand was predicated on the concept of asking audiences to look beyond the conventions of life. It challenges the events category with a fresh perspective on how people come together. 

Spring Bay Mill’s first-ever advertising campaign, Unconventional By Nature, invites audiences to discover the joy of unapologetically rejecting the ordinary.

The advertising campaign was produced by indie production company, Last Humans, and consists of a series of videos, outdoor advertising, and digital content.

“This project is unlike anything we have ever worked on,” explained David Coupland, strategy director at Born. “It became clear from the start that we weren’t just rebranding an events venue. We were telling the story of a place that fundamentally reimagines what the world can be, and how people can come together within it. We needed to provide a totally new philosophy and perspective on how we think about how we spend our time.”

The accompanying rebrand was told through a visual and verbal system that acknowledges the site’s industrial past and celebrates the natural, coastal surroundings, unifying the Mill’s various spaces – from the repurposed industrial amphitheatre to garden-to-plate-to-garden dining. And it covers all touchpoints, from on-site collateral to a redesigned website and social assets.

“This isn’t about hosting events – anywhere can do that, and often they do it badly. Spring Bay Mill has always been about showing the world how life can be different; how it can be better,” stated Graeme Wood, the owner of Spring Bay Mill. “When we bought the Mill, we took something destructive and turned it into something extraordinary. And this work is a representation of this, inviting others to do the same: rethink, reconnect, and embrace a more interesting life. Because, ordinary is so boring— and it’s a waste of energy – and energy is all we have.”