You start with a little crack repair and end up renovating the whole living room. DIY is addictive. That’s a wonderful human insight for a tool brand to own, and Special has given it to  Ryobi Australia and New Zealand, aimed at repositioning the market leader as a partner that’s with you at every stage in the DIY journey.

The Come Equipped platform is a strategic shift away from category norms, focusing on the passion of DIY, rather than just on product benefits and features. It’s Special’s first work for the brand.

The campaign leads with The Gateway, a hero film that tells the story of a DIY novice who, with the irresistible squeeze of a drill, is transported further and further into his obsession with DIY. Through a series of wide match cuts, he presses the drill over and over to see just how far this passion can take him.

The campaign is designed to extend across RYOBI’s full product ecosystem, taking its character from DIY, to gardening, to camping and cleaning.

Ryan Fitzgerald, executive creative director at Special Melbourne, commented, “I know first-hand just how addictive DIY can be. It wasn’t that long ago I just had the one RYOBI drill and battery, but it really is the kind of thing that hooks you in. One minute you’re hanging some art on the wall and next you’re following a 2 hour YouTube video on how to build something from scratch.”

Kon Romios, chief customer officer at Ryobi parent, Techtronic Industries, stated, “For generations RYOBI has empowered customers across the world to shape the spaces they live in. Today marks the next chapter. With RYOBI by your side, you can Come Equipped for just about anything – in the home, in the yard, or on the go.”

The full campaign covers Australia and New Zealand across film, out-of-home, in-store and digital channels, with media handled by Rapid Media.

Credits: 
Client: Techtronic Industries (Ryobi)
Chief Customer Officer: Kon Romios
Head of Customer & Strategy: Vera Skocic
Head of Creative Services: Chris Heywood
Senior Marketing Manager: Lee Gooch
Brand Manager: Jack Cramer
Design Lead: Rom Anthonis

Creative Agency: Special Australia
Partner & CEO: Lindsey Evans
Partners & CCOs: Tom Martin & Julian Schreiber
Partner & CSO: Bec Stambanis
Managing Director: Sasha Firth
Executive Creative Director: Ryan Fitzgerald
Creative Directors: Will Winter-Irving & Joe Ranallo
Head of Strategy: Nathan Rogers
Team Lead: Felicity Touzeau
Business Director: Ayesha Kithulegoda
Business Manager: Gigi Chu
Head of Film & Content: Sophie Simmons
Head of Design: Adam Shear

Production Company: The Sweetshop
Director: Kate Halpin
Producer: Melissa Weinman
Co-MDs:  Edward Pontifex & Greg Fyson
Executive Producer: Kate Roydhouse
DoP: Keiran Fowler
Editor: Laurence Van Camp

Post Production & VFX: Arc
Flame & Online: Jesse Meha
Grade: Matt Fezz
Production Design: Mike Price
Sound Design: Studiotonic
Sound Engineer: Cam Milne
Sound Producer: Laura-Leigh Le Brocque

Stills Production Company: The Pool Collective
Photographer: Sean Izzard
Producer: Zoe Izzard
Media: Rapid Media