Tag: Bastion Creative

Australia  –  Australia-based marketing and communication agency Bastion has announced the appointment of two senior leaders as the company enters a new phase of growth. Bastion Creative welcomes Angela Morris as national chief strategy officer and Ana Lynch as Sydney managing partner.

Morris has over 20 years of global expertise in brand consulting, advertising, behavior change, and innovation, making her one of the industry’s most well-credentialed strategists. She has served on the Effies governing committee, the communications council board, and the APG as chair. Before joining Bastion, Morris was the national chief strategy officer at Wunderman Thompson 

Meanwhile, Lynch is known for her tenacity and passion for delivering award-winning work that has a positive influence on culture and business growth. She was also a partner at Wunderman Thompson, where she was in charge of the network’s top-paying paying multi-national and domestic clients. Lynch has led large client partnerships at some of Australia’s most well-known creative agencies, including Vodafone, Kellogg’s, Mars, P&G, J&J, Subway, Unilever, Nestlé, Federal and State Governments, and Not-for-profits.

On her appointment, Lynch said, “As I got to know Bastion it became clear they are a progressive independent network, that has serious momentum in their mission to forge an alternate path ahead. I am thrilled to be joining the team at such a pivotal time.” 

Morris emphasised, “I think the Bastion model is really interesting because it delivers the specialisms clients need today, including data intelligence, in an interconnected way that they can’t readily access elsewhere. This enables cross-discipline thinking and the delivery of more connected and compelling brand experiences.”

Mike Godwin, chief executive officer at Bastion Creative, shared, “As Australasia’s largest independent agency, our Australian creative team combined with our New Zealand-based creative offering Bastion Shine is now over 100 staff. We work collaboratively with the wider global Bastion Agency group, providing clients 300 of the market’s best experts across a unique breadth of disciplines.

“Ange and Ana bring the perfect balance of humanity and ambition to the leadership team and I’m excited about the ways they will help us build our clients’ brands and businesses going forward,” Godwin adds.

Meanwhile, Jack Watts, chief executive officer at Bastion Global, commented, “We are building the new world Agency here at Bastion, where clients can access wide thinking across the breadth of communications disciplines, delivered by specialists with deep expertise. It is a joy to add two absolute experts in their craft and all-round good people in Ana and Ange to our senior team.”

Australia – SIXT, the newest player in the vehicle rental and mobility space, has launched in the Australian market this December, and for its official entry, it rolls out an integrated campaign aimed at leveraging its brand positioning – ‘Above and Beyonding’.

SIXT is a global vehicle rental and mobility provider spanning over 100 countries. SIXT enters the market with over 163 locations in Australia, and an expansive fleet of over 16,000 vehicles including cars, trucks, vans, utes, SUVs, and also premium and electric vehicles.

The campaign, which was created in collaboration with communications agency Bastion Creative and its experiential firm Bastion Experience, includes eight separate film executions, a suite of digital, and extensive print and outdoor components, with specific creative to support the 163 retail locations.

The TVC, directed by Jesse James McElroy, features Australian actress Helen Dallimore.

Kristy Thomas, SIXT’s general manager of marketing for Australia, said that the campaign reflects their focus on raising the bar across the board. 

“The Bastion team, across creative and experience, have been instrumental in crafting our local positioning, showcasing great aptitude in balancing global localization and applying creative flair for our launch as SIXT in Australia,” said Thomas. 

Meanwhile, Georgia Arnott, Bastion’s executive creative director, said, “Vehicle rental is a category that has taken itself too seriously for a while now, and we were delighted with the vision of the SIXT team to deliver a bold message but also one that is refreshingly fun.”

Jack Watts, Bastion’s global CEO, commented, “It’s a rare and exciting opportunity to take a dynamic global brand, localize it in partnership with NRMA and SIXT head office in Germany and launch it with a wide integrated campaign across so many touchpoints.” 

The campaign is now available across TV, digital, print, and OOH.

Australia – Australian energy company Alinta Energy has unveiled its new brand position ‘That’s better™’ which it said aims to reflect the company’s focus on making tangible improvements for its customers, the environment and community across affordability, local service, renewable energy, and community support.

The new positioning was developed in partnership with integrated communications agency, Bastion Creative.

Amanda Hagan, Alinta Energy’s executive director for retail markets, said that the company wanted to ensure that ‘doing better’ for customers was fundamental to the brand purpose.

“I think this is a great position because we believe everything we do should be aimed at making things better for our customers, our staff, the environment and Australia. ‘That’s better™’ is an attitude that our whole organization can embrace to benefit our customers,” said Hagan.

The new communications direction was also launched together with an integrated campaign featuring Australian cricket legends.

The TVC features Australian cricket stars Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Marnus Labuschagne, and Aaron Finch brainstorming with Alinta Energy staff on ways to do ‘better’ for customers, highlighting its commitment to locally-based customer call centers and providing affordable energy products.

Bastion ECD Georgia Arnott said, “‘That’s better™’ encapsulates Alinta Energy’s quest to keep shaking up the category as both the incumbent gas retailer on Australia’s west coast, and a challenger electricity and gas brand in the east.”

“Seeing Pat Cummins answer his phone with his nose while contorted in a yoga pose epitomizes the Alinta Energy ethos of going the extra mile for customers,” adds Arnott.

The launch leverages Alinta Energy’s sponsorship as principal partner of the Australian Men’s Cricket Team.

The campaign released on 25 November will run throughout summer in Australia across TV, digital, and print.