REA Leaned Into Pat Rafter's "Natural Charisma" For AO Work

72andSunny created a charming campaign featuring Pat Rafter for realestate.com.au, in which he interrupts fans sitting behind him at the AO to correct them on court measurements.

LBB's Lilya Murray spoke to the agency's chief creative officer Wez Hawes and realestate.com.au's general manager of audience and marketing, Sarah Myers about how the campaign fit with the brand, and how it integrated tennis. 

LBB> Was it always going to be Pat Rafter or was there someone else in mind?

Sarah> As soon as we formed our partnership with Tennis Australia, we knew it had to be Pat. He is such a great fit for the brand and an absolute champion to work with. We shared some early ideas with him, and he loved the concepts and tone, so was quick to jump on board.

LBB> Why was the comedic tone important to the brand’s image and perception?

Wez> Going into this project, we all agreed on the importance of the brand being able to lean into a more playful tone in order to entertain the audience -- at home, online, on the streets of Melbourne, and at the AO itself. Unlike other Slams, the Australian Open is more inclusive; it has a festival vibe, full of buzz and energy.

So really understanding the event, audience, and leaning into Pat's natural charisma and charm, allowed us to dial up the playfulness of the realestate.com.au brand so we could entertain people first, not just talk at them.

LBB> You refer to a backstory behind the campaign – tell me more about this and how it influenced the final product.

Wez> Working with sports talent to elicit a performance is definitely a skill, and a process. One that starts behind-the-scenes, way before you get on set. We engaged Pat super early on, as we were still sharing and shaping concepts in fact. So we had his buy-in during the creative process, which eventually meant there was a level of trust and familiarity with the brand, the partnership, and the people, before we started rolling.

LBB> Was it difficult to brainstorm tennis integration with real estate? What was the biggest challenge?

Sarah> As soon as we inked the deal to come on as an AO sponsor we were totally committed to find our reason for being, in a way that was unique and would resonate. The AO is undisputedly Australia’s #1 address in tennis.

realestate.com.au is Australia’s #1 address in property, being far and away the preferred property brand for Aussies. Bringing those two things together and partnering with Tennis Australia to build hype around the AO has been a great experience, and I think the fun of that shows up in the tongue-in-cheek style of our creative.

In terms of finding continuity with our current brand work, that came about really naturally. Australians are having property conversations every day, all over the country, and inside the AO between sets is no exception. Bringing Pat in to build on that with all of his wonderful qualities helped us elevate the work even further.

Wez> Property is obviously a national topic of conversation, but so too is the tennis, especially during peak AO season. So the integration had natural synergies with our creative idea. The AO is also housed at such an impressive and iconic location, treating it like an exclusive listing worked contextually as the centre piece of the campaign.

LBB> Was this concept always the initial idea for this campaign? What were some of the original ideas that didn’t make the cut?

Wez> We always wanted to extend the property conversations idea featured in our current work through the AO partnership. Doing it in an authentic, credible way was the important part. The unlock came in playing in that time between the change-of-ends, when the crowd naturally becomes unsettled, checks their phones, chats, and allows their minds to wander.

LBB> What’s something people might not know about the creative process of this campaign that you find interesting?

Wez> I’m a firm believer in creating environments that allow ‘the magic’ to happen. Obviously that applies to the culture you shape within your agency, but it’s no different to the set environment too.

Despite pulling Pat all over the AO for the listing, walkthrough video, and films, we created a space and environment where Pat could experiment and was comfortable enough to deliver a range of performances, takes, and one-liners (scripted and many unscripted!), no matter what element of the campaign he was shooting.