Melbourne Royal has appointed Melbourne independent, the thrills, as its creative agency of record for a multi-year partnership across their annual event, The Melbourne Royal Show, following a four-way competitive pitch.
Established in 1848, Melbourne Royal celebrates agriculture, food, and community. Per the appointment, Melbourne Royal will be looking to leverage the thrills team for a new and dynamic show campaign to introduce the event to a new generation.
“We’re excited to inject new life into the show that Victorians have grown up loving. Everyone has a memory of the show, and there are so many exciting new things on this year, our creative task was to communicate this to drive reappraisal,” said the thrills’ creative director, Paul Greskie.
Marketing campaign manager at Melbourne Royal, Grace Usher, said this year, the show was looking to drive ticket sales through a differentiated campaign that’s fresh and exciting.
“We want to show people that this is an unmissable event, to evoke that FOMO feeling, turning a trip to the show into an unforgettable yearly tradition where every visit becomes a cherished memory,” she said.
“The thrills blew us away with their winning creative response, bringing innovative and strategic thinking, and an exciting channel-led campaign approach to take the Melbourne Royal Show to the next level.”
The thrills managing partner, Rick McEvoym, commented on winning the partnership with the 175-year-old heritage brand.
“The show is part of the cultural fabric of Melbourne and is also really close to my heart. Some of my fondest memories from when I was a kid are of coming down to the big smoke with my grandparents to spend the day at the show, and now I get to do that all over again with my own family,” he said.
“We’ve got big plans for our work with Melbourne Royal and we can’t wait for everyone to see. This campaign marks another important milestone in our strategic growth plans, and we are looking forward to a long partnership with one of Melbourne’s icons.”
Up until recently, the thrills was part of the legacy brand design consultancy, Elmwood. Following a management buyout from its UK-based parent company in 2021, the agency underwent a rebrand to its name.
It is headed by managing partners McEvoy and Kate Richardson.
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Top Image (L-R): Rick McEvoy, managing partner, the thrills, Gemma Tedford, client director, the thrills, Marcia Allan, executive general manager marketing and membership, Melbourne Royal, Paul Greskie, creative director, the thrills, Grace Usher, marketing campaign manager, Melbourne Royal & Lauren Winter, marketing executive, Melbourne Royal