There are certain gems here at Paramount that just put an instant smile on your face whenever you see and interact with them. One of those gems is Head of Marketing – Broadcast and Digital, Andreana Walton (hold for applause).
Recently, Andreana led the team to create the jaw-dropping 3D billboard for MasterChef Australia which is casually sitting atop a six-storey high screen at Australia’s largest and tallest outdoor animated site, serving the busiest outdoor pedestrian mall in Melbourne’s CBD. Oh, and did we mention we’re the first Commercial FTA Network to do this in Australia? No biggie.
Andreana sat down with The Water Cooler over a couple spicy margarita’s and homemade guac to tell us all about it. Followed by a couple more spicy margs.
What is your role and what does it entail?
My role is Network 10’s Head of Marketing – Broadcast And Digital. I’m a year away from being able to say I’ve spent ten years at Paramount – time flies when you’re having fun!
I work with extremely talented teams to encourage viewership of our shows on both broadcast and digital.
We use all possible levers to build awareness of our shows and to target opportunity segments, encouraging people to watch by serving messages on channels we know they like to consume, including large format outdoor, retail, street furniture, busses, trams, helicopter flags, trucks, scooters, cinema, radio spots and partnerships, digital homepage takeovers (including on leading news sites), connected TVs, programmatic video and display sites, search, social media, newspapers and magazines, watch and win competitions, events, partnerships, activations and community initiatives.
The marketing team also look after the beautiful 10 Play emails you receive on a regular basis, as well as mobile and web push notifications, in-app messages, and content merchandising on platform and with our valuable app partners.
What’s been your favourite memory at Paramount over the years?
In my previous career, I spent many years in magazines and had the pleasure of working closely with the person in my role at Network 10 at the time. Together, we collaborated on many marketing initiatives, but my favourite was a 3D collaboration. We featured free 3D glasses as a gift with purchase on Woman’s Day and TV WEEK magazines which you could use to review a 3D pull out feature as well as to watch a 3D segment of Talkin’ ‘bout Your Generation.
Yes, the glasses were the blue and red cardboard versions which are so naff now, but back in the day, it was pretty ground-breaking. We’ve now come full circle and are promoting MasterChef Australia in 3D, but on a much, much grander scale.
Tell us about the 3D billboard for MasterChef Australia. How did you come up with the concept?
This year’s series is themed MasterChef: Secrets & Surprises, and we’ve leant into that by treating viewers to the unexpected. We wanted media channels with a ‘wow’ factor and could look no further than Australia’s first 3D anamorphic site, which is six stories high and serves the busiest outdoor pedestrian mall in MasterChef’s home state of Melbourne. We’re thrilled to be the first commercial TV network to make use of this ground-breaking technology.
It’s such a unique idea and one we haven’t ever done before. What’s the process from idea to execution?
After securing the site via our media agency, Wavemaker, we briefed in our incredible Head of Network Design, Karen Song (Editor’s note: The Water Cooler is OBSESSED with Karen Song. Hi Kaz!) who loved the idea. Karen engaged VFX and post-production studio, Cutting Edge, to create a custom MasterChef piece and together they collaborated on this incredible ad which allows audiences to be immersed in the MasterChef magic.
It is one of the first 3D out-of-home campaigns in the country with a live-action element, so the concept went through thorough testing, both internally and with the team at media vendors, oOh! Media, to ensure all technical aspects were nailed before the talent shoot with our three judges, Jock, Andy and Melissa. A big thanks also to our Publicity team for helping us secure time with the judges, not an easy task considering we were at the tail end of filming! We truly do have the best teams in the business.
Can we expect to see more of these ideas in future marketing materials?
I certainly hope so! There are many variables that affect how successful a campaign can be, but our goal is to constantly evolve, so we are engaging with viewers and potential viewers with the right message, in the right place, at the right time.
