WHERE DO BABIES COME FROM…SERIOUSLY?
Date 2020
Client Genea
Role Senior Designer
Type Digital + Social + Press
The Project
Key stakeholders:
Client: Genea - Nicole Papoutsis, Head of Brand and Marketing
Agency: CHE Proximity, lead by CD Richard Shaw and CD Jeremy Hogg, alongside Head of Design Darren Cole and our strategy and account teams.
End users: Broader stakeholder group, the one in six people who struggle with infertility and the one in 20 families whose children are conceived via IVF.
The market is bland and undifferentiated, and the taboo around infertility prevented open conversation. The organisation issued a brief that went beyond typical advertising, asking to ‘smash the taboo’ and change the cultural narrative. The response was a new, emotional brand platform entitled ‘Where babies come from’, different from the category's usual clinical approach. This platform was launched with a film that normalized an often messy fertility journey including a lot of sex and a children's book which literally rewrote the story for a new generation.
My Role in the Project
For this project, my responsibilities were spilt across two phases. My responsibilities included:
Designing the digital display and social and natives assets.
Presenting storyboards internally for creative approvals
Working within a strict Illustration framework
Following updated brand guidelines for the digital/social space
Creating press artwork and design
I worked closely with the CDs and Head of Design to ensure the storyboards were not just headline grabbing but also full of heart working within a strict framework. For the second phase i was responsible for designing press and additional social placements. Presentations & Approvals: I was central in presenting the strategic platform and creative concepts. We had to navigate the sensitive nature of the topic, justify the provocative tone across all the touchpoints, and demonstrate how this platform would flow through every part of Genea's brand to drive real change and business for them. Securing approval was a testament to the client's bravery and the strength of our strategic partnership.
Project Success and Learnings
The project was a success because it delivered on the client's primary objective, to intentionally break the mould. The campaign also went on to win numerous industry awards.
Key awards included:
Australian Effie Awards - Silver: Challenger Brand
Clio Health Awards - Bronze: Integrated Campaign (Health & Wellness)
AWARD Awards - Gold: Digital, Integrated Campaign
Spikes Asia - Bronze: Healthcare
I learned that client bravery is the greatest accelerator. The project was only possible because the client was willing to be provocative and trusted us to do it with empathy and intelligence. Looking back, I would have pushed to make the display more impactful across rich media placements in the launch phase. While the campaign ran across various mediums, we could have explored additional partnerships amplifying its role as a tool for change from day one.
