Project Overview

Toorak Time Capsule was a 3-month campaign with the primary objective of maximising community engagement of local Toorak residents, which in turn would build positive brand awareness of Fortis in the lead up to their Ode development launch.

The climax of the campaign was a community event, hosted by Fortis and the local Mayor, thanking residents for their contributions and support to the Toorak Time Capsule. The same event marked the launch of the Ode development sales campaign.

Organisation

Fortis

 

Team

Head of Marketing - Kristina Granberg
Marketing Manager - Jess Garcia
Design Director - Sarah Magro
Copywriter - Sophie Noble
Event Photographer - Fiona Hamilton
Render Artist - Large Arts
Printer - Special T
Signage - Signarama St Kilda
PR & Event Management - Reymond Communications

Project Brief

Fortis specialises in high-end small- and medium-sized residential and commercial developments. Boutique in size but big in heart, we have set ourselves a goal to change the perception of ‘typical’ developers by building open and transparent relationships with our customers and the communities we work in.

The Fortis creative team were asked to create a compelling positioning, brand, and marketing campaign in order to effectively communicate the unique characteristics of the development, wrapped in a campaign that would engage with local Toorak residents.

Project Innovation/Need

We decided to use the campaign as a way to give Toorak Village something to gather as a community and be proud of. The Toorak Time Capsule would eventually be buried in the foundations of our new development, aptly named ‘Ode’.

The capsule would house ‘Stories of Toorak’ – a publication with local stories from a cross hatch of the community: from the local postman, through to Eddie McGuire; the mid-week tennis ladies, to the Mayor of Stonnington. To find local content for the publication, the social handle @tooraktimecapsule provided a forum to engage with residents, asking for nominations and contributions. Locals used our social channels to nominate their boss, dad, son, hairdresser, to be considered for inclusion in ‘Stories of Toorak’, and provided predictions of what the village might be like in 100 years’ time.

Locals were also invited to contribute memorabilia for the time capsule, which were displayed along with the ‘Stories of Toorak’ portraits for the month of May in a local café.

Stonnington Council agreed to keep a record of the Toorak Time Capsule at the Stonnington History Centre, with instructions on who should open the time capsule in 100 years. Mayor Steve Stefanopoulos featured in the publication and gave the opening address at the event.

Design Challenge

Fortis needed a campaign that could shift the perception of their company within the Toorak community, from being unknown, to being trusted and endorsed. A challenging feat for a (at the time) relatively new, Sydney-based, development company.

We used qualitative on-the-field research to get to the heart of what the community was truly passionate about. We learnt that although the second most affluent suburb in Australia, for fiercely loyal Toorak locals, the real measure of value is how long you’ve lived in the area, and the answer is usually in the decades.

Locals loved to tell their own story, and of how they fit into the history of the village. We decided to use the campaign as a way to give Toorak Village something to gather as a community and be proud of.

User Experience

Although the campaign was contagious by design, the response was more than we could have ever anticipated. Thousands of comments on just one social post voting for who should be included in the publication, from a social handle which was only weeks old; event RSVPs having to close days prior to the event due to overwhelming response; webpage visitors increasing by over 3,000% in just 3 months.

The Ode and its supporting Toorak Time Capsule campaign successfully engaged local residents and community groups, it promoted local retailers, and shifted the perception of Fortis from ‘unknown’ to ‘endorsed’. Schools, social and sporting groups and residents donated 48 items of memorabilia to the Toorak Time capsule, and 180 engaged local residents, predominantly from our target demographic, walked home with Ode development brochures in hand.

“Just a quick note of thanks to you and everyone involved, for a fabulous evening last night. The evening brought the community together and in particular we left the event feeling enlightened with the new people we met and our exchange of stories.”

Susie Krizman
Local resident and memorabilia contributor

“I have been creating events in and for Toorak Village for the last 20 years, and never have I had such a turn out. You have managed to pull at the heartstrings of this community.”

Tony Fialides
President of the Toorak Village Traders Association