Project Overview
150 years of a family a business is a remarkable feat — and one that Melbourne’s iconic Catanach's Jewellers achieved in 2024. Kick Agency was tasked with strategising a memorable way to celebrate the Catanach’s legacy and design a campaign to commemorate six generations of family dedication and craftsmanship.
We crafted an experience over a 12 month period that intertwined history through Catanach’s, Melbourne, Australia and the world, to broaden the appeal of engaging with the story to the existing audience as well as a new audience.
Combining heritage and modern engagement, people were invited to share personal stories, memories, and connections to Catanach’s over the decades, making the campaign evolve as it went on.
Not just a celebration of fine jewelry, the Catanach’s ‘150 Years of timeless beauty’ campaign is a tribute to the qualities that define Catanach's: quality, trust, expertise, and family. Through immersive storytelling and interactive elements, we reinforced Catanach’s as the go-to destination for heirloom-quality jewelry, creating a memorable journey for audiences while laying a firm foundation for the ongoing success of the brand.
This project allowed us to honour both tradition and the spirit of innovation — showcasing Catanach's enduring reputation in a way that resonates with both their loyal, long-time clients and a new, younger audience.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Louisa Hayton - Director
Daniel Buckthorpe - Account Director
John Cassar - Creative Director
Ami-Leigh O’Donnell - Copywriter / Strategist
Marko Čakarević - Senior Designer
Beani Morris - Designer / Motion Graphics
Fady Khalife - Senior Web Developer
Laura Kealy - Account Manager
Maggie Rawat - Support Account Manager
Project Brief
For Catanach’s 150-year milestone celebration, the goal was to create a campaign that would celebrate and solidify the Catanach legacy, blending its impressive historical roots with modern-day brand visibility. This was an opportunity to create a lasting legacy while also reaching a whole new audience.
This open brief called for a multi-dimensional campaign that could bring Catanach’s name into the present day while following and commemorating its rich heritage. To accomplish this, we focused on telling the unique story of six generations of jewelers, each contributing to a family legacy dedicated to artistry and craftsmanship.
The project aimed not only to honor the family’s achievements but also to inspire the audience to connect with Catanach’s history and values. By infusing this campaign with historical moments, personal stories, memorable visuals, and moments of customer engagement, we crafted an experience that positioned Catanach’s as a timeless brand, inviting everyone to be part of a historical narrative that stretches across 150 years.
This approach successfully cemented Catanach’s legacy while ensuring a fresh and enduring brand presence.
Project Innovation/Need
Uniquely, our campaign fused the enduring and timeless craftsmanship of publishing a book to mirror the timeless craftmanship of Catanach’s Jewellers, with digital storytelling to create an impressive celebration for 150 years of Catanach’s Jewellers.
The finale of the celebration was a meticulously crafted 296-page coffee table book to be launched at the Catanach’s 150 year celebration event at National Gallery of Victoria. The luxurious, tangible hard-cover publications captures decades of history with the addition of modern embellishments like a UV spot gloss cover feature, designed to outlast us all as a testament to Catanach’s enduring impact.
This physical book serves as the culmination of the digital journey, which unfolded over a year through a custom-built, horizontal-scrolling timeline website. Every two months, a new chapter was revealed, inviting customers to explore Catanach’s story in a visually engaging, interactive format.
We amplified engagement through integrated email, social media and SMS updates, inviting those with personal ties to Catanach’s to contribute their own stories. This approach not only built brand loyalty but enriched the narrative itself, allowing Catanach’s community to become active participants in growing and preserving the family’s legacy.
The combination of a timeless physical keepsake with a dynamic, interactive digital experience brought something truly unique to the market — blending tradition with innovation in a way that honors the past while actively shaping the future. This multifaceted campaign ensured Catanach’s story would resonate across generations, solidifying the brand as a cherished, living legacy.
Design Challenge
Crafting a campaign that resonated with Catanach’s established clientele while also appealing to new audiences was the primary challenge. We needed to create a reason for a new audience to engage with the story, which we achieved by marrying the Catanach’s family and business historical timeline of events to notable events in the history of Melbourne and Australia. This context highlighted how remarkably longstanding Catanach’s Jewellers is, while taking the audience on a trip down memory lane more broadly to capture their interest beyond Catanach’s while also highlighting the family’s 150-year celebration.
For younger audiences, we had to communicate the legacy in a way that felt relevant and exciting. Conveying the weight of 150 years in business required us to go beyond standard branding. We showcased that Catanach’s was established even before Australia’s Federation, adding a sense of historical magnitude.
Catering to the older, loyal clients required a focus on VIP-style, tactile communications that honoured Catanach’s history, values, and premium service — particularly for the highly relationship-driven 60-80 age bracket. SMS was the favored medium for this demographic.
The campaign’s year-long release structure presented its own challenges in keeping engagement high throughout the campaign. To address this, we divided the story into distinct chapters by generation, rolling out regular SMS, socials, EDMs and radio. The chapters were designed with a hydrangea-themed colour palette and graphic device, which was eventually revealed to be the inspiration for the limited edition 150 year jewellery range.
User Experience
The campaign provided a rich user experience, inviting customers to connect with Catanach’s history on a personal level. By encouraging customers to share their own stories with the brand, we fostered a sense of community and allowed audiences to become part of the Catanach legacy.
This engagement led to an influx of shared memories and heartfelt stories, showcasing the deep-rooted connection clients and their own families feel toward Catanach’s.
Positive customer feedback highlighted the campaign’s success; rarely does a marketing initiative receive such praise for its authenticity and depth. Amanda Catanach noted:
“We engaged Kick Agency to create our 150th anniversary campaign and we have been extremely happy so far. They are professional, prompt, and very easy to work with. They 'get' us and have delivered a very high-quality campaign.”
This testimonial reflects the high level of client satisfaction and the meaningful experience created for Catanach’s audience. The campaign’s emotional resonance not only celebrated a remarkable milestone but also strengthened client relationships and brand loyalty.
Branded Experience
This award celebrates creative and innovative design for branded experiences intended to persuade an audience to purchase or take some action upon products, ideas or services. Consideration given to the technical, conceptual and aesthetic elements, user experience, audience engagement and message delivery.
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