The last couple of weeks I have been watching a lot of people on the news point their finger and throw their hands up in desperation. I really want to step up our efforts in finding a way to use Hello Sunday Morning as a vehicle to shift Australia’s Binge Drinking Culture.
As such, this is the brief version of my ‘HSM 5 Finger Plan’. Please pull it apart and chuck in your ideas and suggestions. This is what we will be presenting back to government at the end of the project so your input is highly important to me! C.
Further develop the Hello Sunday Morning brand
Young people communicate through brands. We hope to build the Hello Sunday Morning brand into an accessible and attractive symbol for a healthy drinking. We need to provide ways for people to get behind the brand if they believe in what it stands for. Events, merch, opportunities etc.
Stage 2) GET GOOD PEOPLE BEHIND IT
Identify and engage the right kind of brand advocates
At the moment, our resources have only permitted for one brand advocate to go through the program (moi). But we need to get other, more influential young people involved to really kick the project’s effectiveness into gear. We need to inspire and engage the right kind of young person to wear and believe in what the brand stands for. What would it take to get them on board?
Change they way they look at alcohol
We then need to provide them with opportunities, experiences and responsibility that shifts their psychological belief systems around why they feel they ‘need’ to drink to excess. We would need to develop an attractive 3/6 month program that they can be coached through to ensure that their psychology around alcohol does shift.
Stage 4) MAKE THE SHIFT VISIBLE
Use social media to get the word out there.
Each person has around 150-200 people that they have direct influence over. Our job is to ensure that the shift in the advocate’s psychology is vividly displayed to every one of their 200+ people. We do this by providing them with an expansive range of social media tools and skills that make sure their change is seen. This would include video, audio and writing material that would be displayed on the Hello Sunday Morning website and through their respective social media accounts.
Upon the success of the initial brand ambassador program, Hello Sunday Morning would then conduct a similar initiative around in the other capital cities in Australia. This will then inspire young people from different areas to take more notice of the possibilities and make the program relevant to them. This process could potentially even be replicated in a rural area or have a collective of rural young people connecting together online.
Stage 5) GIVE IT TO THE PEOPLE
Provide a way for any and every young Australian to do their own Hello Sunday Morning.
My favourite part!! We need to build an attractive digital resource that provides an opportunity for ANY young Australian to go through a similar process of transformation. Similarly, they will be provided with the tools, support and strategy to communicate their change amongst their respective sphere of influence.
A) Online
Develop a strong online community where young people can track their growth, compare where they are at with that growth and get support for their individual journey. Furthermore, Hello Sunday Morning would provide materials for those in the community to access to support them through the process (vodcast, podcasts, books etc.).
B) Offline
Ideally, would need to provide and promote amazing things for young people to do on the weekends that aren’t centered around drinking. Potentially we could work out what the average Australian young person would spend on alcohol each week and then make each week’s activity cheaper than that (visually representing this in the promotion of HSM). Ideas??
I want Hello Sunday Morning to be a place where young people can shift Australia’s binge drinking culture within ourselves, with our own two hands. What do you you all think??
16 Comments
Add a commentHey Chriso!!!
I LOVE IT….CAN’T WAIT TO GET INTO IT!!
1. Firstly, I think that the brands NEEDS to be accessible to youths across all aspects of their lives. This would mean across; Universities, home (which would be the online and the merch), work, clubbin, fashion, sporting, music etc… So we should partner up with; fashion designers, bar owners/managers, music producers and bands, local sporting teams. So kids know that what where ever they there is an alternative while also strengthening our brand image as desirable and powerful!
2. i think that the brand ambassadors interaction unfortunately needs to be solely motivated by themselves and not due to something we have done. This is because of the huge moral responsibility of being a ‘community leader’ which is place on the BA during and after the HSM journey.
3. I think more focus needs to be placed on AFTER the period of not drinking. So getting BA’s to continue to communicating to their peers once they have started drinking again. This will show government and the public that the program is effective in permanently changing drinking attitudes, and not influencing them whilst they are not drinking.
Maybe if a BA commits to HSM for 6 months; 4-5 months should be without drinking and then the final month should be about how they are going when they actually have the option to drink and don’t have the security blanket of the HSM bosom…..
lovin it….Chris
1. Totally Agree – How do you think we go about approaching people to get involved on this level. What brands would you recommend???
2. Yeah, so what do you think we can do to entice them to be apart of it? What would it take you??
3. Great idea!! Definitely going to run with that one!
Chrisso,
Love the direction that this monster is heading. I believe that to merchandise the brand name to a point where across australia there is one brand that is directly linked to youth and alcohol, HSM.
I believe that there is currently a shift in the gen Y, and that is we cant live our lives the way our parents did. We are living in a world full of disease, chemicals, cancer to name but a few of the harmful things out there and its about education of wellness. We need to be active and fit, eat whole unprocessed fresh foods, limit alcohol consumption and avoid chemical intake. HSM could be in at the cutting edge of this shift and target Personal Trainers, Nutrition Experts and Youth organizations to penetrate that market…
Your thoughts?
Brenno
I agree that there needs to be a quantum shift in the way we look after ourselves!
Glad you like the concept of branding. I think that is a winner.
With regards to engaging services, I think that is going to be essential. Hopefully they can be subsidized by economies of scale!!
Loving where this is at man.
I think one of the keys to taking it mainstream is connecting with peoples idea of what they want in their life. For some it’s escape, others its adventure and most its just a common ground and some identity to call their own.
But more importantly, the events which have fostered the drinking culture in the beginning – mostly, the entertainment industry, in peoples leisure time.
I don’t know too many people that drink at work (the exceptions would obviously be the clubs and in some cases me on the weekends…. *awkward cough*) but I would argue that at the problematic level its not all that common.
I’m starting up a bunch of research in entertainment and how people spend their leisure time for the new degree QUT is developing – the Bachelors of Entertainment Industries, I think their is some great potential to involve HSM in this. Looking at why alcohol has become the primary offering of most entertainment industries. This is especially true of those with passive product offerings, “come and watch or listen”… you may purchase a beverage if you like. Even escapist modes, get lost in the dance floor/drugs/atmosphere/people/experience and leave the ‘you’ that you’re not so happy with at the door or just trial a new ‘you’ and see how it goes.
I think getting HSM going as a agent of positive, engaging, interactive entertainment will capture alot broader audience and enable them to shift their behaviour, while simultaneously fulfilling the motivation to get loose.
I feel like Im rambling here so I’m gonna Kayne myself and return to my seat.
Love to hear your thoughts
B
Maybe we could tie the Entertainment aspect under the branding element? Like a ‘Heart Foundation’ tick of approval for events that aren’t about getting fucked up, but about the experience and the entertainment?? what do you think?
Chris
Do your target audience need to have been a binge or excessive drinker? Could HSM start the “Shift in Belief” earlier and educate younger people that there is no need to over step the line, so one can step back?
I think that the excessive drinkers are the target audience because I’m apart of them and know what it means to drink or not drink. The pros and cons. I definitely think that there needs to be programs for younger people in place, however, I think that we need to focus on the small bit of turf we know and change that.
Which way will be more effective – I’m not too sure… but we have to start somewhere.
Hi Chris!
stage 1. I agree, developing the brand is a necessity! Get it out there sunny JIM. Perhaps some businesses can take on a HSM challenge and support the cause of abstaining from boozos for a length of time. You could gain their feedback and do some promotion on their business in exchange.The use of video footage and interviews could then inspire others. If events or bars jump on board then they are attracting healthy socialising and a new market!
stage 2. You are fabulous ambassador C’topher, but more BA’s=more exposure. Like i suggested in line two, stage one, getting businesses on board would be helpful! I thought of HSM promotion girls.. that could be fun! They are usually promoting jack daniels or sky vodka… you should get some smoking hot beach babes, running a HSM shirt at festivals handing out tasty hydration liquids, or candi. Getting bands on board would be powerful, as you know. I heard on the radio that La Roux is abstaining from booze until all her tours over, i think that’s great! An interview with her would be interesting!
Hope my ideas are of some help!!
Be in touch and always connected,
Marlise 🙂 xx
Great stuff Marli!!!
1. What businesses do you reckon would be best to get involved?? How can we subsidize the lost revenue that bars would experience through a reduction in alcohol sales… that’s a tough one….
2. Love the promotional ambassador presence at festivals. Such a great idea!! I have started to hit some people up for interviews! I’ll have to hit La Roux up tonight :). See how I go!
Thanks Marli. x
1) develop the brand: launch a drink babeh. ? Give people a real branded alternative that doesnt blow your eyeballs out till 4am like redbull. I ‘d love to see cool people with cool respect standing round with a HELLO in their hands. very very low alcohol, tasty without the artifical sugars and other gut rot teeth rot.
2).get good people behind it: I think clear purpose is important for the people joining up. What part/result of the drinking culture do they want to remove themselves from? Is alcohol used in order to avoid the dis-comfort of outcasting, nervousness, facing feelings, the pressure of self responsibility, rebeliousness , recklessness, habit, addiction? Is it health (weight/fitness related)? I think by pinpointing/sharing the unique focal points of the participants then this inspires/engages others to self reflect and see how it may benefit them.
3)shifting the mindset: yes and building tribes to support that shift. which is aided by events, experiences, comradeire for meeting, sharing, celebrating new behaviour patterns.
The road you’re paving is bright Chris, thanks for the opportunity to do a little dance upon it with you. Goodluck. X
1. What are some brands that create a similar product? Maybe we could leverage off them to use their product but put our brand on it? Have you seen anything really good in your travels?
2. Yeah, we need to provide individualised programs and opportunities for individual drivers for drinking. I think we need to keep doing some more psych work in this area to get some solid areas that people feel they need to drink for.
Cheers Heidi!! 🙂 x
Hey brother,
I see Hello Sunday Morning as more than a brand. I’m not sure what it is. But it is more than a Coke, or Prada. It has so much more meaning than those things. Maybe it is just semantics but I think giving HSM a brand is not what it is about. It is about expressing HSM in it’s entirety. I don’t want the idea of ‘branding’ to limit the scope of possibilities for HSM.
This is my opinion, and I’m not the expert in the field. You don’t want to compete with red bull, and bacardi, and macca’s and what ever else on their level of branding. We both know that HSM is bigger than that. It’s almost like you want to anti-brand it.
Rock out though brother. You know you have my support. Bromance.
S.
I know exactly what you are saying. I think we communicate through symbols and brands are just symbols on crack.
For you and me it is much bigger. For me it is the majority of my time/life. But for the everyday person that has other ‘bigger’ things in their life, we want to provide opportunities that HSM can fit into their life in whatever size they can fit it into.
(I do like the term anti-brand though. I guess, that is what all good brands are..;))
Hey Chris, I check in every couple of weeks to see where you are taking HSM and what new insights you have uncovered. Love your work!
Have you thought of approaching a professional sporting team/code. I know the Gold Coast Titans are big on personal development and community involvement and I’m sure other clubs and even the NRL body itself would have similar programs. It is well known the drinking problems that plagued the NRL this past year, they sure could use some good PR 🙂 A high profile player would do wonders, and even a lower grader would give you some good exposure. The drinking culture amongst sportsmen would be a BIG culture to try and crack, as I see a lot of them as leaders of youth and youth drinking habits.
I feel you will have difficulty getting clubs/events on board without providing them an alternate revenue stream to alcohol sales. A HSM branded drink is a good idea, but I think for these groups to get involved it would take something more. Unless you can get sponsorship (government? with the recent Valley 2am shutout proposal…) to take over a venue for an event, it will be a battle to get them on board, in my opinion.
Keep fighting the good fight!
Dan
Hi Dan – thanks for popping by when you can! 🙂
Pro sportsmen has been a suggestion that a lot of people seem to give up. On one hand, it would be great publicity and the profile of the model would be greatly enhanced. However, there is a large risk involved. Secondarily, it isn’t about the masses it is about the individual and their sphere of influence. Celebrities tend to float at the top of the masses, where I’m looking for people that are rooted in the masses.
I think whatever the solution,we need to work together so that everyone is happy. I don’t think nightclubs or the industry itself really want the same as what happened with tobacco, so I’m sure they are all ears to possible win-win solutions.
Thanks for your thoughts Dan!!
Chris.