Industry
Services
Expertise
Challenge
The Dolphins are a brand-new team entering the NRL. Being their first year, most experts tipped them to come last, despite having one of the greatest coaches in NRL history – Wayne Bennett. As the Dolphins sponsor, Budget Direct wanted to help the team build their fan base, generate support and get attention from NRL fans. Unfortunately, the legendary NRL Super Coach isn’t exactly known for his humour or love of the media. So how do you entertain and generate fan engagement when your most recognizable name is out of the question?
Solution
We created DWAYNE Bennett. Wayne Bennett’s long, long, long lost cousin who is the complete opposite. Dwayne is super positive, upbeat and happy-go-lucky. Plastered head-to-toe in custom Dolphins merch (featuring his good mates and sponsor, Budget Direct), he entertains the fans through his trademark humour and quick-wit. Across TV, OOH and his socials, Dwayne shares a mix of episodic content, match commentary, always on and reactive content as well as live commentary across Game Day. He’s the #1 Dolphins supporter. A ‘Phinatic’!
Outcome
In just four months, Dwayne has amassed a legion of dedicated Phinatics, including many fans of other NRL teams. That includes a whopping 40k followers on TikTok, 10k on Facebook, and 7.7k on Instagram.
In the process, Budget Direct has achieved a huge level of exposure across all major social media platforms, with many subtle references to his great ‘mates’ at Budget Direct. His catch-cry “Phins up!” is now echoed by fans across Australia on social media and his iconic “Kekekeke” dolphin sound is a crowd favourite and also the basis of many remixes and re-imaginings on TikTok.
We love working with brands and businesses that want to break the boundaries and join the new-world agency. Let’s talk.