As a creative, I’ve been lucky enough to work with a number of successful campaigns, magazine launches, and good brand design. However, as much as I’ve thrown myself into creating the perfect brand work, very rarely comes a project that had a target audience I could really relate to, until Health Insurer HBF’s Young Father’s initiative came to Mahlab as an opportunity. There was something different with this brief. This was something I could both relate to, and was lucky enough to be able to drive the ideation process.
As the creative director at Mahlab Media, I lead a team of six working across a number of brands. It’s always busy, new briefs, pitches come through while we also focus on the regular weekly deliverables. At the same time I also lead a just as hectic life of being a Dad of a son and daughter under eight. I love being a dad. I wear it as a badge of honour. Only other dads know what that means. There’s that knowing nod or look when you share stories just as much as those “you don’t understand” looks to friends who don’t.
So the day our account manager brought the brief aimed at Dads I was all over it. HBF already had some ideas, they wanted a concept to help Fathers through probably the biggest transformative moment in a person’s life. There was very little collateral material aimed at dads, and certainly nothing written in the tone of voice Australian guys relate to.
When we fell pregnant I remember my wife giving me a book the size of the bible saying “read that!” After scanning through the first few pages I left to the bedside table, and there it gathered dust and was never picked up again. I wanted to know facts, but that book didn’t speak to me. I could not relate to it.
So, after thinking of general ideas and things I would like to see as a dad the first thing we needed was a name. So after many brainstorming moments we got to the point where it really should have started: D.A.D – Direct Advice 4 Dads. We interviewed dads from different backgrounds, ages. We found a patterns and topics that were similar throughout. We tapped into their needs, their concerns and their hopes.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working on this project as it has evolved from pitch to a live hub and the continuing improvement & amendments that we make. I see DAD evolving into the future to a one stop for DAD advice. Check it out, review it, pass it on. Dad content written for Dads by dads.
