TrueLocal invites Australians to Meet The Locals

TrueLocal invites Australia to Meet the Locals

Online local business search directory TrueLocal will invite Australians to meet the locals as part of a $4 million launch advertising campaign to debut on Sunday 24 August.

 A major focus for owner News Ltd, the TrueLocal relaunch is aiming to revolutionise the online search directory category by transforming the online consumer experience and challenging the way online search directories are marketed.

With in depth business profiles and tens of thousands of independent customer reviews, TrueLocal has three distinct points of difference – it carries the people’s opinions on local business, offers greater depth of business content and a distribution strategy that encompasses mobile carriers Vodafone, Optus, 3 mobile and Virgin as well as navigational devices to reach more consumers.

 According to Louise Brockbank, General Manager Marketing, the advertising campaign aims to capture this by using a series of stereotypical locals to demonstrate that while there are local knowledge experts in every suburban town around the country, getting a simple local business recommendation out of them can sometimes be a challenging experience.

The characters include a lady who insists on sharing just a little too much personal information, a name dropper who can’t resist revealing his very tenuous celebrity connections and a sports nut who lives and breathes his favourite football code. The creative was developed by BMF.

“Our message is simple. TrueLocal provides the insight required to choose the best local business to meet your needs. It does this by connecting you with a network of likeminded people in an instant who can help you make the right decision which allows you to get the job done,” explained Louise.

Simon Langley, Creative Director at BMF explains the inspiration behind the creative. “Every community has its share of quirky locals that we’ve all come across from time to time. The new campaign plays off this insight by introducing a set of ‘Locals’ who, when asked for information, will do anything other than give you a simple answer.”

“The multi layered, content rich idea shows that TrueLocal can give you local information quickly and easily without having to hear the ins and outs of someone’s sex life or an old bloke’s war stories,” he added.

The TrueLocal marketing strategy will also involve mediums beyond traditional TV. Metropolitan newspaper advertisements featuring QR codes which will allow consumers to play a 60 second movie style trailer from their mobile phone will join interactive virals and community newspaper cover wraps as part of the marketing mix. There will also be a national radio campaign and an extensive online component including a customised website called ‘meet the locals.com.au’.

 “Traditionally the online search directory market has been a transactional one with little differentiation and brand engagement. By developing a campaign which is disruptive, different and entertaining we’re aiming to encourage the consumer to become more interested and involved in the category. We want to turn ‘search and find’ into ‘search, find and interact’,” explained Louise.

While the TrueLocal brand campaign is yet to launch, the new look website went live last month and already unique browsers have increased significantly. “Our new look website has been warmly received by consumers and they are demonstrating their willingness to interact.

 In just five days we received more than 7,000 new customer reviews for businesses listed on TrueLocal – a result well above our expectations,” Louise reported.

TrueLocal creative credits:

Executive Creative Director: Warren Brown,

Creative Directors: Simon Langley & Chris James

 Art Director: Jake Rusznyak, Craig Bailey

 Copy Writer: Dennis Koutoulogenis

 Account Management: Nick Garrett,

Lenya Kovacevic, Elisabeth Spence

Strategic Planner: Gerry Cyron

TV Producer: Louise Hodgson

Digital Producer: Sora Nobari

TV Director: Simon Macrae and Kenn Macrae

TV Production Company: Orange Whip Productions

TV Production Company Producer: Alex Mooney

Flash Developer: Martin Holley

Art Buyer: Basir Salleh

Photographer: Daniel Guerra