Innocean Australia

Client: Hyundai
Product: Surfing Australia Sponsorship
Title: She's Electric
Media: Sponsorship, activation, TV, social, outdoor, influencer, media publication
Country: Australia
Date Of Campaign: Year 1: August 2022 - February 2023

Background: Surfing is synonymous with Australians.But we’re far from giving women a “Fair Go” when it comes to competitive surfing.1 in 3 Aussie surfers are women but only 10% of junior competitors are female.(AusSport, 2022; LiveHeats, 2021).The full potential of female surfers is being capped at grassroots levels because there is no clear pathway to the top.As major sponsors of the nation’s largest grassroot surfing events, Australian Boardriders Battle (ABB), it was time for Hyundai to level the playing field.BRIEF:Electrify grassroots women’s surfing by bringing innovation to the future of the sport.OBJECTIVES:1. Connecting the Hyundai Brand to aspirational coastal audiences.>Brand consideration>Brand salience (trust & innovation)2. Authentically adding value to the surfing community through engagement>Earned coverage quality>Surfing community engagement3. Driving progress by increasing participation of female surfers in sport>Participation Rate>New athletes discovered

Idea: SHE’S ELECTRIC:Unearthing the future of women’s surf on performance - not looks.We connected live competition data from Australia’s largest junior surfing events into the first women’s national ranking, giving every athlete a profile based on real-time performance-data. The bigger their score in the waves, the bigger their exposure in the media.HOW IT WORKED:The best way to identify up-and-coming athletes is breakout performances.ABB is scored as a team, women were anonymous numbers grouped with men. No national ranking existed for grassroots women. For the first time, we pulled female scores around Australia into one leaderboard.LiveHeats™ data measured power, flow and speed, creating an Average Wave Score linked to each unique rider profile. From anonymous to athletes, every woman could be discovered regardless of team or location. Top 5 made the sponsorship “Team Electric”.Never in surfing history has a mixed-event separated scores to spotlight women.

Results: 1. CONNECTED HYUNDAI BRAND TO COASTAL AUDIENCES:7.5M reached (1/3 Australians).Brand consideration +131% YoY amongst surfing population. +15% compared to primary competitor Mazda (6% on base). Female surfing population felt represented by the brand, “A brand for people like me” +14%, doubling YoY.Brand trust increased 8%>43% YoY.Perception as an “innovative brand” rose +86% YoY.2. AUTHENTICALLY ADDED VALUE TO THE SURFING COMMUNITY THROUGH ENGAGEMENT:SURF COMMUNITY:20,000 event spectators.+7,500 hours live-streamed throughout season (Surfing Australia, 2023).AMPLIFIED TO THE MASSES:Broadcast athletes across Australia’s top television networks, Seven and Nine. Profiled in national mastheads, including the Daily Telegraph, Body & Soul and West Australian.Equating to $1.9M earned media exposure.3. DROVE PROGRESS BY INCREASING PARTICIPATION OF FEMALE SURFERS IN THE SPORT:75 unknown athletes unearthed.100% participation of Australia’s 750 Boardriders clubs.+6% increase in female participation from 10.2% > 16.2% (LiveHeats, 2023).