ANZ Bank / ‘Bank in the name of love’

For over forty years, thousands of LGBTQ+ people and supporters have gathered on Oxford Street in Sydney, Australia for the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. However, 84% of LGBTQ+ people believe that there are parts of Australia where it isn’t safe to be themselves.

ANZ Bank is the main partner of the Mardi Gras celebration and has been a sponsor since 2007. The company wanted to spread its message of support for the LGBTQ+ movement across Australia and reach those who weren’t able to attend the Mardi Gras in Sydney and felt isolated in their communities.

Working with TBWA\Melbourne, ANZ brought Mardi Gras to them by erecting seven Signs of Love (one in each state) to celebrate the LGBTQ+ festival.

Each sign was designed to reflect the LGBTQ+ community and its struggles. For example, one depicted a unicorn emerging from the ground to represent the difficulty of revealing your sexuality to friends and family. According to the brand’s website, it was created to encourage people to be their ‘fabulous, authentic selves’.

ANZ also partnered with Google Streetview and GIPHY so that people could add Mardi Gras decorations to signs in their own area and encouraged people to share the GIFs with the hashtag #equalfuture.

According to the agency, the campaign generated 239 million organic impressions and there were 10 million GIF views of user-generated signs. The activation led to a 78% lift in awareness of ANZ’s sponsorship outside Sydney and a 50% rise in overall sponsorship awareness. There was also a 25% increase in the belief that ANZ supports diversity and inclusion.

INSIGHTS / With hundreds of brands jumping on the LGBTQ+ bandwagon, authenticity is key. ANZ is going beyond waving a rainbow flag in the city’s capital, instead actively entering communities where anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment still lingers to make a difference and show its support.