Max touched down in Australia two months ago. It has quickly become a popular streaming service with impressive and exclusive content only available on the platform in addition to its generous offering.
The campaign to get Australians on board relied on four words that got to the heart of its offering – ‘All Killer. No Filler.’
The brand is due to rebrand itself globally in just a few weeks and will become HBO Max, but that won’t change the proposition.
“We know the research. Currently, Australians are spending 42 minutes every day looking for something to watch. With Max, you don’t have to spend 42 minutes searching for the gold content because it’s all frigging gold,” Sasha Mackie, HBO Max’s Senior Director, marketing – ANZ, told Mediaweek.
The ‘All Killer. No Filler.’ has been plastered across social, digital and OOH with the centrepiece of its campaign the TVC ad, which pokes fun at the current over-saturation of streaming products available.
Mackie said: ‘It’s got cheek and swagger and, um, and Aussie humour. It sounds so good.’
After a rigorous, yet speedy pitch process, the media and creative accounts were awarded to EssenceMediacom and Special, respectively.
But what was the process behind the campaign and how did the agencies work together and with WBD?
Mediaweek spoke to EssenceMediacom CEO Pippa Berlocher, Lindsey Evans, Global Partner and CEO Special Australia and Mackie, about launching HBO Max Down Under, creating a dynamic village and bringing a killer campaign to life.
“The way I work is very transparently and quickly,” Mackie said.
“Pitch processes are a big drain on any business and I’m very aware of that. I was very transparent, and the brief was the launch brief we went out to pitch. The two main criteria that we were looking at, aside from a cost perspective, was fit and chemistry as well as strategy, and the strategy for both was just on point.”
“I came out of the pitch from EssenceMediacom and I could speak to that strategy, I knew we could own it; we knew the challenges that we had to work through,” Mackie said. “The same with Special Group, we wanted to make sure that we came at it from a different place.
“We wanted to be a brand coming in as the customer champion, so that is what they responded to and that’s absolutely what we wanted to go with.
“They’re also great people, right, and who doesn’t want to work with great people.”
EssenceMediacom on winning the WBD media account: ‘A chance for our team to do career-defining work’
The WBD win for EssenceMediacom represents an “incredible opportunity” for the agency’s people and business, CEO Pippa Berlocher told Mediaweek.
“It’s not every day you get to launch a brand-new streaming platform and brand in the Australian market, especially one as exciting and poised for breakthrough success as HBO Max.
“This partnership presents a chance for our team to do career-defining work that connects with Aussie culture.”
She said that HBO Max needs to break through as a new streaming brand in market. “That’s what we’re all about – helping brands breakthrough and driving tangible business results through innovative media strategies.”
Berlocher said that from the very beginning, there was great chemistry between the EssenceMediacom and WBD teams and noted that her team enjoyed the entire pitch process and every touchpoint throughout the journey.
She noted that WBD was looking for a partner that could deliver breakthrough strategy and media innovation.
“This aligned perfectly with our agency’s strengths, allowing us to showcase our strategic capabilities and demonstrate how we connect brands to culture.
“Furthermore, WBD has ambitious goals for their launch, which allowed us to flex our depth in analytics and performance strategy, proving we’re equipped to drive their success.”
Special on winning the WBD creative account and making a ‘lasting cultural impact’
Evans told Mediaweek winning WBD’s creative account was a “huge honour” in a way that creates cultural impact she and her team are proud of.
She highlighted Special and WBD’s alignment in being the last mover to the already saturated category as an advantage and a unique opportunity to shake up the competition.
“Our shared ambition to be bold and break conventions remained strong throughout the pitch process – WBD challenged us to think beyond the expected which has led to work that doesn’t just announce a new brand but holds a message that cuts through in a meaningful way,” she said.
Evans said that there is a clear alignment in how everyone in the village works “valuing true collaboration, agility, and carrying a creatively ambitious mindset”.
“That chemistry, combined with a hunger to do things differently, made this partnership feel like the perfect fit from the start.”
How WBD fostered a stronger working relationship between EssenceMediacom and Special
Mackie described the dynamic between WBD and the agency partners as “different arms of the one team.”
“For me, it’s not them coming back to us, it’s always a discussion. We’re one team, we have one goal between us.
This is not the first time EssenceMediacom and Special have worked together on a client – last year Mediaweek spoke to the agencies about their collaborative work across Uber over the years.
For Mackie, the existing working relationship between EssenceMediacom and Special on Uber was not a factor in her decision-making.
She shared that an offsite between WBD and the agencies in January aligned everyone “on how we wanted to behave and how we wanted to move forward as an agency village.”
“They hadn’t done one of those before, I’m a big believer in them.
“They have meetings, along with Present Company our appointed social agency, without us and then they come back with joint resolutions or recommendations.”
Evans said: “We have a great, proven relationship and one that has been awarded for collaboration – most notably working with Uber Eats on the Australian Open Ambush.
“In getting to world-class breakthrough creativity we know that we need diverse, specialist and trusted partners around the table; all holding hands and sharing the ambition and the risk as one team.
“We are used to moving at an extraordinary pace together —quite literally building the plane as we fly it. Building processes for real-time communication and quick decision-making; keeps everyone agile without compromise,” she added.
For Berlocher, being part of a thriving agency village has a positive impact on the innovation, process, and excellence of the work produced for a client.
“We love partnering with Special on Uber, and we were super excited to broaden that relationship to WBD.
“We did a lot of work with Sasha, Special, and Present Company at the outset of our relationship, dedicating time to align on how we wanted to show up together to move forward fast and deliver an outcome that was representative of the killer product on the platform.
“The WBD team went out of their way to set clear expectations and bring excitement to the agency village from the outset.”
The dedicated time set by WBD to align the agencies on specific ambitions, processes and work produced has proven to be an important investment into the village.
Mackie added: “It is a strong team between the three of them and I’m super proud and so excited by the strength that we have within those.”
Evans said of the work between Special, EssenceMediacom and Present Company: “This is a true partnership, where each agency in the village is collectively accountable for the outcomes and the success.’
She revealed that at the establishment of the village, the agencies created an agency charter that outlined shared ambition, ways of working and rules of engagement to ensure honesty, alignment, accountability to build a strong foundation for long-term success.
“Our close collaboration means that we are making informed decisions together at each step of the way – decisions that benefit the partnership as a whole rather than just one agency’s agenda or one area of the business,” she added.
Making moves in an over-saturated market
Special’s reputation for creating unique campaigns and to make HBO Max stand out in the market the creative agency leaned into research they commissioned that discovered the average Australian spends 42 minutes a day in search of great.
“This insight crystallised our last mover advantage – the chance to show up with real insight, empathy, purpose, and a fresh perspective.
“Our mission is to end ‘filler-frustration’ with a streaming service built around what consumers want with a proposition that speaks to the core brand truth – ‘All Killer, No Filler’.”
Evans said the creative platform positions HBO Max as the customer’s champion where premium streaming content reigns.
“Tapping into playful meme culture, the campaign cleverly contrasts iconic moments from Max’s hit films and shows, against the ‘filler’ of other streaming services.”
Goals and defining success
Berlocher said the EssenceMediacom team are excited by the challenge and opportunity of bringing HBO Max into the Australian market.
“Success will be measured by the brand’s ability to capture market share, drive subscriber growth, and establish itself as a leading streaming platform in the country.
“We are confident that the ‘All Killer. No Filler’ campaign and innovative media strategies, combined with WBD’s compelling content, will deliver exceptional results.”
Berlocher noted that her team aim to deliver breakthrough work that positions the streamer as the platform Aussies want.
“HBO Max is a true customer champion so it’s not just about making noise – it’s about creating moments that fans feel and remember. That means pushing boundaries, creating cultural moments, and driving fan engagement in fresh, unexpected ways.”
She noted that EssenceMediacom will focus on cultural relevance and trends, platform innovation and new tech, frictionless discovery of content, interactive and immersive content beyond the screen and converting attention into action and subscriptions.
Evans said the industry can expect “a truly fresh approach to using the incredible content” on the platform.
“We have not seen in the category and in ways that we believe will truly earn our place in both the hearts and minds of their audiences and in culture itself.”
Top image: Sasha Mackie, Pippa Berlocher and Lindsey Evans