BMF and ALDI Prove Enduring Ideas “Deliver Results, No Matter the Market Conditions”

BMF and ALDI say their Effies dominance is proof that an enduring idea and enduring client-agency partnership has even more power when the industry is battling economic headwinds, shrinking budgets, and a lean towards short-termism.

“ALDI was built to withstand tough times and to be there for customers when they need to stretch,” the brand’s group buying director, Simon Padovani, told LBB after last night’s awards show. 

“We always operate in a very lean, efficient manner. So I think it just shows that the work that we're doing is effective, stands the test of time, delivers the results, no matter the conditions of the market.”

BMF was crowned Effective Agency of the Year, and ALDI Effective Advertiser of the Year, taking home the Grand Effie in addition to three golds, two silvers, and a bronze.

“It's certainly a shock to have a night like that,” Simon added. “The team put a lot of effort in. It's a year's worth of work and grind, but to see the outcomes and results - that's really, really pleasing.”

BMF CEO Steve McArdle told LBB that “this is the world of pitching and just throwing shit at the wall. It just doesn't fucking work.” “ALDI is a beautiful gift” of a client, he said, because the brand understands the value of “great partnerships with great people, great talent who work together closely and build that brand.” The agency has worked with ALDI for 23 years.

“It takes a village. It takes time. It takes a really close relationship. That is hard in a world where pressure's on budgets. I totally get that,” he said.

“This industry is under more pressure than it's ever, ever been under. I see a lot of agencies really hurting. I feel incredibly lucky that our agency is doing well in that kind of context.

“But I'm a total believer, and I know there's a lot of people in the industry, and a lot of clients, who are total believers in the power of creativity to push us through to the next chapter.”

In an opening address, Publicis Groupe AUNZ CEO Michael Rebelo noted adland has been forced to fight against “two consecutive years of industry contraction. This year, I think the media expenditure will probably be about -2%. Last year, we were looking at about -4%. So compounding that really requires a lot of resilience and optimism.”

BMF’s head of effectiveness, Hannah McHard, said the results of the ALDI work show it’s investing “in a brand that keeps you through those tough periods. It's your survival mechanism, and you come out stronger.” ‘Shop ALDI First’, she said, is proof “you don't have to just default to the market. You don't have to default to the context at the time. You can actually challenge it and use it to your advantage.”

The platform’s success was also a case of the right insight being acted upon at the right time. ALDI is a challenger brand in a market with a supermarket duopoly, but with the consumer watchdog taking Woolworths and Coles to court for misleading customers, the German-owned underdog is now Australia’s most trusted supermarket brand.

BMF’s CEO, Steve, noted that ‘Shop ALDI First’ was developed two years ago, while executive planning director Anna Bollinger added the “insight that people shop at multiple different supermarkets is something we've always known.”

“It's because ALDI has such a dedication to customer, that BMF believes so much in first hand, qualitative research in action, talking to people, that we were able to see that insight really come to life this year,” she explained.

“As with anything, timing is everything, and it was really about understanding that whilst this insight has been true for a while, now is the right time to activate it. That's the power of a really genuine insight and a really bold client.”

Steve added that last night’s results only intensify the agency’s Effies “obsession”. The show celebrates work that proves its effectiveness, builds long-term memory structures, and makes brands famous, he said.

“It's rigour. It's not just a point of view. It's objective. It's like, what do the numbers tell me? What does the story tell me? What do you do for a living? Does it actually work? And that's why it's really precious and special to us.

“Most creative awards, it doesn't really matter whether anyone's seen [the work] or not. It's cool, it's interesting. That's great. There's always room for that. But what I love about the Effies, it feels like it's a whole of agency, whole of client award.”

Celebrated creative Stephen de Wolf, who recently joined as chief creative officer to replace Alex Derwin, will be tasked with shepherding the ALDI work into the future. BMF’s holdco Enero is also going through change, with CEO Brent Scrimshaw set to depart. The agency has momentum, though, with Steve mentioning new clients Tennis Australia and Endeavour. 

“I would love Tennis Australia to have got something [an Effie]. I believe it should,” he said. “But there's always those things as well, which I totally understand, which is 'how do you draw out the effects of what you do as an advertiser, as a marketer, versus the experiential world', and I totally get that.”

The agency’s work for Tourism Tasmania picked up a silver Effie. The account went to pitch in the middle of the year, posing a risk that BMF’s highly-praised five-year run could come to an end in February 2025.

“Recently we had to pitch for something, and it was absolutely fucking heartbreaking, guys, and something that's really close to our heart,” chief strategy officer Christina Aventi said on stage, accepting the Effective Agency of the Year gong.

“But that's also pretty bloody special too, when it hurts that much, that you care so much. It isn't a bad thing to give a shit.

“My mum's really not well, and I'm feeling really reflective about this industry. And it brings me a lot of joy to work with people like this that stand behind me. So [to] leave fingerprints on a brand, and hope that it can generate some feels along the way with [a] sale. Well, how lucky are we? 

“If you can make people laugh, smile, cry, buy stuff along the way, and not feel shit about that, that's not a bad thing.”