Bonds has been Australia’s favourite and most iconic underwear brand for 100 years. But with the launch of a new bra range, we had to prove they cater to more than just bottoms. Instead of following fashion convention – insert good-looking women having fun in bras – we wanted an idea bigger than just bras and women. A ‘moment’ that could stop traffic and get Bonds back into the cultural narrative.

So we broke some rules and cheekily changed two letters in the iconic Bonds logo – from ‘BONDS’ to ‘BOOBS’. We re-branded, and for one week everything formally Bonds-branded became Boobs. An integrated PR and outdoor campaign launched the new bra range, which was widely documented in media and on social networks. Bonds became instantly famous for Boobs, as did the new bra range.

The campaign generated an 83% sales increase, over $4 million in earned media coverage, and almost 54 million media impressions, making it the most successful launch in Bonds’ history to date.

PR was the core driver of the re branding campaign, as every element of the relaunch – from billboards to shopping bags – was designed to stimulate conversation and gain the attention of both the media and the public. Our goal was to create a culturally relevant talking point that would cement the link between Bonds and boobs. We achieved this by creating intriguing and newsworthy content that demanded editorial and social attention, and supported this by sampling with key influencers, bloggers and ambassadors.

In October 2013 we completely re-branded Bonds to announce our new range. Our iconic logo stood for underwear, so we changed it. ‘BONDS’ became ‘BOOBS’, allowing us to communicate everything by changing two letters. For an entire week, everything from store signage to shopping bags, receipts, uniforms, the online store, retailer signage and even the Facebook page reflected the new brand and its venture into bras.

An outdoor buy launched Boobs to the nation, getting people talking, debating and reappraising. Their reactions were instrumental in driving the campaign, which relied heavily on social and editorial media coverage. Everyone was talking about boobs, from breakfast radio to the nightly news and national newspapers.

Because Bonds was already famous for quality, it was simply a matter of creating awareness of the new product, then encouraging trial. We did this by supplying ambassadors and bloggers with the products to sample.

Every POS element played a critical role in establishing the newly redesigned brand, creating awareness and encouraging trial amongst Australians. Signage and bags evolved into shareable social media content, with 2,000+ Australians photographing and sharing them. This conversation generated over $4 million in earned media, as well as almost 54 million impressions. Bonds became instantly famous for Boobs, as did the new bra range. At this early stage in the campaign our revenue return on investment is $4.8 million revenue to $1.3 million investment. And an 83% increase in sales made Boobs the most successful product launch in Bonds’ history.