Aussie Heroes
Celebrating the Olympic Games and Inspiring Kids with Woolworths Aussie Heroes
Retailer
Woolworths
Country
Australia
Year
2021
To support Australian athletes competing in the Tokyo 2020 Games and give families one more reason to celebrate, Woolworths and UNGA used collectibles to inspire kids to became Aussie Heroes themselves!
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The heroic journey awaits you!
Inspiring the next generations of Aussie Heroes through the power of sports
Woolworths Aussie Heroes: Inspiring Millions to Achieve Greatness
When the long-awaited Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games finally came through, Woolworths was ready to celebrate the world’s greatest sporting event with families and kids. The goal of the retailer was to give away collectibles to spread love and support to the brave athletes representing Australia at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Together, we gave life to Woolworths Aussie Heroes campaign: a fun way to celebrate sporting excellence and inspire millions to become heroes through the power of play!
40 unique sticker packs for Aussie kids to take home!
From July 7th to August 3rd, 2021, parents and kids collected stickers of their favorite athletes for every AUD 20 spent on groceries. There were up to 40 unique sticker packs, featuring 68 past & present Olympians and Paralympians waiting at Woolworths’ store to be collected and played with.
Each pack contained 3 stickers: one portrait sticker of an Aussie athlete, with two other stickers featuring fun facts about the athlete and the history behind the Olympics & Paralympics games. Within these sticker packs, lucky ones earned themselves a limited-edition gold sticker or a special sticker with authentic autographs of the athletes!
The All-in-one Sports & Health Wikie for Aussies!
The collection wouldn’t be complete without a special place to store the stickers. The campaign also counted with an exclusive illustrated 78-page Woolworths Aussie Heroes collector’s album, designed to give our little heroes a playful and easy learning experience! Families and kids only needed to match the sticker to each athlete in the album and learn all about their sport as well as their heroic journey to become the best in their sports.
Following Woolworths’ mission as the Fresh Food Partner of the Australian Paralympics & Olympics teams, the album also featured athletes’ favorite fruits and veggies, inspiring millions to learn about healthy, balanced diets on their heroic journey. This was an exciting addition to the stickers campaign, encouraging kids and families to eat healthily and try new delicious recipes.
“By collecting stickers of their favorite Aussie Heroes—who used their motivation to make their dreams come true—kids are stimulated to find their own passion and achieve their dreams.”
Charlotte Healey, Head of Strategy at UNGA
The Woolworths Aussie Heroes album includes:
- The Olympics and Paralympics history – since the first event in 1896!
- Sports rules, instructions, and curiosities
- Stories about the athletes as well as their challenges and victories
- Nutrition information about the Aussie Heroes’ favorite fruits & veggies
- A Medal Tally to keep track of all the medals each athlete has won in previous editions of the Games
Growing awareness with future heroes
Following our Play, Grow, and Sustain motto, the campaign was designed to help kids to play to grow while taking care of the environment. That means that all the sticker booklets and stickers were made from paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which ensures that the products come from responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social, and economic benefits.
Australian families had fun with the high-quality stickers while learning all about the new sports that were introduced for the first time at the Tokyo 2020 Games, including surfing, para-badminton, skateboarding, 3 × 3 basketball, para-taekwondo, sport climbing, and karate.
Be the greatest, be the best!
As the world’s greatest sporting event, over 15,000 dedicated athletes from over 200 nations have trained relentlessly to become the best in their sport and earn the honor of representing their country at the Tokyo 2020 Games. The sporting event also received global excitement and attention, making it the perfect moment for such an inspiring loyalty campaign. The Paralympic and Olympic Games embody the spirit of friendly competition that fuels athletes to achieve greatness by overcoming challenges and becoming the best version of themselves!
The success of Woolworths Aussie Heroes
With this campaign, Woolworths has inspired millions of kids to become dream-chasers and take on the Aussie Heroes’ journey, by showing them the power of determination and passion that has helped these amazing athletes to become champions of their sports. Through healthy dieting and inspirational stories of the athletes, the campaign provided kids and families the tools they need on their journey to stay fit and healthy, just like their heroes.
Even the experts in the loyalty world couldn’t resist Aussie Heroes’ soaring success: with such a unique and special campaign, Aussie Heroes have earned its spot as a finalist in the Best Coupon/ Voucher Based Loyalty Program category of the International Loyalty Awards!
The Power of Meaningful Stickers
The campaign was a huge hit among the Australian community. Kids and parents loved the stickers and the promotion of positive role models, important values that generated long-term results for both Woolies and its shoppers of today and tomorrow.
Not only families, but even Aussie athletes couldn’t hold back their excitement for being a part of this special stickers campaign! Saya Sakakibara, a first-time Olympian BMX Supercross rider shared how being featured among the legends in the Aussie Heroes campaign was a dream come true:
“I grew up watching these extraordinary athletes, these Aussie heroes, and to be alongside them in this book and being a collectible sticker, it’s such a surreal moment.”
Or as Lauren Burns posted on her Instagram: “Yesterday I was sitting in the car at the Woolworths car park with my son. Suddenly he says “Mum! That woman just got you!” I look up to see a mum holding an Aussie Heroes pack with my picture on it, her little girl (about 5 years old) is inspired and doing kicking and punching movements. Go!”
Mum, she has a leg like me!
Aussie Heroes was also highly praised for its representation and inclusivity among different generations and families. One viral story that got international attention around the campaign was from a little girl called Mia:
“Mum, she has a leg like me!”, screamed the seven-year-old Mia when she saw the poster of the Paralympian Ellie Cole at Woolworths. As her mother shared, representation matters for kids like Mia. “Day to day, Mia doesn’t see anyone that looks like her, so to see how happy it makes her when she sees things like the current Paralympians in Woolworths makes my heart swell!“
After all, the campaign made such a profound impact on the lives of our future generations. Through motivational stories and valuable life lessons, Aussie Heroes have shown youngsters that no matter who they are, anybody can become a hero!
About Woolworths
Woolworths is Australia’s largest supermarket chain, operating more than 1,000 stores all over the country. Woolies prides itself on working closely with Australian growers and farmers to ensure the best products are available to customers, aligning with its passion for helping Aussies and their families to eat healthier. This makes Woolworths Australia’s Fresh Food People.
