The Challenge

The campaign had been running across digital channels for six months. For the holiday season, the client wanted more: a high-impact out-of-home moment, featuring three laptop models, with visibility near key retail partners throughout December’s peak shopping period.

There was just one problem. Out-of-home does not bend the way digital does. Every placement, product and date-based variation had its own production cost. With only four months’ lead time, most OOH sites already booked, and the remaining inventory priced at a premium, there was next to no budget left for new creative. On top of that, the client’s approval process for entirely new creative would take too long to meet the delivery deadline.

Four months. Limited inventory. Minimal remaining budget.

The Approach

“Reach Your Impossible” was part of a wider Lenovo rebrand aimed at younger gaming audiences, built around a cast of characters including Mechboss, the robot. Six months in, he was already a familiar face. Rather than commission something new, I proposed building the holiday push around him.

I designed a modular hero layout where the product image and seasonal message could each be swapped independently, covering the full brief (three products, date-based messaging) without separate creative for every combination. I then briefed and managed a creative agency, who used AI-assisted resizing to scale the template into over 100 assets at a fraction of the cost.

The savings created the opportunity to put Mechboss somewhere impossible to ignore. I negotiated “The Bourke”, Australia’s largest 3D anamorphic billboard, backed by MOVE research data showing around 70% stronger neuro-attention than standard out-of-home, and secured a 20% share of the screen’s playtime across 2 weeks in December, covering Christmas shopping season and Boxing Day.