The Campaign

After observing that young people are accustomed to wearing wristbands at festivals and other events we found inspiration to create something to help stop drink spiking. The Sip Safe wristband detects if a drink has been spiked with drugs. The wearer simply puts a drop of their drink onto the wristband and in a short amount of time the wristband changes colour if it has been exposed to ketamine or GHB – two common drink spiking drugs. The ability to test your own drink provides utility and the freedom of choice to the wearer. Also, wearing the Sip Safe wristband provides a visual deterrent to any would be drink spiker. The design of the wristband can incorporate the logos of any brand, nightclub or festival that provides these wristband to its patrons.

Creative Execution

The Sip Safe wristband was first launched at the Schoolies end of exams party in November 2017. This activation was paired with market research through interviews and surveys that provided learnings on distribution, usage and engagement. Taking this feedback on board a program of activations was launched on Monash University campuses in April of 2018. This initial program saw more than 6,000 wristbands distributed to university students along with drink safety information. Coinciding with these activations we engaged the founder of Bars of the North, a venue safety organisation, to begin a program of lobbying licensed venues.

The results to date have been nothing short of remarkable. In the space of six months we have launched a product to some of the most vulnerable young people, begun an ongoing program around university campuses where more than 6,000 wristbands have been distributed as well as garnered international media attention. Most importantly, in a university survey 89.5% of students now have a greater awareness of drink safety after engaging with Sip Safe. Further survey results showed: 31.6 % knew of people who’ve had their drink spiked 78.9% Could see themselves or their friends using the wristbands. From a commercial viewpoint, the Sip Safe wristband has been registered for a trade mark and the website’s had order enquiries from 27 countries. With this shift in scale the product developed with Monash University now has the potential to do far more good in harm minimisation for young people across the globe.

We directly sought a behavioural response in several locations. We targeted school leavers in the high-risk environment of their week-long end of exams party building relationships in the week before they nominated their university of choice. Wristbands were also distributed on university campuses to students experiencing life away from home, as well as available in known university bars, clubs and hangouts. So, whether through promotional staff at a university campus, or a point of sale stand on the bar inside a nightclub, Sip Safe created a call to action of drink safety and a method to know for sure.

To launch Sip Safe we established the product at events for pre-university students and on university campuses before taking it to the wider audience of clubs and festivals. We initially targeted the wristbands at the young people who are most at risk. This was found to be those celebrating at Schoolies, Australia’s biggest end of high school exams party, as those attending are away from their usual environment and are now old enough to drink alcohol. We also introduced the product to university students at a time when they are being exposed to new environments and social dynamics. Critically, the approach to sharing the Sip Safe wristband is about providing information and utility for the individual to make their own informed decisions. In bars, clubs and other venues, we positioned the strategy as one of responsibility for venues to provide safety precautions for their patrons to utilise.