The Campaign

Ahead of the State of Origin series, the NRL partnered with the Australian Red Cross to make 2018 the bloodiest competition yet. Fans were baying for blood, so we gave them what they wanted. The catch? They had to give the blood themselves, in a state vs state blood donation competition. OUT FOR BLOOD took the fight off the field, to see which state’s fans were most prepared to bleed for their team in the most feel-good hate campaign ever. It launched with the league’s toughest legends challenging fans to donate in social media. Two team-branded mobile blood donation trucks toured the states, with fans able to spitefully dedicate their blood to opposition players. The score was tallied in real time and shared via digital channels to drive participation. Social videos drove pledges and participation, and pitted interstate towns against each other directly, using local outlets to amplify the rivalry.

Execution

The Mobile Donation Clinics were launched with events in Queensland & New South Wales - inviting key news and media partners for interviews with NRL talent. Two 15 second spots launched in social and TV featuring veteran Origin players - each calling on their state to donate. The live blood tracker featured on TV program the Footy Show, the films were posted in social channels to activate fans and engage key influencers from the world of sport, music and pop culture to donate blood for their state and share the word across their social channels. The Blood Trucks toured thousands of kilometres across QLD & NSW over the run-up to the first game, with fans receiving ‘I BLED FOR NSW’ or ‘I BLED FOR QLD’ bandages, with local PR support. Digital display and OOH helped drive awareness, and in-stadium signage brought the fight to the field for live game broadcasts.

A total of 831 pledges to donate blood (QLD: 402 NSW: 429) 73 PR hits culminating in a total reach of 85,949,363 across TV, Print, Online and Social channels Influencer posts delivering a total reach of 1,386,200 Achieving full crowds at each event of the series: MCG 87,122, ANZ 82,223 (sell-out), Suncorp 51,214 (holds 52,000)

The Situation

Using the National Rugby League’s existing PR and media partnerships, set out to shape existing cultural conversation around the State of Origin series. At the centre of the integrated campaign was an ongoing blood drive activation, with two Mobile Donation Clinics collecting blood in the lead up to - and at - three major sporting events. PR allowed us to participate in the conversation in an authentic way - driving active participation and shifting sentiment at a grassroots level.

The Strategy

The six week duration of State of Origin allows New South Wales and Queensland fans to partake in ‘recreational hate’ - a passionate war of words that plays out in the media, on social media, and between friends. The campaign aimed to harness and amplify this rivalry, and connect the fight off the field with the thrilling game on the field. Social listening found a discontentment with the modern State of Origin game, which fans described as ‘soft’ or ‘boring’. Identifying this misplaced nostalgia as a point of tension, the campaign sought to turn it into something surprising, provocative but big-hearted.