Background

80% of surf rescues are outside the flags. Tourists and migrants account for a third of all deaths on Australian beaches. Beachgoers don’t understand, don’t see, or can’t read the beach report. How can we help lifesavers keep beachgoers of all nationalities safe? Surf Life Saving Queensland presented an open brief to the agency: Get people to swim between the red-and-yellow flags where lifesavers and lifeguards can keep them safe. The idea of using a technology that is ubiquitous and ‘essential’ was most appealing. The challenge was developing the tech to deliver the idea. Research showed that 1.2 million Australians consider their device to be the top beach essential — ahead of sun protection. With mobile app downloads diminishing in the last few years, it is clear that people don’t want another app of limited use cluttering their phone.

Describe the creative idea

Life-Fi delivers unlimited free wi-fi between the flags (attractive to tourists) and connects people’s mobiles to an interface that automatically detects their language setting. Beachgoers receive live surf patrol instructions in their own language – no app download required. Life-Fi communicates the latest beach conditions in real-time. Life-Fi is a patented technology platform, and a first for media, that solves a universal beach safety challenge — that of ensuring people gravitate to patrolled areas, where they can swim safely, and educating them about current beach conditions in real-time through a mobile phone experience. Life-Fi issues notifications about things like strong currents and marine creatures, while also giving sun-soakers a heads up on UV ratings and weather reports. Further tips provided through the service include information on safety signs, how to ask for help, and how to detect an ocean rip.

Describe the strategy

We needed a solution that would leverage the ubiquity of mobile phones on the beach to change behaviour and get people between the red-and-yellow flags. Operated from portable units, with a DNS, 4G router and web server, Life-Fi generates a wireless network that only works between the flags. Life-Fi connects people’s mobiles to an interface that automatically detects their language setting. Beachgoers receive real-time live surf patrol instructions in their own language – no app download required. We designed prevention messages with a universal visual approach. In a matter of seconds, people are informed of what to do to stay safe.

Describe the execution

Life-Fi – through a patented piece of code – extends captive portal technology, turning otherwise passive Wi-Fi into a platform for real-time communication, with 4G coverage provided by a client company of Telstra. The experience is operated from portable, waterproof, hard-case units — branded to represent Surf Life Saving — with a DNS, 4G router and web server, narrowcasting the signal through dual-band antennae. Life-Fi began development in September 2017 and was successfully trialled in April 2018, after which funding was secured from the Queensland State Government. The official launch was on 16 November 2018, and 10 units were rolled out to Queensland tourist hotspots in the following two months (Gold Coast, Green Island, Sunshine Coast), with 4 more ‘roving’ units developed. A patent application was accepted in late 2018.

List the results

Life savers have welcomed Life-Fi as an alternative to plastic-bound phrasebooks for communicating with tourists. The vision is for Life-Fi to be standard life saving equipment around the world. After a successful trial, funding was secured through the Queensland Government’s $34 million ‘Connecting with Asia Strategy’. The Life-Fi launch on the Gold Coast reached nearly 1 million people Australia-wide, and millions more across China and Korea, through China’s national online news service, china.org.cn. Australian news reports were syndicated across 44 stations. The technology product is now able to be rolled out to save lives globally. When it comes to results, any life saved is a great outcome — Fifty lives a year would be worth far more than the investment of creativity, time and money.