THE COLD CAMPAIGN

Short List
TitleTHE COLD CAMPAIGN
BrandANGLICARE WA
Product / ServiceWINTER APPEAL
CategoryA06. Not-for-profit / Charity / Government
EntrantWUNDERMAN THOMPSON Perth , AUSTRALIA
Idea Creation WUNDERMAN THOMPSON Perth, AUSTRALIA
Production SOUNDBYTE Perth, AUSTRALIA
Production 2 ALUCINOR PRODUCTIONS Bayswater, AUSTRALIA
Post Production ALUCINOR PRODUCTIONS Bayswater, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
João Braga Wunderman Thompson Australia Chief Creative Officer
Joe Hawkins Wunderman Thompson Australia Creative Director
Matt Wilson Wunderman Thompson Australia Associate Creative Director & Copywriter
Luke Williams Wunderman Thompson Australia Copywriter
Anais Randall Wunderman Thompson Australia Engagement Manager
Danny Coleman Wunderman Thompson Australia Integrated Producer
Mel Wiese Wunderman Thompson Australia Chief Strategy Officer
Gavin Bain Wunderman Thompson Australia Managing Director
Mark Glasson Anglicare WA Chief Executive Officer
Tori Anderson Anglicare WA Director Philanthropy and Enterprise
Emma-Jane Morcombe Anglicare WA Media and Marketing Manager
Bec Stott Anglicare WA Philanthropy Manager
Polly Polanksi Anglicare WA Marketing Lead
Bronte Rosher Anglicare WA Marketing Events Manager
Shane Piggott Alucinor Production
Brad Habib Soundbyte Studio Sound Designer
Colin Graham Soundbyte Studio Sound Assistant
Joanne Marie Carwardine Soundbyte Studio Sound Recordist

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

The campaign used the phenomenon of temperature contagion to cause an immediate physical reaction and drop the body temperature of listeners and viewers. In doing so, it also prompted an immediate response to donate to the Anglicare Winter Appeal.

Background

Anglicare - a not-for-profit charity who provide support and shelter to the homeless were facing a localised humanitarian crisis. As the cold of winter approached, more than 9,000 homeless youth were living and sleeping on the inner city streets of Perth. Meanwhile homeless shelters and support services were already at capacity. With their funding stretched, the brief from Anglicare was to help raise money and awareness, and to find a way to make middle-class West Australian's empathise with the growing homelessness crisis. $25,000 was the campaigns initial target. An amount which would be enough for new blankets, sleeping bags and warm meals.

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

Humans are exposed to hundreds of advertising messages each day. And we've gotten very good at ignoring them. But, humans are also empathetic creatures. And our biological makeup cannot be ignored so easily. We discovered that the human body involuntarily cools by around 1-degree Celsius when we experience another human-being suffering from the effects of the cold. Using this idea, we put our talent in a commercial freezer and cooled his body temperature to just 33-degrees - which is medically known as mild hypothermia. And then, we started recording. We took 25-participants temperature whilst they were watching the campaign prior to its release, and sure enough, every participant recorded a drop in temperature of between 0.3 and 1.1 degrees Celsius.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

There were 100's of campaigns and appeals which we needed to compete with. Particularly in the colder months of winter. And donation dollars are becoming more and more scarce. We also knew audiences had become apathetic to charity appeals, particularly when they show people who are vulnerable. Our approach used a scientific phenomenon to create an appeal which simply no one who experienced it could ignore. Physiology triumphed over apathy.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

We decided to launch the campaign on TV, radio and via online video channels as the temperature dropped and the warmer months of spring ended. We worked with our media partners and increased the campaigns intensity on colder days to increase effectiveness. We found that on days the temperature dipped below 5-degrees, donations increased by 45%.

List the results (30% of vote)

With a production budget of just $10,000, the campaign raised over $233,000. This was a 67% increase on the previous most successful winter appeal. The total meant that 90-homeless youth could be re-homed and taken off the streets on a full-time basis. Moving into Oxford Yard, a series of small, self contained apartments. Each person was given access to a counsellor who helped them to undertake work or study. After 6-months, 88 of those people re-homed remain in full-time work or study and have stayed off the streets.