Westpac’s Chopper Appeal Month innovation via DDB and Starcom cuts through charity clutter
The May Westpac Chopper Appeal has wrapped and thanks to a smart digital media strategy, new technology and a confronting creative video-series by DDB, more Kiwis than ever are aware of the life-saving work of the rescue helicopter crews across the country.
Using a new Facebook reach and frequency video sequencing targeting tool, a four-part video series was served to Kiwis over the age of 18, reaching 583,000 users and generating nearly 500,000 video views.
This was also the first campaign in New Zealand to use sequential video targeting on TVNZ OnDemand and Audience on Demand which resulted in a combined two million complete video views, with 430,000 Kiwis experiencing the full campaign video sequence. Website views to the Chopper Appeal microsite were also up 294% on 2014, highlighting the engaging nature of the provoking series.
Says Oliver Lynch, Westpac’s head of brand and marketing: “We’ve done something quite different for this year’s appeal. Yes, the creative was confronting but scenes like these are a reality for almost 6,000 Kiwis who find themselves in similar situations each year and are rescued by the chopper crews.
“This campaign has been a huge success with millions of Kiwis recognising the incredible work the Chopper teams do. We have significantly exceeded our objective in terms of campaign recall, and while we won’t have a final donations figure for a few weeks we know we’re well ahead of this target as well.”
Says Shane Bradnick, executive creative director, DDB: “We’ve had a passionate team dedicated to this campaign-for-a-cause over the past few months and we’ve worked hard to push the limit and use new technology to get in front of as many people as possible. We’re very pleased with the outcome.”
Says Paula Adams, Starcom business director: “Our team relished in the challenge this campaign presented to deliver a media strategy that had clever, creative technical solutions at its heart. We pushed our thinking and the boundaries of what can be achieved in the digital space by using new, innovative technology and partnering with Facebook, to achieve significant impact overall.”
The public can still donate and view the rescue video at www.chopperappeal.co.nz.
Westpac:
Head of Brand & Marketing: Oliver Lynch
Brand Manager: Amber Willett
Agency: DDB Group New Zealand
Chief Creative Officer: Damon Stapleton
Executive Creative Director: Shane Bradnick
Digital Creative Director: Haydn Kerr
Senior Copywriter: Ben Pegler
Art Director: Sarsha Drakeford
Copywriter: Geordie Wilson
Planning Director: Rupert Price
Managing Partner: Elizabeth Beatty
Account Director: Mark Wilson
Senior Account Manager: Deepika Goundar
Account Executive: Kate Coppersmith
Executive Producer: Judy Thompson
Agency TV Producer: Samantha Royal
Digital Designer: Dean Pomfrett
Senior Digital Producer: Johannes Gertz
Production Company: The Sweet Shop
Director: Sam Holst
Executive Producer: Fiona King
Producer: Anna Stuart
DOP: Ian McCarroll
Offline Editor: Michael Lonsdale
Sound Design: The Coopers
Starcom (Media):
Business Director: Paula Adams
Business Manager: John Farrell
Head of Digital: Nick Boulstridge
Digital Business Manager: Nathan Brown
Digital Manager: Max Haveux