The Cancer Society of New Zealand launches new Junk Free June campaign via Little Giant

A new charity initiative for The Cancer Society of New Zealand, Junk Free June, has been launched by Auckland-based agency, Little Giant.

The campaign challenges people to give up ‘junk food(s)’ during the month of June, while fundraising for the Cancer Society. And judging by the huge nationwide interest, social engagement and total funds raised thus far, Junk Free June has been a monumental success.

The digitally-led creative agency undertook the project to help raise awareness of the effects junk foods can have on health and create a new revenue stream for the Cancer Society. Creatively, the goal was to create a fun challenge with social aspects while ultimately establishing a strong foundation for a new charity that stood out in our country’s already saturated fundraising calendar.

The agency led the creative, strategy, design and development of the entire Junk Free June concept, including the business model, brand, website, comms, marketing and assets. Furthermore, they led the day-to-day management of the campaign alongside the Cancer Society, overseeing every aspect from social media to progress updates and PR.

While the premise is nothing new – cut out something for a month and get friends and family to sponsor your efforts – what is completely unique, and being heralded as the “first of its kind”, is the campaign’s rewards system. As participants raise money they are able to unlock prizes from major brands such as Huffer, I Love Ugly, Audi and more. This creates a combination of emotional, physical and tangible rewards for participants – a key part of the business model.

The campaign is also making fantastic use of familiar Kiwi faces such as Nadia Lim, Jaime Ridge, Millie Elder-Holmes, Stan Walker and Jupiter Project, among others. The popular group of celebrities are spreading the Junk Free June word through social channels – the total social following of Junk Free June ambassadors combined, is over 1.5 million.

Says Matt Clayton, director of brand & strategy, Little Giant: “Our goal was to create a charity that did things in a new way – we didn’t want to come from a clinical or medical standpoint – we wanted to create a brand that really spoke to and empathised with our target audience by allowing them to define what ‘junk free’ is, without us force feeding them things they already know from a dietitian’s perspective.”

Since the campaign’s inception, Junk Free June has taken social media by storm, gaining over 25,000 followers organically across social media platforms. Engagement is high, with thousands of Kiwis sharing official Junk Free June recipes, and thousands of others showcasing their creations by using the trending hashtag #junkfreejune. 5,000+ accounts, including individual and group accounts, have been registered formally with an estimated 20,000+ people participating nationally. Junk Free June, in all its youth, has raised over $200,000 as of mid-June 2015.

The Junk Free June campaign was spearheaded by Little Giant’s Clayton with the assistance of the team at The Cancer Society of NZ Wellington Division.

Says Clayton: “2015 is a humble start for Junk Free June and its brand. We’ve created a vehicle that has the potential to make big, meaningful changes globally, while continuing to be a fundraising platform for the Cancer Society of New Zealand and similar organisations worldwide. What the public has seen is only a small part of what we’ve designed and planned for this charity – this is just the beginning.”

Little Giant is an independent, digital-led agency creating experiences that transform businesses, engage customers and grow brands. The company has produced industry leading work across digital and physical mediums for a comprehensive range of private and public brands.