Four boutique creative agencies team up to help Lifeline save lives this Christmas

Four of Perth’s leading boutique creative agencies have collaborated for the Lights for Lifeline 2016 campaign, donating their time in an effort to save lives through Lifeline WA’s annual Christmas appeal.

Anthologie, Hunter Communications, Cathy Fogliani Event Consultant and Alyka came together in a bid to take Lifeline WA’s Christmas campaign to a new level and make it stand out at a time of year that is increasingly overwhelmed with requests for charitable support.

Anthologie Director, Amy Ward, said their team wanted to create an ‘ownable’ moment in time where the community came together for a higher purpose.

“Most people become wrapped up in the craziness of Christmas, family and presents, but it’s one of the busiest times for Lifeline WA’s 13 11 14 call line. They will get a call every 32 seconds during the Christmas period from people who are isolated, lonely or in crisis and it’s this proposition that has formed the basis for Lifeline WA’s biggest Christmas to date.”

Anthologie’s Creative Director, Justine Capelle Collis said they felt the campaign had lost its way and saw an opportunity to flip the conversation.

“Aside from the regular supporters, the broader community didn’t understand the ask or the cause. And lovely as it is that we have loyal supporters willing to ‘Shine a Light for Life’ by decorating their homes, we knew we needed to be more single-minded and clear about what we were raising money for, so we could reach the right people. The ‘Shine a Light for life’ proposition still had relevance, but isn’t the key focus this year. We didn’t look at the campaign in a traditional sense, but more how to keep the conversation going to reach a fundraising target of $250k for vital services in 4 weeks.”

The team developed with a stunning centrepiece for the campaign – a 15.5-metre-high tree with 55,000 lights located in Elizabeth Quay, one for every Western Australian who called Lifeline in the past year.

Beyond the tree the focus has largely been digital. The campaign shares the stories of hope and support from survivors of suicide and families affected by loss with the aim to bring people together to shine a light on the issues and stigma around mental health and suicide. The team believed it was important to elevate the cause and focus on real people to deliver a compelling reason to donate during the Christmas period, so the messaging is multi-layered and hard hitting.

“We firmly believe that creativity can be the most powerful force in driving organisations’ success – and want to support organisations like Lifeline WA to make a real difference in our community,” said Ward. “We unleash the potential in our clients’ businesses through the development of ideas. Ideas that are good for people, good for society and good for business.”

It is hoped that corporate sponsorship and community donations will help Lifeline WA this year raise $250,000 to help meet the growing demand for services.

Anthologie developed the campaign creative, messaging and design which included leveraging the campaign in digital, while Alyka developed the website lights.org.au site, Google campaign and other digital assets. Hunter Communications introduced all the agencies and provided public relations, Event Consultant, Cathy Fogliani managed the VIP event, sourced and project managed the installation of the giant Christmas tree, Janet Craig and husband Grant did the campaign photography and videography and All Flags supplied the signage around Elizabeth Quay.

Lifeline WA Manager of Advocacy and Fundraising, Susan Schofield, said she was delighted to have such a highly skilled and creative team offer their talent and time to give the campaign a ‘heart’ and presence.

“This team of creatives come from small owner operator agencies but they have not hesitated to get behind this campaign to support us in reaching more Western Australians in crisis this Christmas,”said Schofield. “We are so grateful for what they have done and the 15.5-metre-high tree with 55,000 lights is a visual representation of what can be achieved when businesses get behind a cause.”

Although Lifeline WA receives some government funding, fundraising underwrites the majority of Lifeline WA’s services and volunteer training. Christmas is the busiest time of the year for Lifeline WA, with Lifeline WA’s crisis support line receiving one call every 32 seconds over the Christmas and New Year period.

You can help to shine a light on suicide by donating at the Lights for Lifeline website.