Award-winning Westpac ‘The People’s Chopper’ campaign triples donations

Westpac’s ‘The People’s Chopper’ initiative has won a silver Effie award for the most effective social campaign. The project was a joint effort by Westpac and SilverStripe, together with agencies DDB New Zealand and Track NZ, and was one of the most successful fundraising campaigns to date.

The Chopper Appeal

The Chopper Appeal is an annual fundraising campaign sponsored by Westpac that raises awareness and funds for New Zealand’s rescue helicopter services. For this year’s appeal, the Westpac team wanted to give donors a spot on the side of a rescue helicopter to recognise their support.

As part of the Chopper Appeal, Westpac teamed up with SilverStripe to develop ‘The People’s Chopper’. People who donated online at chopperappeal.co.nz during May had the unique opportunity to upload their Facebook profile picture, which was then printed on one of Waikato's Westpac Rescue Helicopters, making it ‘The People’s Chopper’.

The award and results

Introduced by the New York American Marketing Association in 1968, the Effies are recognised by advertisers and agencies as the pre-eminent awards in the advertising industry. They are the only awards that honour creative achievement in meeting and exceeding business outcomes. From Europe to New Zealand, Effie Awards  are now held in 25 countries on 5 continents.

'The People's Chopper' picked up a Silver award in the Social category as the most effective advertising campaign, the highest award in its category. The Effies are notoriously difficult to win, with only 6 Golds being given out across the 12 categories and a record of more than 200 entries this year. Winning a Silver award was no mean feat.

The campaign was also one of the most successful for funds raised through digital channels, generating three times more donations and seven times the conversion rate for donations through the microsite this year, compared to last year.