SUB CATEGORY :

SPORTS

COMPANY ENTERING :

DENTSU CREATIVE, SYDNEY

TITLE :

SECOND CHANCE CHAMPIONS

BRAND :

TRANSPLANT AUSTRALIA

ADVERTISER :

TRANSPLANT AUSTRALIA

AGENCY :

DENTSU CREATIVE, MELBOURNE

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER :

KIRSTY MUDDLE

CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER :

MANDIE VAN DER MERWE/AVISH GORDHAN

EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

SARAH MCGREGOR

CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

LIAM BAGNALL/TRENT HENDRICK

ART DIRECTOR :

KEAN SZCZUR

COPYWRITER :

MONIQUE HORSLEY

AGENCY PRODUCER :

ROZ SCRIMSHAW/CRAIG SLOANE

DESIGNER :

MIKE PAPA

RETOUCHER :

ROSS GODDARD

CLIENT SERVICE DIRECTOR :

GUY LOVELL

STRATEGIC PLANNING DIRECTOR :

WILL GILES

STRATEGIC PLANNER :

GRAHAM ALVAREZ/PAUL ISBELL

PR DIRECTOR :

TIFFANY SIMON

FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY :

DENTSU CREATIVE, MELBOURNE

DIRECTOR :

LIAM BAGNALL

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY :

TIM FITZGERALD

PHOTOGRAPHER :

DANIEL MAZZARELLA

FILM PRODUCER :

SANDY MADDEN

SOUND RECORDIST :

JASON NORTH

POST-PRODUCTION COMPANY :

DENTSU CREATIVE, MELBOURNE

EDITOR :

CLAIRE CONWAY

COLORIST :

TIM EGAN

SOUND PRODUCTION COMPANY :

SMITH & WESTERN SOUND, MELBOURNE/
FINAL SOUND, MELBOURNE

MIXER :

FINAL SOUND

MUSIC COMPOSER :

SMITH & WESTERN

PHOTOGRAPHER :

DANIEL MAZZARELLA

CAMPAIGN SUMMARY :

Organ donation saves lives. Indeed, one donor can save 10 others, as well as their respective families.
However, as it stands, we have around 1,800 people waitlisted for a transplant in Australia, and 13,000 more on dialysis. But with 1 in 3 Aussies registered to be an organ donor, these numbers should quickly fall to 0, right? Sadly, it’s not that simple.
In reality, very few people who die each year become eligible for organ donation and in over half the cases, a potential donor’s wishes are overturned by their next of kin. Why? Because they never discussed their loved one’s decision.
This lack of conversation, combined with all kinds of myths about the procedure, was preventing thousands from receiving a lifesaving transplant.
Our mission was clear: we needed to spark a national conversation around the desperate need for more donor registrations so that families would discuss their wishes and make them known.
Using the nation’s favourite topic (sport), we launched a documentary film with Transplant Australia about an inspiring yet little-known event called the World Transplant Games.
Filmed in Perth last year, Second Chance Champions features athletes from across the globe – all with one thing in common: they’d either given or received an organ transplant.
We knew this event would make for compelling content but we had to make it newsworthy too. So we created a first in sporting history by giving athletes the opportunity to split their winning medals with the donors and donor families who made their success possible.
By spotlighting stories of triumph, generosity and gratitude, we showed a very different side to the organ donation process - one framed by what is gained, rather than what is lost.
In doing so, we realised remarkable success – with a 60% uplift in organ donation.

CREATIVITY/IDEA/INSIGHT :

Given 4 in 5 Australians support organ donation and the registration process takes just 60 seconds, it’s a wonder why the demand for more transplants isn’t being met, year after year.
But for an organ donation to occur, two big hurdles must be jumped.
The first is one of circumstance. The deceased, whether registered or not, must die in a hospital under very specific circumstances, i.e. in an ICU. That means, of the 170,000 Australians who pass each year, only around 1,400 meet the criteria.
The second hurdle is one of consent. To give you an idea of how common this particular requirement is met – only 701 of 1,300 requests for donation in 2022 were approved by the potential donor’s next of kin. That’s a 54% consent rate. Meaning 599 eligible donors missed out on giving the gift of life.
And so, we had our key insight: 1 conversation with your next of kin about your donation decision could potentially save 10 lives.
Our task was therefore two-fold: (1) To increase the number of registered donors; and (2) To trigger a difficult, but much-needed conversation between potential donors and their next of kin.

STRATEGY :

The category is mired by its subject matter. Few people want to think about their death, and fewer still want to have this conversation with their loved ones.
This partly explains why messaging in this space is typically sombre.
But while the topic of death isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, this conversation becomes critical when we look at family consent rates. Because regardless of anyone’s donation decision, it’s actually their next of kin who gets the final say.
So how do you inspire a nation to broach a less-than-inspiring topic? You situate it within a perennial national talking point: Sport.
In 2023, the World Transplant Games saw nearly 1,500 athletes from around the world compete across 7 days. But here’s the twist: to be eligible for competition, each athlete needed to have received or donated an organ.
With the Games being held this year in our own backyard, we saw the perfect opportunity to tell a different kind of story within the organ donation space. One that is altogether more positive, more upbeat, and more defiant.
We had our strategy: Utilise the Perth WTG to show that organ donation is about what is gained, rather than what is lost.

EXECUTION :

Second Chance Champions is a national campaign and feature length documentary backed by PR that tells the remarkable story of those competing at the 2023 World Transplants Games in Perth. We follow their progress throughout the Games as the athletes chase a podium finish on a world stage – not just for their own glory but in honour of those who have given them a second chance at life.
To underscore this, we created a bespoke Split Medal – designed to be shared between donor or donor family and transplant recipient. A symbolic and tangible artefact of organ donation itself, the Split Medal demonstrates just how much can be achieved when given a second chance at life.
Second Chance Champions deliberately eschews the sombre tone of the category, and instead opts for something more aspirational and joyous, while spotlighting the incredible feats of human ability.
The talent featured in Second Chance Champions reflects a wide variety of people, and in doing so reminds viewers that no one is immune from adversity.
Ultimately, Second Chance Champions and the Split Medal reveal a bigger, more motivating story around donations - that sometimes, triumph can follow from tragedy.

RESULT :

Launching on Ten, Ten Play, Apple TV and Paramount Plus, Second Chance Champions reached the homes of 12M Australians – or 50% of the adult population. That figure increased by 4M through PR across TV, Online, Cinema, Radio & Print – generating $14M in earned media. During the campaign period, organ donorship increased by 60% (versus the prior period) – ensuring a critical reduction in Australia’s organ transplant waitlist.