CLIENT : NEW ZEALAND BLOOD SERVICE
BRIEF : NATIONAL DONOR DRIVE
IDEA : WORLD’S BIGGEST RESERVE BENCH

All Kiwis understand the need for a strong reserve bench; it’s what makes our national sporting teams such formidable opponents. The same can’t be said, however, for our blood donation reserve bench, with less than 4% of New Zealanders currently registered as donors.

AND WITH THE LIMITED LIFESPAN OF BLOOD, ANY EMERGENCY CAN PUT THE WHOLE SYSTEM AT RISK.

New Zealand Blood Service are the sole providers of blood and blood products to the nation’s hospitals. The country requires 3500 whole blood donations every week just to meet the current levels, which are set to increase. It was this growing demand, combined with the need to carefully manage the influx of new donors that led to the creation of the World’s Biggest Reserve Bench. A recruitment drive to get 100,000 people on the Reserve Bench, so they’re available to donate when the country needs them.

We collaborated with Sir Graham Henry, a retired blood donor and someone who knows a thing or two about a strong reserve bench, to call upon Kiwis to help him fill the most important reserve bench of his career. That’s because every 18 minutes in New Zealand, someone needs blood. For some, it’s the difference between life and death.