HCF helps Sydney Swans fans light up their passion in new in-stadium activation via Bastion
Hot on the heels of its recent brand refresh and new advertising campaign, HCF, Australia’s largest not-for-profit health fund, has rolled out a first-time in stadium fan activation with its partner the Sydney Swans via Bastion.
As the long-standing health insurer of the Sydney Swans, HCF delivered a unique experience to fans at the Round 10 home game on Friday 27 May at the SCG in Sydney.
Titled “The Heart of the Swans”, the activation saw HCF distribute 5,000 heart-monitoring wristbands to Swans fans in the stadium. The data was collated on a central server and aggregated to produce a visualisation of a unified heart beat on the stadium screen at key points of the match. These custom made bands were designed to flash to the rhythm of the fans’ heart rate, thus giving a visual 
representation of the fans’ excitement and passion for their team.
The stadium got to experience the passion of the fans and saw how the excitement of the game got their hearts beating in a stunning visual display.
The “Heart of the Swans” will continue through the AFL season with social media engagement, sponsorship assets and user generated content.
HCF will allow the passion of Swans fans to live on outside the stadium and show that health can be about backing your team throughout the whole season. All uses of the established hashtag #HCFgoswans will be visualised in a unified conversation heartbeat, live on HCF’s Health Hub, as an interactive social media dashboard. By publishing pictures, videos, comments and using #HCFgoswans fans can participate at every game with a chance of being featured on the site and winning prizes.
Says Jenny Williams, chief marketing officer at HCF: “AFL fans are some of the most passionate in Australia. The Heart of the Swans activation enabled us to highlight and celebrate this incredible enthusiasm and energy, and align with our new “Health Is” campaign. Health is passion for your favourite team, and our long-standing partnership with the Sydney Swans allows us to amplify this passion in an exciting new way. We gave fans a unique experience that links together their passion for the game, and their health.”
Says Kelle Storey, general manager, corporate partnerships and marketing at the Sydney Swans: “HCF has been the health insurer of choice for the Sydney Swans for more than 12 years – our organisations share a passion for promoting healthy living.
“The Heart of the Swans activation has given our fans a unique and exciting experience, while demonstrating their overwhelming passion for our team. We’re delighted to be able to help HCF bring its ‘Health Is’ campaign to life on game day.”
The initiative is also supported with HCF Healthy Choices, a branded content series focusing on what ‘Health is’ to the players featuring Sydney Swans players Isaac Heeney, Brandon Jack, Kurt Tippett, Jarrad McVeigh, and Jude Bolton. The activation follows HCF’s recently refreshed brand and newly launched ‘Health Comes First’ core creative platform, which reinforces the importance of health for all Australians.
Experiential – Bastion EBA
Media – Match
PR – We Buchan
4 Comments
5000 disposable heart rate monitors – what an environmental disaster! What about the health of the planet HCF?
I was at the game. It brought some charm, but seeing them all discarded at the end of the match was disappointing. Landfill much.
This was a stupid idea. Horrible result for the environment and the fans suckered into wearing a piece of junk that didn’t even work. And what about the health of the underpaid kids who had to put these things together in some slave labor sweatshop. Did their health come first?
I attended the game and have no idea what the activation company were thinking. 1) 5,000 in a stadium of 40,000 has no impact and very little engagement with fans that were there. 2) Couldn’t even see the band light up given all the bright lighting at stadiums. Massive fail in my books and I should imagine it would have been a costly exercise to get up.