Lion overwhelmed by media company support for drough relief fund campaign via AJF Partnership

Lion Dairy & Drinks (Lion) has been overwhelmed by media company support for its Be True Blue Farmer Drought Fund, launched in October to raise money for its dairy farmers impacted by drought in New South Wales, South East Queensland and Northern Victoria.

An awareness campaign was launched in early October to support Lion’s temporary 10 cent-per- litre wholesale price increase for all Dairy Farmers and Pura 1L, 2L and 3L fresh white milk sold to participating retail outlets across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria until 31 January 2018.

Every cent of the funds raised in each state during the activation will be distributed to drought- affected dairy farmers in that state who supply Lion either directly or through the Dairy Farmers Milk Cooperative (DFMC).

The creative for the campaign was developed by AJF Partnership, and featured open letters to the Australian public from dairy farmers in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, supplying Lion, explaining first-hand the impact of the drought and the difference that purchasing 1L, 2L or 3L Pura and Dairy Farmers branded fresh milk from selected retailers made for them.

The campaign was initially planned for limited print and radio executions, but was rapidly scaled up to include print, radio, out-of-home, television and digital, based on significant media company support for the campaign.

News Corp Australia, The Australian Traffic Network, Austereo, Bauer Media, APN Outdoor, and Channels Seven, Nine, Ten and SBS all provided overwhelming bonus and free spots for the campaign, lifting reach to an estimated 7.27m Australians at launch and an additional 10.5m for the campaign’s duration.

Says Darryn Wallace, director of marketing and innovation, Lion Dairy & Drinks: “With 100% of New South Wales drought-declared, along with areas across Northern Victoria and South East Queensland, we know that many of our dairy farmers are doing it tough.

“As at November 2nd our campaign has raised approximately $866,301, all of which will go directly to our dairy farmers in NSW, Northern Victoria and South East Queensland. We’re hopeful of more than tripling this total, thanks in part to the Australian media companies who have generously provided their support, and to Starcom who enlisted their help on our behalf.

“We were particularly grateful with the number of individual stations and programs that took their support even further, with editorial and social messages encouraging their audiences to get behind the campaign. It’s wonderful to see the media industry as a whole respond so positively to help other Australians in need.”

In addition to the campaign, Lion has launched a website for consumers who want to know more about the current drought and its impact on their dairy farmers in New South Wales, South East Queensland and Northern Victoria, at: www.truebluedrought.com.au.

Client: Lion Dairy & Drinks

Media agency: Starcom

Creative Agency: AJF

Television: Seven, Nine, Ten and SBS