Dry July 2021

Overview

The Dry July campaign invites Australians to go dry for the month of July, with proceeds going to assist people affected by cancer.

Run by Dry July Foundation, the challenge is more than just giving up alcohol for a month; it’s about raising money for cancer organisations across Australia to support cancer patients, their families and carers.

With the support of participants and donors, Dry July Foundation funds vital programs and services including:

• wig libraries;
• exercise and art therapy;
• transport to treatment;
• information services;
• accommodation;
• specialist cancer care nurses; and
• critically important cancer treatment tools like chemotherapy chairs.

That’s how Dry July Foundation makes life better for people affected by cancer.

Problem

The central aim of Dry July Foundation isn’t as well-known as it should be. They wanted to change this and bring the cause to the forefront.

Solution

Raise greater awareness of the purpose of the Dry July Foundation.

Results

This year $13.3 million dollars was raised in Australia and $1.6 million in New Zealand, the most raised in the campaign for both Australia and New Zealand.

The Challenge

The central aim of Dry July Foundation isn’t as well-known as it should be. They discovered that while people had heard of Dry July, they generally weren’t aware that the campaign raised money for people affected by cancer. They wanted to change this and bring the cause to the forefront.

The Solution

We knew that with greater awareness of the purpose of the Dry July Foundation, we could engage even more people to go dry this July. Which is why our campaign approach from 2021 puts cancer support and care front and centre.

The campaign line for 2021 was “I won’t drink to that”. The creative developed for this raises a glass and taps into a well known phrase, ‘I’ll drink to that!”. It is attention grabbing because of the flip. As much as we may be looking for a reason to stop drinking, we don’t want to stop celebrating. Through this creative, Dry July invites all drinking-age Australians to continue drinking to celebrate, but with a twist. By putting the stories of people affected by cancer front and centre, we established an immediate connection to the ‘why’ of Dry July. ‘I won’t drink to that!’

The Results

2021 was a record breaking year for the Dry July campaign and Marlin are so proud to have played a part in helping improve the lives and outcomes for people affected by cancer. This year $13.3 million dollars was raised in Australia and $1.6 million in New Zealand, the most raised in the campaign for both Australia and New Zealand.

Wrapping up

By putting the cause at the forefront of the campaign, participants connected with the communications on a deeper level. This resulted in greater engagement and more funds raised. And from our experience, this will also result in an increase in supporter loyalty – with more fundraisers returning in the future. Community fundraising campaigns of this scale require ground work, specific skill sets and robust strategy. We are thrilled to continue to work with charity partners like Dry July Foundation to create, evolve and extend the foundations of such significant initiatives.