TBWA New Zealand

Client: ANZ BANK
Product: Support Band
Title: ANZ Support Band
Media: Direct / Integrated
Country: New Zealand
Date Of Campaign: June 2021

Background: Sport is a key element of New Zealand’s cultural identity. This passion reaches its peak during the Olympic Games. As major sponsor of New Zealand’s Olympic and Paralympic teams, ANZ Bank had the chance to win broad awareness and consideration among customers and non-customers. But to be noticed in the sea of other sponsors, we had to do more than just stick our logo everywhere. Our ambition was to make a lasting positive contribution to the sporting community and sports fans.Covid-19 changed the nature of large-scale sports events, and ANZ Bank’s sports sponsorship strategy needed to change with it. With closed borders and empty stands, it was near impossible for fans to cheer on their athletes in person during the pandemic Games. Athletes were feeling uncertain and isolated in their bio-secure player bubbles. To help ANZ emerge as the dominant sponsor of the Games, we had to find a way to help fans feel more involved as they tuned in to watch the Games from afar.

Idea: We created a way for fans to give our athletes what they needed more than anything - support. The ANZ Support Band is a world-first wearable innovation that allowed fans in New Zealand to make their support felt by athletes in Tokyo. Designed in consultation with Olympic and Paralympic athletes, the band sent a support pulse to the team at specific times they were not competing, along with a support tally. The tangible sensation of support spurred the New Zealand team to their most successful Olympic games - ever.

Results: • Worn by every NZ Olympic and Paralympic athlete as part of the official uniform, the Support Band gave New Zealand an unfair advantage during the Games. • The Support Band’s popularity among fans made ANZ New Zealand’s most recognised sponsor during the Games. • All 10,000 units of the Support Band were gone in 8 days of launch, as fans flooded our site. • Over 100,000 Kiwis joined our army of active supporters by sending support via our smartphone app. • Fans sent their support every 2 seconds of the Games on average. • Athletes felt buoyed by this support. Despite competing in a pandemic, New Zealand achieved a record medal tally at the Games. • The Support Band has helped ANZ shift consideration among non-customers by 79%. It continues to offer value to all fans as a fitness tracker post the Games.