Chemistry Launches New Creative Platform for St John‘s 2022 Heart of Gold Fundraising Appeal

April is St John’s Heart of Gold Appeal month. It is the charity’s most significant fundraising campaign of the calendar year with a goal of raising $2m for much-needed ambulances and lifesaving equipment.

Chemistry, one of New Zealand's leading creative agencies for over nine years, was thrilled to be accepted by St John as their creative partner for this year's iconic appeal. 

Susan Young, co-founder and joint creative director at Chemistry says the team learnt a lot about St John as they built an understanding of their new client: "Omicron has undoubtedly created a lot of pressure for St John putting its first responders and ambulance services under the spotlight. But every day, the team puts that pressure aside and steps forward to help reassure New Zealanders in their time of need."

“We wanted to reinforce this care and reassurance that St John brings, so we used a POV (point of view) technique to bring our audience into the environment of an emergency event. This way we could showcase the amazing qualities the St John team brings when life changes in an instant during a medical emergency,” adds Greg Wylie, senior art director at Chemistry.

Head of fundraising at St John New Zealand, Leanne Tiscornia says: “As a charitable organisation, we are very grateful for the funding we receive from Government, but with increasing demand for our services owing to the pandemic, it is as vital as ever that we get support from the public.”

"Chemistry really inspired us with their “When Life Changes in an Instant” creative platform for our appeal this year. It translated a clear insight from research into a compelling piece of storytelling to inspire New Zealanders to get behind St John and support our Annual Appeal month.”

The St John Annual Appeal was launched via an integrated campaign on the 4th of April 2022 led by a 30-second TVC. Additional activity is taking place throughout the month.

St John Annual Appeal 2022 30" from Chemistry on Vimeo.

St John is encouraging everyone, including businesses, schools, and organisations throughout the country to join in and support this year's campaign however they can.

"Working with charitable organisations is always fulfilling, but having the chance to work with such an iconic and life-saving New Zealand brand is very humbling,” says Theo Larmer-Cottle, client lead at Chemistry.

"Our friends at MBM and the wider team are very excited to see this appeal come together, and it's great to know that we are supporting a vital cause needed by New Zealanders everywhere," adds Larmer-Cottle.

The St John campaign represents further creative momentum for Chemistry who has won plaudits for its recent work for TAB, Jaguar Land Rover and MTF Finance.