Western Australians Stop and Listen for St John's Sound of Survival Campaign

The arresting sound of an ambulance siren - and the range of powerful emotions it evokes - is the centrepiece of a new St John campaign launched this week by 303 MullenLowe Perth. 

Called the Sound of Survival, the compelling campaign uses the curiosity, excitement, fear and sympathy generated by a siren, particularly highlighting the most important emotion of all experienced by those needing an ambulance in a critical moment: hope. 

It aims to reinforce the importance of only calling Triple Zero (000) for an ambulance for serious or life-threatening emergencies, and help Western Australians better understand the right time to call an ambulance, or when it’s more appropriate to contact another health service for assistance or advice.  

St John chief of brand and reputation, Aaron Crowther said with about 300,000 people calling St John through Triple Zero (000) seeking an ambulance each year, the organisation needed a campaign that reinforced the importance of keeping the community St John Strong, with emergency call takers and front-line workers on the road able to respond expeditiously when they were most needed. 

“Western Australians are pretty good at knowing when they are facing a life-threatening emergency, but St John had been receiving some calls to Triple Zero (000) which related to more general questions and concerns about covid-19,” he said. “After speaking with other ambulance services around the country about the influx of calls they’d experienced of that nature, we needed to do something to save Triple Zero (000) for emergencies as the virus spread throughout our community.  

“For the past two years we have been hearing about the serious threat covid poses to people’s lives, including death. As a result, some people have ‘hard-coded’ any experience with covid into the ‘emergency box’. The population is well vaccinated and prepared, so while covid-19 can cause a life-threatening emergency, it is not always the case.” 

303 MullenLowe Perth senior business director Holly Creasey said: “We’re thrilled with this powerful campaign which short-circuits the automatic link some people have between COVID and an emergency situation, reinforcing the ‘life-threatening’ element of emergencies, and providing alternate pathways for flu-like covid symptoms.  We hope it will enable people to recognise the importance of the ambulance service in saving lives.” 

303 MullenLowe Perth ECD Richard Berney said: “An ambulance siren is one of the most distressing sounds that humans have ever designed. It cuts through almost any other, and has a way of reminding us of our own mortality. But to those who need critical help, it may as well be birdsong. This is the idea our campaign explores; it brands the St John ambulance siren as ‘the sound of survival’ and reminds people to only call on it in life-threatening situations.” 

Sound of Survival is running state wide in WA across radio, online video, social and outdoor and was strategically designed with a speed to market approach in mind. The campaign also leveraged credible, trusted news environments. Media planning and buying has been handled by 303 MullenLowe’s sister agency, Mediahub.