Challenge
Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) is central to Australia’s beach culture, but the volunteers behind the red and yellow are not always recognised in proportion to the role they play in keeping Australians and visitors safe. This is largely because most people don’t realise SLSA is a charity, despite being one of the largest volunteer movements in the world, with over 200,000 members.
At the same time, SLSA was responding to a pressing public safety challenge: raising awareness of the red and yellow flags and their continued importance in light of changing coastal conditions, more people heading to the water each summer, and the ongoing trend of drowning deaths at unpatrolled beaches.
The task was to create a platform that could do more than raise awareness — one that could recognise volunteers, drive national support, raise funds for equipment, training and education, encourage the public to consider joining the movement, and reinforce safer behaviour at the beach in support of SLSA’s vision of zero preventable deaths in Australian waters.
Australians don’t need to be taught what red and yellow means — they already trust it. The opportunity was to turn those colours from a passive symbol of beach safety into an active symbol of the people, vigilance and lifesaving services behind them.
If red and yellow could be elevated from recognition to active support, the campaign could transform a familiar safety cue into a national act of gratitude, participation, fundraising and drowning prevention — in a way that felt celebratory, inclusive, optimistic and iconically Australian.
Solution
The answer was Red & Yellow Day: a new national day, held on the first Wednesday of March, aligning with the release of the Summer Coastal Drowning Report. Built around one simple message — when you back the surf lifesavers, you can help save lives too. It transformed red and yellow from a symbol of safety into an active national show of support.
We created the brand identity, creative platform, engagement strategy and launch assets to build the day from the ground up. A 90-second hero film, supported by 30” and 15” TVCs, demonstrated how schools, workplaces, surf life saving clubs and communities could participate by wearing red and yellow, flying the flags, fundraising, donating and signing up locally.
The campaign was further elevated by a re-recording of Jess Glynne’s ‘I’ll Be There’ by Indigenous Australian artist Budjerah, supporting local talent while lyrically encouraging Australians to show up and get behind the cause.
Crucially, the platform did more than celebrate volunteers. It also reinforced SLSA’s most important safety message: always swim between the red and yellow flags. The initiative highlighted the vital role of surf lifesavers in protecting beachgoers and promoting water safety, while encouraging people to contribute through volunteering, fundraising or spreading awareness.
With national amplification and support from surf life saving clubs across every state and brand partners including DHL, Qantas, Westpac and others, Red & Yellow Day was built as a long-term participation platform — recognising volunteers, raising vital funds and helping turn the tide on coastal drowning.
Results
In its inaugural year, Red & Yellow Day achieved immediate national cut-through, delivering tangible impact across awareness, participation, fundraising and cultural visibility.
The campaign generated 5 million in PR reach, 216 media hits and an ASR equivalent of $679,000, rapidly establishing Red & Yellow Day in the national conversation. Across social media, it delivered 911,356 impressions, while the campaign films drove 84,080 online views organically. Crucially, this attention converted into action, with 16,000 unique visits to the Red & Yellow Day website during launch, showing strong public intent to learn more, get involved and donate.
Participation was both broad and visible. 131 surf clubs activated Red & Yellow Day nationally, while 700 Party Packs were distributed to help schools, workplaces and communities host their own events. The campaign also generated 323 social posts and pieces of user-generated content, demonstrating that Australians were not just aware of the day, but actively taking part and amplifying it through their own networks.
That engagement translated into meaningful fundraising. In its first phase alone, Red & Yellow Day raised six figures in donations, alongside a further revenue from merchandise.
Most importantly, Red & Yellow Day achieved public visibility at a truly national level. Twenty-seven landmarks across seven states and territories were illuminated or activated in red and yellow, including Sydney Town Hall, ICC Sydney, Sydney Fish Market, Story Bridge, SkyPoint Observation Deck, Adelaide Oval, Parliament House WA, Tasman Bridge and Darwin Civic Centre. This transformed the campaign from a communications launch into a shared national moment.
One of the most powerful legacies was the new permanent red and yellow pedestrian crossing at Bondi, outside Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club — the birthplace of Surf Life Saving. More than an activation, it created an enduring public symbol of the movement in one of the nation’s most iconic beach locations.
Backed by 10 partner brands, including SLSA major national partners DHL, Isuzu Qantas, and Westpac, as well as Life Savers (Darrell Lea), Yo-Chi, Dixxon Flannel Co., Federal Government, state and local governments, Red & Yellow Day delivered far more than awareness in year one. It mobilised communities, generated meaningful fundraising, created visible national participation and established a scalable long-term platform to recognise surf lifesavers and help turn the tide on coastal drowning.
Instinctools
