MATES Big Lap
Launching a Successful Nationwide Charity Campaign
Client
MATES Big Lap
Services
Strategy & Positioning
Brand Identity
Campaign Messaging
Customer Experience
Campaign & Collateral Design
Every year, too many Australian workers in construction, mining, and energy take their own lives. Since 2008, MATES has been fighting to change that by providing mental health and suicide prevention training to worksites and support to workers and their families.
In 2023, they were ready to try something they'd never done before: a nationwide awareness and fundraising campaign called the MATES Big Lap. The concept was powerful – get people across Australia to walk, run, cycle, wheel, or swim the equivalent of a lap around the entire country, raising awareness and funds for suicide prevention.
But launching a first-ever national campaign for a cause this serious came with enormous pressure. They had the event name and a basic logo, but they needed a campaign brand that could do multiple things at once: attract high-value sponsors before launch, engage thousands of participants across the country, resonate with their target industries, and honour the gravity of the cause without feeling heavy or unapproachable.
They needed a brand that people would be proud to wear and share and could spark conversations about mental health in industries where those conversations are often the hardest to start. And they needed it fast, with tight deadlines and multiple stakeholder groups to satisfy.
Challenges
Appealing to Diverse Stakeholders Simultaneously
The campaign brand needed to work for sponsors evaluating investment value, participants seeking meaningful engagement, the general public learning about the cause, and workers in construction, mining, and energy who are the target audience. Each group had different needs and perspectives about what would work.
Securing Sponsors Before Launch
MATES needed to attract high-value sponsors before the event even went public. This meant creating a brand that could communicate credibility, scale, and potential impact based solely on visuals and concept, convincing major companies to invest in something that had never been done before.
Balancing Distinctive Identity with Brand Cohesion
The Big Lap brand needed to be unique and exciting enough to feel like a major event, while remaining clearly connected to MATES' established identity. Too similar and it wouldn't generate new energy; too different and it would confuse audiences or dilute MATES' brand equity.
Creating Merchandise People Actually Want
For a campaign relying on grassroots participation, the merchandise couldn't feel like throwaway promotional items. T-shirts and materials needed to be high-quality and appealing enough that participants would genuinely want to wear them and keep them, turning supporters into walking ambassadors for mental health awareness.
Solutions
Working closely with MATES' marketing and executive teams, we developed a complete campaign brand and asset suite designed to launch strong and sustain momentum.
Strategic Brand Extension
We created a distinctive Big Lap identity that expands on MATES' existing brand while feeling fresh and energised. Through strategic use of language (including the tagline), colours, and design elements, we built clear visual and conceptual bridges between MATES and the Big Lap, ensuring cohesion while giving the campaign its own personality.
Sponsor-Ready Brand Presentation
Securing sponsors before launch was critical, so we crafted a brand identity that immediately communicated scale, professionalism, and campaign potential. The visual system was designed to inspire confidence in potential sponsors that this was a serious, well-organised initiative worth investing in.
Comprehensive Marketing Asset Suite
We developed everything needed for a successful nationwide launch: customisable templates for social media and public use, posters, flyers, GoFundraise web page assets, and t-shirt designs ready for production. Every asset was designed to work cohesively while serving specific purposes in the campaign rollout.
Quality-Focused Merchandise Design
The t-shirt designs and physical materials were approached with the same care as commercial merchandise, creating items participants would genuinely want to wear and keep long after the event. This transformed supporters into ongoing ambassadors, extending the campaign's reach and impact beyond the official event period.
Collaborative Stakeholder Process
Throughout the design process, we facilitated feedback from multiple stakeholder groups, balancing diverse perspectives while maintaining strategic focus on campaign objectives. This collaborative approach ensured buy-in across the organisation while staying on budget and timeline.
Results
What We Achieved
The campaign launched with immediate momentum. All sponsorship requirements were filled well ahead of the event, validating that the brand successfully communicated value and credibility to major corporate partners. The visual identity resonated strongly with participants, generating early sign-ups and donations before the May 2023 launch date.
MATES received enthusiastic feedback from the community, and participants proudly wore and shared the campaign merchandise, extending awareness organically across Australia. The brand successfully balanced the seriousness of the cause with an approachable, energising aesthetic that invited participation rather than feeling overwhelming.
The Bigger Picture
When the campaign concluded, the results exceeded everyone's expectations: over 91 teams and 697 participants didn't just complete one lap around Australia – they completed nearly five laps, clocking more than 68,000 kilometres. The campaign raised over $71,000 for suicide prevention programs.
But the numbers only tell part of the story. Hundreds of conversations about mental health happened in construction sites, mining operations, and energy facilities across Australia. Workers in industries where vulnerability is often seen as weakness wore t-shirts that said it's okay to talk about mental health. Families participated together, normalising these conversations in households that might never have had them otherwise.
This project demonstrates what's possible when brand work serves a mission that matters. The MATES Big Lap brand didn't just look good. It created a vehicle for thousands of Australians to take meaningful action on suicide prevention. It gave people something to rally around, sponsors something to believe in, and MATES the resources to continue their life-saving work.
We're incredibly proud to have played a part in a campaign that quite literally helps save lives.
Winning Media played an essential role in the success of our most recent event. Their hard work, dedication, and creativity resulted in a unique and engaging brand that not only reflects our values as an organisation, but also resonates with our audience. From our initial discussion to the final deliverables, Winning Media was attentive, responsive, and professional, and has exceeded our expectations. We now have a powerful and unique brand that we are proud to use for future events and campaigns.
Lisa Sherlock
Marketing & Visual Comms Officer at MATES in Construction
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