We turned Austereo (Australia’s biggest radio network) dry. We beeped out all mentions of booze in chart songs across its stations Triple-M and Hit! throughout July.

It was such a simple idea, but an effective way to highlight our dependence on alcohol and indeed the commitment it takes to go without booze for a month. It gave donors a greater appreciation of the sacrifice that Dry Julyers were making, which we hoped would make them dig deeper.

Listeners reacted, and the radio hosts used the lively debate as part of their shows. It meant the exposure for Dry July went far beyond a few 15” spots. The stations even dedicated a “Ginger Beer Drinking Countdown” to the idea – a playlist of the most booze-filled songs in the charts, minus the alcohol references of course. And each time a song played, it reminded Aussies of the sacrifice Dry Julyers were making.

Given we know how much Aussies love a drink, we warned them on 30th June; hosts across the Hit! and Triple-M national networks announced what was to come on air, on social, and on website.

Then, we launched the month with a bang – by ‘taking the piss’ out of songs on Triple-M in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane, on 1st July. Top DJs across Australia announced the “Ginger Beer Drinking Countdown” was live. Hit! followed suit on the 15th July, and was officially on the wagon.

It got a few listeners’ backs up – but this gave the hosts valuable opportunities for banter, further highlighting our dependence on alcohol, even in music. The DJs played-ball and drove listeners to sign-up.

Dry July is a more than a couple of days, that’s why reminders ran throughout the month to keep the attention on Australia’s love for booze, and indeed our great cause.

With $0 spent and a single media owner we reached 5.5 million drinkers throughout July.

Aussies didn’t realise just how prevalent alcohol was in their culture until we took it away from them. And by highlighting how hard doing Dry July is, it allowed each Dry Julyer to raise 16.2% more than last year, which took overall donations to $3,700,000. That’s $500,000 more than projections based on last year’s results.

All for the cost of a beep.