Small Australian communities devastated by bushfires, struggled to rebuild with COVID stopping tourist dollars. With restrictions easing, Aussies could help by visiting and spending money. As one of Australia’s largest small business banks, and with a brand position of ‘help’, Westpac bank wanted to demonstrate that their commitment went beyond just ‘thoughts and prayers’. The brief was to create a campaign that would have a tangible impact on small business by encouraging visitation. To ensure Westpac were having the greatest impact possible, almost the entire budget went to loading the cards with money.

As one of Australia’s largest small business banks, and with a brand position of ‘help’ dating back decades, Westpac wanted to demonstrate that their commitment to the bushfire affected communities went beyond just the ‘thoughts and prayers’ of so many other brands. The idea was to create a series of postcards designed to appear as if they were from the areas most negatively impacted by the bushfires and in desperate need of tourist dollars. These would invite the bank's staff to come and visit and spend money, but would also feature a debit card loaded with $150 to encourage people to make the journey.

Designed to subvert the typical picture-perfect holiday postcard, the scenes depicted iconic images from that summer, and were created in collaboration with acclaimed artists from the affected areas in Australia. However, far from being typically designed, the postcards were a first of their kind for another reason. Affixed to the front was a debit card loaded with $150, and coded with an innovative geo-fencing technology, meaning that only when the recipient visited the area featured in the design, could the debit card be activated. This ensured that the money loaded onto the card would only be spent in the areas it was designed to help aid in the recovery of. When the debit card was removed it revealed a scene of regeneration which the holder would contribute to should they visit and spend money.

Now that covid restrictions are easing and Australian's are able to travel freely the cards are a timely reminder to encourage people to spend in the communicates that need it most. The post-fire campaign is a 12-month one, allowing those who receive the cards to spend their time in the areas over the course of a year. With tens of thousands of dollars distributed on these cards, the impact of visitation to these smaller communities is enormous, given when someone visits they are far more likely to spend more than the initial $150 loaded on the card itself.