Following a competitive pitch process, independent integrated agency YS has successfully launched its first major campaign with World Vision New Zealand, delivering a strategic refresh of the iconic World Vision New Zealand 40 Hour Challenge.
Appointed to handle both media and creative, YS was tasked with modernising the legacy campaign, the country's largest youth fundraising event, to connect with a new generation of participants while driving crucial fundraising outcomes.
"We selected YS based on their clear strategic smarts and integrated digital and creative approach," says Kate Elton, Head of Brand and Marketing at World Vision. "We're focused on reaching more supporters more effectively, and it was important to have an agency partner with genuine depth in digital and data”.
The partnership's first milestone is a comprehensive refresh of the World Vision New Zealand 40 Hour Challenge design system to modernise the brand's visual identity. The refreshed identity was designed to energise the extensive schools network that forms the backbone of the campaign.
In market, the media strategy moved away from traditional broad targeting, deploying a sophisticated, data-driven approach. “We used a modern Customer Data Platform (CDP) to coordinate anonymous audience data, allowing us to orchestrate specific messaging strategies across all digital platforms in real-time,” explains Sophie Radford, Client Services Director at YS. “By tailoring the messaging to where the audience is in their journey, we have built highly targeted lookalike pools to drive deeper engagement and participation.
As a result the World Vision 40 Hour Challenge is pacing more than 30% ahead of target. We have already secured 93% of our total participant target while only utilising 70% of the campaign timeline and budget. Tracking significantly ahead of pace like this is a massive testament to the team and the infrastructure we've built.”
“We are absolutely thrilled with the results so far and the collaborative spirit of this partnership,” says Duncan Shand, CEO YS. “This campaign perfectly demonstrates the tangible business impact of a truly integrated creative and media model. We live in a digital-first world, and working with a client like World Vision New Zealand which pushes boundaries as much as we do is incredibly exciting. We’re already deep into the work for the next campaign.”
The 40 Hour Challenge is happening from June 19th-21st 2026 so there’s still time to get involved. Find out more and sign up here - https://fundraise.worldvision.org.nz
Updated: The 40 Hour Challenge broke $1m in funds raised before the end of the weekend for the first time.