Brain Awareness Week is the Neurological Foundation’s big chance to reach a more youthful audience – driving brain health awareness and creating a ‘donor nursery’ for later communications.

The challenge to DraftFCB in 2009 was to generate awareness, educate, and change behaviour amongst Gen X/Y with only $100,000.

Draft FCB’s big idea was “Grow a bigger brain in 7 days”. The entire country was invited to grow bigger brains in just seven days – and make NZ a smarter place.
By ‘Login your noggin’ at BrainWeek.co.nz participants could start growing a bigger brain by doing simple things like eating dark chocolate, chatting with friends and playing online games.

Completion of a daily task list earned virtual brain cells – and a slightly bigger brain. A daily email kept participants engaged right throughout the week. Brainweek.co.nz also formed a creative platform for future events.

Budget constraints meant media and PR had to work extra hard. Sponsors were engaged and provided media space and product. People ran Round the Bays with giant brains on their heads, Twitter and Facebook were utilised, and journalists “bought” with chocolates.

The ‘Grow a Bigger Brain in 7 Days’ online challenge generated 3.9 million ‘impressions’ of Brain Awareness Week in the media, engaged 34,500 visitors to the website for an average of seven and a half minutes at a time, and signed up over 5,000 potential new donors.