Fundraising, marketing, and customer expectations are all evolving at a cracking pace, so with every FebFast campaign we constantly think about how to keep things innovative, fresh and fun – this is how we continue to push boundaries and keep donors engaged.

A hangover at a barbeque a few days before Christmas in 2006 was the inspiration for Fiona Healy’s brainchild, FebFast. As people complained of hangover headaches whilst reaching for another glass of wine, Healy and her friends decided taking a month off alcohol might be a good idea, and the shortest month of the year, February, seemed like a good place to start. In February 2007, Australia’s first ever dry month was born – Healy and a friend raised $910, which they donated to Youth Support + Advocacy Service (YSAS) – Victoria’s largest service provider for young people with substance and alcohol issues.

Since 2007, FebFast has raised over $5.6 million and supported over 40 youth alcohol and drug programs across Australia. In 2012, Healy formally passed the campaign over to YSAS, with proceeds raised supporting programs nationwide.

To keep things fresh we put the focus on innovation when considering both the fundraising component and the campaign’s core values – to help people kick start a healthy year. We put a strong emphasis on research to build new insights, ensuring that we are meeting the mark and giving our fasters what they want. In 2013 we found that our fasters were concerned about a number of health issues both societally and personally. Sugar and its impact on health was a key concern, as was small screen addiction and the over-use of technology.

To incorporate the new concerns, in February 2014 FebFast is providing fasting alternatives to give participants the option of taking a break from sugar, caffeine or digital overload. Although alcohol will remain the core focus, we understand that supporters are looking for assistance to curb other unhealthy habits.

By providing non-alcohol fasting options we have the ability to get all age groups involved, which has inspired Family FebFast. This allows a family to register and for each member to take on a different fasting challenge. Along with re-setting the dial on some of our daily habits, the intention is to help people to reflect and put themselves in the shoes of those who they are raising funds for. If resisting a cup of coffee at 9am Monday morning is agony, consider how difficult it is for fragile young people to overcome serious addiction issues.

Like all good campaigns, our most powerful marketing tool is word-of-mouth. We focus on not just what we say but how we say it. Our tone is critical – we’re never judgemental, we avoid the soapbox and if an idea makes us laugh we usually go with it. During the last campaign we ran a weekly series of SMS messages at beer-o’clock – 4pm Friday afternoon sent – from various body parts. Getting a text message from your liver saying it’s ‘feeling liver-rated’ as you contemplate how you’ll survive Friday without the drinks is a bit silly, but it made us laugh and our fasters too.

Our integrated marketing plan – e-magazine, community blogs and organised fun-runs – is designed to make a month’s detox achievable and create a community environment. In addition to this is our new app, which will aid with fundraising, allow participants to visualise their challenge and earn WillPower Points if in need of some motivation.

Probably the most controversial initiative that we’re focusing on is working with bars and restaurants to accommodate our fasters. In 2011 a well-known Melbourne cocktail bar put a sign outside its front door with ‘F**k FebFast!’ on it. This got us thinking that offering a quality non-alcoholic alternative could be a good way for venues to attract the sober dollar.

The idea snowballed – this year we have over 25 FebFast friendly venues listed on our website to help our fasters feel that they aren’t banned from heading out for an entire month. We’re also working with Shout – a mobile app that provides donors with the ability to shout a FebFast friend a donation and get a free soft drink at a bar.

Looking forward, FebFast’s core values will never change and we will continue to evolve, create innovative campaigns and have fun.