As summer officially draws to a close this weekend, These Guys I Know has taken its Days Like These campaign for Water Safety New Zealand to the sky.
The agency worked with the team at Airbubble to fly the message “Days Like These” across the sky at Piha – a coastline known to be New Zealand’s #1 drowning blackspot.
Piha was also named the highest risk location in the National Drowning Prevention Report 2025, released this week by Water Safety New Zealand. Since 1980, 61 drownings have occurred at Piha.
A team was on the ground to film and photograph the activation for digital extension, filming vox pop content with visitors to Piha.
Strong storytelling
The Water Safety New Zealand team, led by chief executive Glen Scanlon, is determined to tackle the complex issues that water safety presents through strong storytelling.
Summer is New Zealand’s worst drowning season, with an average of 43% of annual drownings occurring during these months. Tragically, 35 people have lost their lives this summer.
The Drowning Prevention Report provides a number of insights – including the risk of being alone (55% of drowning deaths last year were people alone) and the skew towards males, with men making up 83% of drownings in NZ.
Water Safety New Zealand is also using the opportunity to highlight their need for funding. Following the highly publicized ACC funding cuts, the organisation, now more than 75 years old, is actively exploring brand partnership opportunities. The first Water Safety New Zealand campaign “Prevent Drowning” ran in the summer of 1949/1950.
Power of partnerships
These Guys I Know brand strategist Amanda Wilson says: “The brand equity of Water Safety New Zealand presents a great opportunity for the right partner who is looking to make an impact. The brand is well known and loved across the country. In Aotearoa, we love the water. Being part of ensuring we can enjoy it safely is a fantastic opportunity for a partner. At this time, when community funding is more challenging than ever, collaboration between non-profit and commercial brands is a really important pathway to explore – with the potential for great mutual benefit”.
A recent partnership between Water Safety New Zealand and Stuff raised funds to support thousands of kids to access the Water Skills for Life programme.
While summer may be ending, the message remains clear: people drown on days like these – and sustained commitment is required to change that. The Days Like These campaign has also been named a finalist for Campaign of the Year at The Worthies Awards, to be held next week in Wellington on March 5.
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