The Australian Red Cross Blood Service set to launch new ‘Bloody Great Friday’ donate-a-thon to drive new donors via Banter and Hausmann

The Australian Red Cross Blood Service has launched a new event to encourage Australians to roll up their sleeves and donate blood via the country’s first 24-hr donate-a-thon on World Blood Donor Day in partnership with Banter and Hausmann.

Bloody Great Friday will raise awareness about the need for 99,000 new donors in the next 12 months and to encourage people to become blood donors.

The events will take place at Blood Service CBD Donation Centres in Melbourne (Collins Street), Sydney (Town Hall) and Brisbane (Edward Street). Each Donor Centre will be open and collecting blood for 24hrs from 7pm Thursday 13 June to 7pm Friday 14 June.

During Bloody Great Friday guests will be treated to live music and entertainment, celebrity chefs whipping up bespoke post-donation snacks and couples date night – where duos are encouraged to book together for a one-of-a-kind night out. Donors will also have the chance to taste an exclusive Messina creation, ABSO- BLOODY-LUTELY, featuring blood orange cheesecake gelato with red velvet cake and raspberry puree. And those who choose to donate in the more unusual timeslot of 10pm – 3am, will find ‘Donor Kebabs’ among the late night snacks.

The campaign is built on an integrated approach focused around announcing, activating and amplifying Bloody Great Friday through PR and digital channels, all with the aim of getting people to donate.

Says Mitchell Loadsman, partner and co-founder, Banter: “We’re thrilled to be partnering with the Australian Red Cross Blood Service team to create and bring Bloody Great Friday to life. It’s such a fantastic cause that everyone can relate to. I’ll be donating on the day and I encourage everyone to get involved.”

Bloody Great Friday’s three 24-hour centres will be open from 7pm on Thursday 13 June to 7pm Friday 14 June. Those that can’t make it to one of the three CBD locations can still donate blood at around 100 donor centres across Australia.

Says Samantha Bartlett, chief marketing officer, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service: “Many of us may be surprised to learn that Australia needs a new blood donor every five minutes, however while one in three of us will need blood during our lifetime, only one in thirty donate.

“In an Australian first, we’re opening three donor centres around the clock in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane to highlight our need for 99,000 new donors over the next 12 months.

“As well as raising awareness of the need for blood donations, we also want to create a memorable experience for people who donate at Bloody Great Friday and Banter have done a fantastic job of bringing our vision to life.

The inaugural Bloody Great Friday event on June 14 is part of National Blood Donor Week and will feature appearances from celebrity chefs and performers as part of the push to encourage people to become blood donors.

Registrations are open, to make an appointment to donate please call 13 14 95 or visit donateblood.com.au.