CHALLENGE

The WA Government had identified a concerning trend in the community, especially among people living in areas vulnerable to intense summer bushfires.  The specific concern was a prevailing attitude from householders that responsibility for mitigating the risk of a bushfire impacting their property sat predominantly with Government agencies.

Funds had been identified to run a community education campaign in the months leading up to summer but, as it was already September, the request was for a campaign that could be created and executed quickly and efficiently.

The creative strategy for this campaign was also complicated by the large number of government agencies responsible for various aspects of the issue and the need to illustrate how agencies were working together, while also needing to bring the community on board.

SOLUTION

We were engaged to develop the marketing strategy for this campaign that was able to meet the required criteria in a very short period of time for production and implementation prior to the onset of summer.  

The strategic idea developed focused on the notion of a team of people from the various agencies playing their individual part in preparing for the fire season and challenging the target audience to consider their own state of readiness.  The core message was based on highlighting how this diverse team had put in place plans and actions meaning they were ready to tackle the bushfire risk, while asking the simple question: We’re ready – are you?  This notion of being “Bushfire Ready” became the core proposition and was ideal for use as a URL and a social media hashtag.

A second strategic pillar of the campaign was the use of a unifying team leader or a team well recognised in the WA community to speak on behalf of the government agencies.  This also made the shooting of the campaign easier to execute in a very short period of time with the high profile Bushfire Ready Ambassador filmed speaking to camera with the emergency teams assembled in the background reinforcing the notion of: We’re ready – are you?

OUTCOME

The campaign was widely embraced across the community and the phrase “Bushfire Ready” went from being a descriptor of the state of readiness to a form of verb – or state of action.

The campaign achieved significant support across community groups and in the media.  It was widely shared across social media platforms with content prepared to align with days of high bushfire risk.