Spinal Life Australia: A leading voice in disability support and inclusion.
The Challenge
Spinal Life Australia supports people living with spinal cord injuries and other physical disabilities through a vast range of services, including allied health, community programs, advocacy, and inclusive sport. While the organisation’s impact resonates across Queensland and nationally, a central challenge is ensuring this breadth of work is clearly understood and consistently visible within the media.
Translating complex programs and policy issues into compelling, human-led stories remains a primary objective. The goal is to maintain high-level visibility across a rapidly evolving media landscape while ensuring that lived experience remains at the heart of every conversation.
The Strategy
Our strategy builds long-term credibility through a sustained, "always-on" media presence rather than relying on isolated campaigns. We utilise a multi-spokesperson model where leadership drives advocacy and policy discussion, while internal experts provide informed commentary on NDIS and accessibility issues to position the organisation as a trusted authority.
This approach centres on lived experience storytelling, ensuring that services and programs are communicated through real people and tangible outcomes. By maintaining a balanced geographic focus, we ensure that stories resonate across metropolitan, regional, and Queensland-wide communities, reflecting the organisation's extensive footprint.
The Execution
We deliver a consistent pipeline of proactive storytelling and reactive media engagement across broadcast, print, radio, and digital platforms. This activity is structured around three key pillars: advocacy for systemic change in transport and housing, reactive commentary on government legislation, and proactive service-based promotion.
By highlighting specific programs such as Sporting Wheelies, the Healthy Living Centre, and Move Mobility, we demonstrate the organisation's impact in a relatable and accessible way. This execution allows us to showcase the full scope of Spinal Life’s work while creating multiple entry points into the daily media conversation.
The Outcome
Since partnering in 2022, this strategic activity has solidified Spinal Life’s profile as both a premium service provider and a credible advocate for systemic change. Last financial year, we delivered an average of over 190 items of coverage per month, reaching a combined monthly audience of more than 13 million people.
Coverage spans major outlets, including ABC News Breakfast, Seven, Nine, and Ten, Sky News Australia, The Australian, news.com.au, ABC Online and Nine.com.au.
We’ve also reinforced the organisation’s authority across the disability, health, education, accessibility and community sectors, via outlets such as Talking Disability, HelloCare, Healthcare Channel, Allied Magazine, Education Matters and Wide World of Sports.
Since beginning our partnership in 2022, the sustained communications activity has strengthened Spinal Life Australia’s profile as both a disability service provider and credible advocate for systemic change, while helping elevate broader conversations around accessible public spaces, transport, tourism and inclusive participation across Australia.