The Challenge
MediaCast has worked with Volunteering Australia for the
past eight years to deliver a national PR campaign for National Volunteer Week
each May. In 2023, our key objectives were to highlight that volunteers are
‘change makers’ by recognising the vital support that volunteers provide to
their communities, while encouraging more Australians to consider volunteering.
In addition to leveraging data from Volunteering Australia’s
latest report, our strategy was to liaise with the peak volunteering bodies in
each state and territory to collate a database of diverse volunteers across the
country to be profiled when pitching to media.
We proactively sourced additional volunteers from different
demographics and various regional areas and to ensure we achieved widespread
coverage.
The Strategy
With Australia having faced an array of challenges in recent
years including natural disasters and the ongoing cost of living crisis,
Volunteering Australia wanted to highlight the crucial role of volunteers in
supporting the nation during challenging times.
The theme for 2023 was “We are the Change Makers” –
celebrating the powerful impact volunteers make supporting individuals,
communities and the nation.
The Execution
We used an Audio News Release (ANR) and Video News Release
(VNR) to extend the reach of the campaign, and hosted state-based media calls
during the awareness week to facilitate on-location interviews and vision
opportunities for journalists.
Content from the VNR was also repurposed to create
ready-to-use social media videos that were utilised across the national and
state volunteering social media platforms.
The Outcome
Smashing previous records and officially our biggest
campaign ever, we secured coverage across 954 radio items, 19 television
pieces, 376 print and digital articles and eight social media echoes.
We secured top tier consumer media and specialist outlets
including not-for-profit, aged care and pet publications – with coverage
landing across all states and territories.
Through leveraging new data and the wide and varied lived
experiences of volunteers from all walks of life, we were able to draw
recognition to Australia’s invisible workforce, while encouraging people to
find a volunteering role that allows them to also be a change maker in their
community.