AT A GLANCE

Timing // October 2023 – November 2023

Scope // All Four campaign

Targets // National consumer media

Media Items // 1,170 items of coverage

Audience Impressions // 106.2 million

Highlights // Weekend Sunrise, ABC News Breakfast, 7News Digital, SBS World News, Sky News Australia, Australian Associated Press, Daily Telegraph, ABC Online, The Conversation.

THE OBJECTIVES

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 CAMPAIGN

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.

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 RESULTS

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.