The Objective

The Tourette Syndrome Association of Australia (TSAA) engaged MediaCast for Tourette Syndrome (TS) Awareness Week to raise awareness of the TSAA and provide for a national advocacy media campaign. The campaign needed to create a conversation around what it is like to be a young person with TS and why they have a right to be in a classroom with their peers.

The Campaign

Research was commissioned for the campaign which unveiled new insights from the TS community and their experience living with TS at school to highlight the need for more support for students with diverse needs.

Given the strong support from the community, MediaCast supported the TSAA to craft a letter to ministers across the country, urging for more support for students with TS in schools.

To communicate these findings and drive awareness of the TSAA, MediaCast developed both a video news release (VNR) and an audio news release (ANR) to target high-value TV and radio outlets, in addition to digital and print publications.

Outcomes

MediaCast secured 459 items of coverage reaching an estimated 34.8 million people across all states and territories of Australia for TS Awareness Week.  Key coverage highlights included Studio 10, A Current Affair, Channel 9 News (Gold Coast), WIN News (from VNR), 7 News (from VNR), WIN News Canberra, Daily Mail and the Sunday Mail – which ran across NewsCorp online, Kidspot (news.com.au) and 9 Honey.

An Opinion Editorial written by 11-year-old Tryxx Maysey was picked up by MamaMia, Mum’s Lounge and Mum’s at the Table.

Radio highlights include SBS Radio Melbourne, 2GB, 2SM, and multiple ABC Radio metro and regional stations. The Audio News Release was also picked up the National Radio News network which syndicates to hundreds of community radio stations across the country.

The campaign was well received across the TS community with articles and TV coverage being shared across social media by organisations, individuals, and community groups in Australia and internationally. As a direct result of the advocacy push, a meeting was also secured with the WA Minister for Education to discuss how kids with TS can be better supported in schools. The President of TSAA, Mandy Maysey was also invited to speak at a high school about TS and how students can support their peers with the condition.

Another outcome of the campaign was positioning the TSAA as the leading voice on TS.  Following the campaign, reactive coverage and interviews were secured with Today Extra and ABC Drive Melbourne and ABC Drive State-wide – reaching an additional two million people.  The coverage came off the back of American singer-songwriter, Billie Eilish, speaking openly about their TS.

Highlights

Studio 10, A Current Affair, Channel 9 News, WIN Network, 7 News, Today Extra, Sunday Mail, MamaMia, Kidspot, 9 Honey, Daily Mail