It's all here
Motivating and inspiring local residents to spend in their community
Overview
It's all here in the City of Whittlesea launched in May 2022 with the aim of motivating and inspiring local residents to spend locally within their community.
The promotional campaign recognised, supported and celebrated the 18,000+ local businesses in the municipality and everything they have to offer residents, locals and visitors from near and far.
Icon was engaged to plan, develop and implement an integrated and localised campaign which inspired people to think and buy local.
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on Melburnians, with the City of Whittlesea being one of the hardest hit areas. With a high upturn of business closures and unemployment rates compared to the rest of the State, a true sense of loss was felt by the community, and the economic impact was devastating.
The Whittlesea Local Support Campaign aims to change the way that residents of Whittlesea spend their money by making them emotionally invested in the well-being of their community. When people spend money within the local economy, it has a positive impact on the municipality as a whole, creating more opportunities for businesses to thrive and creating more jobs. By encouraging residents to care about the impact of their spending habits, the campaign hopes to build a more prosperous and thriving economy for all.
Challenge
Extended lockdowns saw more people switching to online purchasing (39%), buying from local businesses less (22%), and spending less money in general (29%); all of which impacted local businesses. However, as vaccination rates began to rise and Melburnians adapted to life post multiple lockdowns, the City of Whittlesea was at the inception of a phase of recovery with a call for community and local support at its core.
Enter the Whittlesea Local Support Campaign, a campaign focussed on shifting the behaviours of Whittlesea residents to change their spending habits in order to support the communities economic and social recovery.
There were 18,000+ local businesses in the municipality that needed community support – they existed before the pandemic, adapted, and now they needed our support to grow once again.
Solution
The campaign required a creative solution that motivated residents to care and understand how their spending habits impacted the local community. People’s habits matter and we wanted locals to understand the effect their buying power had on building a more prosperous and united community.
Locals and the rest of the community celebrate when a favourite business succeeds and mourn when it’s forced to shut its doors. Our campaign focused on the emotive impact of local spending – the connection to the people behind the business and the more personalised service they offer.
The campaign Icon developed with the City of Whittlesea, called It’s all here, involved eight local business heroes from a variety of industries and backgrounds, each with their own unique story and offering.
These local heroes championed and delivered the campaign message, reminding locals that they don’t need to leave the area to find what they need. Everything is right here on their doorstep – be it a toy store, an accountant, a food producer, a cake maker and much more.
Results
Following a 2-day videography and photography shoot with the eight local business owners, along with in-depth PR interviews, Icon implemented an English and CALD media campaign supported by PR activity.
The media campaign consisted of formats that provided maximum visibility and frequency of messages, including print, outdoor (street furniture bus shelters and transit bus backs), digital, and organic and paid social media.
Across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and digital display, 3,996,045 impressions were delivered, with Facebook and Instagram delivering the highest of all channels with 2,294,264 and a click-through rate of 2.51%.
The PR campaign reached 176,000 people through traditional media reach, landing 15 pieces of coverage in local and national publications, including the Whittlesea Review and News Today.
Services
Campaign planning and channel strategy
Creative ideation
Video and imagery production
Graphic design
Media implementation
PR campaign
