We are the wasteLESS generation
Change Management
Waste Campaign
The Canterbury Bankstown Council engaged Icon Agency to establish an overarching waste ‘brand’ to help to engage residents and create ongoing positive waste behaviours
As part of this, Icon developed a tactical strategic communications plan to announce important service changes to the community.
Icon were appointed to develop a fully integrated strategic communication plan with tools to communicate and deeply connect with the local community.
Sydney’s largest municipal council area
A bustling and dynamic residential, commercial and industrial metropolis, the City of Canterbury Bankstown is Sydney’s largest municipal council area. The municipality replaced the former Bankstown and Canterbury councils in 2016. Consisting of five wards and 40 suburbs, the City is known for its cultural diversity and family-oriented values.
Announcing important service changes to the community
Canterbury Bankstown engaged Icon Agency to establish an overarching waste ‘brand’ to help to engage residents and create ongoing positive waste behaviours. As part of this, Icon developed a tactical strategic communications plan to announce important service changes to the community.
This strategic communications plan aims to:
Inform and prepare the City of Canterbury Bankstown’s diverse residents of changes to their household waste collection services by Council through the provision of clear, timely, relevant and accessible information
Drive enquiries online, and minimise telephone enquiries and complaints to Council’s service centre, councillors and media outlets
Educate Council staff, councillors and executives to handle enquiries from residents, including information on the changes, key messages and online resources
Creating ongoing positive waste behaviours
While the new, unified collection service was an important milestone for Council, for residents it required significant changes to established behaviours. Almost all households were impacted by the changes to waste management.
This included:
Changes to bin collection days and times for most residents in 31 of 41 suburbs
Changes to bin collection days and times for commercial properties in the former municipality of Canterbury
Impact on street parking restrictions for around 1000 households
Change in the process for collection of bulky waste (“Clean Up”) for multi-unit dwellings with more than six units
Increase in size of bulky waste collections for residents in the former municipality of Bankstown
Informing a culturally diverse community
Acknowledging cultural awareness and requirements for CALD residents at the same time as balancing the information needs to a diverse social economic population was crucial to informing, educating and bringing residents along the journey to comprehend the service changes.
This diversity meant targeted as well as culturally inclusive outreach and information channels were required. For the bulk of audiences, Council’s primary need was to ‘inform’ them of the change, however other audiences required ‘engagement’ or were considered ‘collaborators’.
The solution
Icon developed a fully integrated strategic communications plan with tools to communicate and deeply connect with the local community. Communications needed to be clear, relevant and accessible for residents, minimising confusion and reducing the impact:
Overarching theme for the campaign 'We are the wasteLESS generation’
Tailored messaging for audiences and key stakeholder groups
Risk assessment and mitigation recommendations
All scenario key messages
Strategy and implementation schedule
The strategic approach was phased to allow residents and stakeholders to process the changes while avoiding instances of confusion around the launch of the change.
Icon employed an adaptation of the IAP2 engagement methodology to determine the recommended communications phases for this campaign.
Services
Fully integrated strategic communications plan
Stakeholder management
Community engagement
Creative ideation
Campaign planning and management
Risk mitigation plan
The change to service
was positively received
by the community
