Lawrence Creative Strategy

Australian Labor Party

The 2007 Federal Election Campaign

A political election campaign is one of the great challenges in modern communications.

2007 was regarded as the first digital election campaign, with Labor establishing its dominance of the use of internet media such as the Kevin07 website, YouTube, Facebook and MySpace.

Combined with the '24 hour news cycle,' the volume of work was larger and turn-around times shorter than any election campaign before it.

Ultimately, there were four factors unpinning our success:

•    A rigorously-considered communication strategy.
•    The ability to work at a high level with the ALP Leadership Team to consistently deliver a highly focused message.
•    The courage to be pre-emptive at important moments.
•    The discipline to stay on that strategy while still being responsive to events as they unfolded.

Australian Mining

This is our story

The successful campaign against the Mining Tax in 2010 showed Australian's strong support for the mining industry. However, despite its success, the industry could not rest on its laurels.

It was vital that it stay in touch with the supporters of 'Keep Mining Strong,' and continue the work of telling its positive story:  It brings in billions of dollars of export income. It provides work for over 750,000 Australians. It supports communities all across the country, today and into the future.

And what better way to tell this story than through the people whose hard work and support make it happen. Working with the Minerals Council of Australia over the course of 2011 and 2012, remarkable individuals from around the country proved, in their own words and their own way, that "We work hard, we look after each other and we are committed to Australia".

In two minute documentary style films in cinemas, supported by 60 second TVCs, print ads and a website, these stories illustrate how the mining industry creates and shares wealth and how it positively touches peoples lives and communities.  

The unscripted executions rely on authenticity, credibility and a compelling narrative that tells an interesting and little known aspect of the mining story in the words of a real Australian. The stories used to date have been from a cross section of mining companies, states, backgrounds and professions as well as a focus on hospitals and communities that have benefited from the mining industry's support. 

The campaign continues to build on existing positive perceptions and shifting negative perceptions of the industry over time. It highlights how important mining is to Australia now and in the future. 

Australian Nursing Federation

Australian Nursing Federation

The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) is the nation's largest union and is considered one of the most powerful and influential unions in the country, with over 200,000 members.

Given the current working conditions and ever growing nursing shortage, LCS were asked to develop a campaign that engaged the public to support them.  The strategy was to develop a positive nursing campaign celebrating the important role nurses play in the community to drive support and membership as well as to inspire people to join the nursing profession.

The creative proposition centred around "ANF - You couldn't be in better hands"

A two minute documentary style ad was developed that told the story of a day in the life of a nurse and captured the many situations and emotions that nurses encounter in their day to day lives.  It shows real nurses, in real hospitals and in real situations. The iconic song "She's got the whole world in her hands" was used to bring emotion and was re-recorded by a new up and coming artist Martha Zwartz.  To engage the target audience and tell the story, this commercial was played in cinemas nationally.

The two minute films were supported by a 60 second TVC and 30 second radio ads aired nationally.

BHP Billiton

Resourcing the Future

Australia's biggest company, BHP Billiton had not engaged in communications to the general public for many years when they approached Lawrence Creative Strategy for communications advice.

At the time, Marius Kloppers had been appointed CEO, the rapid growth of China had led to growing demand for resources, and BHP Billiton was the 'Official Diversified Minerals and Medals Sponsor' of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. It was time to refine BHP Billiton's branding to communicate who they are and - globally - what they do.

LCS developed the company's new positioning statement, "Resourcing the Future," launching it with a creative campaign to communicate the BHP Billiton story. Devising the strategy required a thorough understanding of specialised groups from Europe, China, Australia and America which ranged from investment bankers, Government Committees, unions, environmental groups and 'Mum and Dad' investors. The campaign included an internal launch, website enhancements, and an extensive print and online advertising campaign in Australia and China to communicate BHP Billiton's sponsorship role in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Generation One

Address to the nation

Generation One is a movement to bring all Australians together, to end the disparity between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians in one generation. Our generation.

This message needed to be heard, we needed the attention of the nation.

We spoke to media companies all around Australia. We wanted 2 minutes of free air time; not for an ad, but for an address to the nation.

With donated space from Newspaper and online media companies, we announced an address. Through Twitter we monitored the buzz and the speculation. Then on a Sunday night, for the first time ever, a non-political address was broadcast across all free to air channels. Maddy, a 13 year Aboriginal girl spoke to 6 million Australians.

In 24 hours

• 2.4 million hits to the website
• 10,000 watched the address online

In the first week

• 15,000 joined the movement
• 28% increase of awareness for GenerationOne

In total, an estimated $4million of advertising space was donated by a range of media companies. In addition, the address sparked earned media coverage across television, radio and online.

With the attention of 6 million Australians, GenerationOne stopped the nation, and made them listen.

Minerals Council of Australia

Keep Mining Strong

In 2010, the Australian Government announced a new mining tax, the Resources Super Profit Tax (RSPT). With little warning or consultation beforehand the tax, worth billions, caught the industry by surprise.

Lawrence Creative was approached by the MCA to provide a counterpoint, highlighting the flaws in the tax, and illustrating the important role the minerals industry plays in the lives of all Australians. Hurt mining and you hurt Australia. The message: Keep Mining Strong.

Between March 9 and June 24:

• A campaign website, the first iteration of which was built in only 2 days, became an information centre for facts. This grew with the campaign, with 2 major upgrades adding in new tools, information sources and instructions on how to take action.
• Over 20 different print executions, 8 radio ads and multiple TVC's featuring facts and figures, and stories from Australian's all over the country who would be impacted by this tax.
• Demonstrated the importance of mining, demonstrating the benefits, both direct and indirect, that the industry brings to every Australian.
• On June 24 a ceasefire was agreed to, calling for a halt in advertisements from both the MCA and the Government. Ultimately, the tax was abandoned in its flawed form and a more acceptable alternative agreed.

Qantas

Qantas

The Qantas 'Building a better, stronger Qantas' campaigns set out to communicate and build support for the planned restructuring of Qantas International while managing the industrial, government and public relations challenges associated with this plan.

Lawrence Creative Strategy advised Qantas through one of the most significant industrial relations disputes in Australian history.

We have developed two distinct integrated campaigns: "

There's a new spirit" - a brand campaign for the general travelling public, that promotes the benefits that restructuring Qantas International will bring to customers.

"Keep Qantas Flying" - an informative campaign targeting political, business and media influencers, that makes the case for why Qantas International must change and how the unions are standing in the way of that change.

In addition to this, Lawrence Creative strategy continue to provide strategic advice and input to the Qantas Group executive.

Queensland Labor Party

2009 Queensland State Election

Anna Bligh faced several obstacles in her bid to be Australia’s first directly-elected female Premier.

Against a background of the Global Financial Crisis, Queensland Labor had been in power for 11 years and was facing its first serious opposition in the face of a newly-united and on-message Liberal National Party.

Rather than focusing on the past and Labor's track record, our strategy was to hammer home Anna Bligh's positive plan to protect jobs and keep Queensland strong in uncertain economic times.

Advertising was used effectively to contrast Anna Bligh's strength with Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg's inability to recognise that Queenslanders were affected by the global recession.

With a web and social networking strategy reinforcing these messages, the advertising campaign finished strongly by highlighting the risk Lawrence Springborg and his inexperienced team posed the people of Queensland.

Anna Bligh created history and defied opinion polls to win the Queensland election and earn the Labor Party a fifth consecutive term.

Recognise

Recognise

Recognise is the brand and campaign name, created for the peoples movement to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution.

With the insight that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are already recognised by Australians as the first peoples, and for their achievements across many areas including sports, arts, science and culture, its only right that they be recognised in the Australian Constitution. Recognise is a simple proposition, because enshrining recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution is the right thing to do.

The brand was launched at the 2012 Aria awards, and worn by Yothu Yindi band members as they were welcomed into the Aria Hall Of Fame, in front of 870,000 national viewers and an estimated 100 million media impressions.

The movement has been embraced across the country, with many Australians proudly wearing the brand logo. From politicians (including Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott) to musicians (such as The Jezabels and Dan Sultan) and so far over 126,000 supporters have signed up to the cause.

On 13 February, 2013, the nation's federal parliament passed legislation in favour of an historic act of recognition which commits Australia to having a referendum and changing the Constitution to acknowledge our first peoples. 

This was an historic and important step on the journey to Recognition. The campaign continues.