Protect Our Cops
Award Category
BEST USE OF A SMALL BUDGET (UP TO $300,000)
Agency
KWP Advertising
Client
Police Association of South Australia
Objectives
The introduction of the Return to Work Act in South Australia imposed a new challenge for those injured in the line of duty. The legislation forced a two−year cap on income maintenance and a three−year cap on medical expenses for those injured in workplace accidents. The Police Association of South Australia was concerned the legislation would leave injured police officers and their families left to fend for themselves and needed to drive public support. It tasked KWP with the aim of getting at least 500 petition signatures so they could negotiate with the government.
Campaign
The strategic approach was to humanise the situation and show police officers as real people, by connecting what they do to protect the public to what happens when things go wrong. To highlight this insight, the campaign was focused on real stories of officers injured while protecting the community. In just 10 days, KWP designed a campaign across radio, newspaper, outdoor and social media, to mobilise the masses despite a small budget and a short amount of time. The campaign kicked off with a full−page colour print ad featuring an officer with scars of a point− blank shotgun wound to the face. Hard− hitting radio spots followed across all metro radio stations, while mobile signage was placed in high traffic pedestrian spaces. All iterations of the campaign included a call to action pushing the public to go to an online hub and sign the petition or to join in a protest rally and march through to Parliament House with placards also designed by the agency. Social media content was created featuring the stories of three inured police officers speaking on how the legislation would impact them. A Facebook page housed the videos and encouraged conversation with a small social ad budget used to bolster its reach.
Results
The website attracted 23,964 unique visitors, 1.5% of South Australia’s total population, with the online petition signed by 4515 people, exceeding the objective of 500 by 2.9 times. The social videos were viewed in total 160,000 times and most importantly the support gave the PASA president the confidence to negotiate with state government, forcing the legislation to be amended.
Judges Comments
"Judges loved that media was intrinsic to creating social change and importantly creating enduring change. This work was simple and smart and an example of a good
community campaign"
