Category: SocialMarketingCampaignCampaign: EducationCampaign‘PreparingToday’sStudentsforTomorrow’Department: DepartmentofEducationandTraining (formerlyDepartmentofEducationandEarlyChildhoodDevelopment)Submitted by: GhinaMakari,ManagerStrategicCampaigns,makari.ghina.g@edumail.vic.gov.au,96373870.Date: 27February2015

Submission to Government Communications Australia Awards for Excellence

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Education has the transformative power to change lives.

Weknowthatchildrendothebestatschoolwhentheirparentsareinvolvedintheireducation.Wealsoknowthatparentsworryabouttheirchild’sfuture.

Withtheworldchangingsorapidlyweneedtoleveragethebenefitsofaglobalisedeconomysoastopreparetoday’sstudentsfortomorrow’sworld.

That’swhywedevelopedanintegratedawarenesscampaignaimedatincreasingparents’confidenceinandknowledgeoftoday’sapproachtoschooling;andhelpingparentsunderstandwhattheycandoathometosupporttheirchild’slearning.

Thecampaignranforsixweeksandfeaturedastronganchorline‘Preparingtoday’sstudentsfortomorrow’thatunderpinnedeverythingthatwedid,includingourschoolcommunications,advertising,media,digitalassetsandstakeholderengagement.

ThecampaignfarexceededallofitsKPIsandwashighlysuccessfulinreachingandengagingwiththetargetaudience.Italsopositivelyinfluencedattitudesandbehaviourwithmorethanhalftheparentsreachedbythecampaigntakingsomeformofaction.

These results position the campaign as one of the most successful campaigns to be undertaken by the Department.

THE ISSUESetting the scene:

Educationhasthetransformativepowertochangelives.

Ensuringthateverychildhastheopportunitytoreceivetheverybesteducationandreachtheirfullpotentialhasneverbeenmoreimportant.

ProvidingVictorianswiththeopportunitiestheyneedshouldbearightforall.

Withtheworldchangingsorapidlyweneedtoleveragethebenefitsofaglobalisedeconomysoastopreparetoday’sstudentsfortomorrow’sworld.

Ensuringthelongtermsuccessofourchildrenwillalsoensurethesuccessofthisstate.

Weknowthatchildrendothebestatschoolwhentheirparentsareinvolvedintheireducation.Wealsoknowthatparentsworryabouttheirchild’sfuture.

Why an awareness campaign:

Wewantedto:

• Increaseparents’confidenceinandknowledgeofmoderndayschooling–toincreasetheirunderstandingofwhattheirchildrenarelearningandhowitisdifferenttowhentheywereatschool

• Showparentsweareeducatingtheirchildrendifferentlytohowtheywereeducated,soastopreparetheirchildrenforthedifferentskillstheywillneedintomorrow’sworldfortomorrow’sjobs

• Showparentsthatthemoretheyunderstandandareinvolvedintheirchild’seducation,themoresuccessfultheirchildwillbeandthebettertheywillbepreparedfortomorrow’sworld.

Intheinitialstagesoftheprojectourresearchofparents’needsandattitudessupportedourreasonsfortheproject.Itfoundthat:• Recognisingandsupportingparents’roleas‘firstteacher’hastheabilitytohaveaprofoundinfluenceondevelopment,

achievementsandopportunitieslateron.• Thetwodriversofsuccessforachildareparentalinfluenceandtheeffectivenessoftheeducationsystem.• VictorianparentsaresatisfiedwiththecurrentstateofVictorianeducation.• Parentinterestineducation,inthefirstinstance,isfocusedontheirownchild,childrentheyknow,ortheirchild’sschool.• Parentswerenotsurewheretogetinformationaboutfurthereducationoptions,suchaspathwaysbetweenschooland

training/highereducation,andhowtonavigatethevocationalandhighereducationmarkets.• Anemphasisonthefutureandtheirchildrenbeingworkreadywassharedamongstallparents.

TheseinsightshelpedtheDepartmentbetterunderstandtheirneedsandattitudesandpresenteduswithanopportunitytoreachouttoparentstohelpthemunderstandhoweducationhaschanged,andtohelpthemunderstandwhattheycandoathometosupporttheirchild’slearning.TorealisethisopportunitytheDepartmentcommissionedClemengerBBDOtodevelopthestrategicvisionandcreateanawarenesscampaign.

THE OBJECTIVES

Goal: ToinstilconfidenceintheabilityoftheVictorianeducationsystemtopreparestudentsforthefutureworldofwork.

Objectives: 1. RaiseawarenessofthemodernpracticeandscopeoftheVictorianeducationsystem. KPIs:10%awarenessofcampaign,20%keymessagerecall,5%shiftinattitudinalmeasureswithregardstomodern educationsystem. 2. Engageandequipparentsandtheirchildrenwiththerightknowledgeandtoolstomakeinformeddecisionsthroughout theirschoolingandtohelpthemactivelyengageintheirchild’seducation. KPIs:70,000visitstocampaignwebsite,1,000downloadsofparentresources,200Facebooklikesand1000click-throughs, 50retweetsand100click-throughs,5%shiftinattitudinalmeasuresaroundengagement,15%shiftinbehaviouralmeasures (i.e.parentsactonadvice). 3. InciteconversationaboutbestpracticethatexistswithintheVictorianeducationsystem. KPIs:150Facebookinteractions,100Twitterinteractions,1000downloadsofschoolresources. 4. DevelopanintegratedcampaignthatbringstogethertheVictorianGovernment’snumerouseducationandtraininginitiatives. KPI:unitesVictorianeducationandtrainingcampaigns.

THE SOLUTION

What we did: we delivered an integrated awareness campaign with a strong anchor line ‘Preparing today’s students for tomorrow’ that underpinned everything that we did, including our school communications, advertising, media, digital assets and stakeholder engagement.

The vision

WithastrategicvisionofbeingaleaderineducationtheDepartmentseekstobuildaneducationsystemthatbringstogethertheentirelearningcommunity.Acommunitythatisfocusedonhelpingchildrenreachtheirpotential.Forparentshowever,educationneedstobelinkedtolifeoutcomesandworkreadiness,notjustacademicresults.Tobringthesetwoelementstogetherwesoughttocreateaconceptthatwaspositive,empoweringandhelpedparentstounderstandthatVictoria’smodernandinnovativeeducationsystemishelpingpreparetheirchildforthefuture.

Furtherresearchwasundertakentohelpshapethepositioningtoensurethatitresonatedwithourkeyaudience(parents).Theresearchrevealedthatparentsneedtofeelreassurancethattheirchildrenwillbeabletofaceanunknownfutureofmodernwork.Assuch,weneededtolinkthepresentwiththefutureandensurethateducationwastiedtolifeoutcomes,i.e.employmentskillsoremployability.Theseinsightsledtothecreationoftheconcept‘futureready’andthepositioningofoureducationsystemasmodern,adaptableandfocusedoncareerpreparation.Furtherconcepttestinghelpedtoevolvethemessagewhichresultedintheanchorline‘Preparingtoday’sstudentsfortomorrow’.

Toensurethatourkeystakeholders(theeducationcommunity)supportedthecampaignweconsultedwiththemviapeakbodiesandboards.Thecreativeelementsandcopyweredevelopedwithafocusona‘systemwide’approachandupliftinglanguagetoensureitwasinclusiveofteachers,principals,schoolsandschoolcommunitiesacrossallsectors;andthatitservedgeneratetoasenseofprideforthesector.Gainingtheirsupportwasvitalforthesuccessofthecampaign,astheyarethefrontline(thepeopledeliveringtheservice).

The strategic approach

Phase One: Awarenesscampaigntargetingparents,students,teachersandthewidercommunity.

+Phase Two:Parentalbehaviourcampaignpromotinginterventionandinfluencefromparents.

=Result:Deliveringworld-readychildrenbypositioningVictoriaasaleadinglearningcommunity

The microsite

Toensurethatparentwereabletoaccessinformationtheysortwedevelopedamicrosite.Thissitehousedspecificinformationtohelpparentsunderstandhowtheeducationsystemishelpingpreparetheirchildforthefuture.Themicrositeservedasthecampaignhubandfeaturedauniqueinformationarchitecturetocomplementthestyleandtoneofthecampaign.

The creative

Toensuretherewasstrongcut-throughthecreativeamplifiedthenotionof‘future’whileplayingonthejob/employabilityangle.Theresultwasthe‘Wanted’creativeidea.Thisconceptcreatedadialoguethatwasn’tjudgemental;itwasempowering,optimistic,engagingandforward-looking.Thecreativeplayedoffthetensionofthe‘unknownworldofwork’whilstmakingtheVictorianeducationsystemfeelprogressiveandfuture-focused.Theworld’schangingandourschoolsarechangingtokeeppacewithitsothatourchildrenwillbefutureready.

Theconceptinvitedparentstoplayaroleintheirchild’slearningwhilereassuringthemthattheskillstheirchildisdevelopingwillbeneededinthefuture.Theconceptwasdesignedtoattractparents’attention,tohavethemthinkingabouttheirchild’sfutureandofferedaplatformforustoprovidetools,informationanddirectiontoencourageparentstotakemoreofaninvolvedroleintheirchild’slearning.

Variouscreativeexecutionsweredevelopedtoensurethatthediversityofourcommunity(bothculturalandgeographic)andabreadthofcareeroptionsavailablewereshowcased.Theseexecutionsprovidedthecontextforcurrentandfutureeducationalinitiativesandhelpedtoexplainthemoderneducationsystemtoparentswhomaynotnecessarilyunderstandhowandwhyeducationhaschangedsincetheywereatschool.

The channel mix PhaseOneofthecampaignranforsixweeksandfocusedonprintandradiotoensureabroadreachandexposureforthecampaign.Withsuchastrongcreativeidea,iteasilytranslatedintoaradioscriptandpressexecutions.Tofurtheroptimisethecampaignonlinechannels,suchasGoogleDisplay,eDMandnewssites,wereusedtoextendthereachwhileparentblogs,suchasMamamia,providedtargetededitorialtogenerateengagement.Facebookwasusedtogetparentstoengagewiththecontentthroughprovidingtips,links,interestingfactsexplaininghowwearepreparingtheirchildfortomorrow.Publicrelationsservedtoshowcasestoriesofbestpracticewithinschoolsthroughlocalandmetropolitanpresstobringthecampaigntolifewithrealexamples.

TheDepartment’sSchoolsBulletin(ourdirectcommunicationchanneltoschools)wasusedtoprovideinformationtoschoolsandasanadditionalchanneltoreachparents.Schoolswereprovidedwithnewslettercopythatcouldbeadaptedtofeaturewhattheirschoolwasdoingtopreparestudentsfortomorrow.Wealsoprovidedcampaignassetssuchasposters,digitalbannersandfactsheetswithinformationtohelpparentsunderstandwhattheirchildislearning.

TheDepartment’sTwitteraccountalsoprovidedstories,tipsandupdateswithover6,000followerstohelpparentsandteachersunderstandhowwearepreparingstudentsfortomorrow.

THE RESULTSBudget and resourcesAlthoughtimeframesweretight(thecampaignneededtobelivewithinamonth)andthebudgetlimited,itwasimportanttoensurethattherewassufficientresearchtoinformourthinking.Itwasalsoaprioritytotestthecreativetoensurethatitresonatedwiththeaudienceandwasviewedasengaging,empoweringandinspiring.

ForcostandtimeefficiencieswehousedthemicrositewithintheDepartment’swebsitebutdevelopedanewinformationarchitectureanddesigntoensurethatitalignedwiththecampaignandofferedafresh,innovativeanduserfriendlydesignthatupheldtheessenceofourcampaign.

Schoolsaremosteffectiveatcommunicatingwithparents,andarebestplacedtochampionourcampaignandtheeducationsystem.Withacomparativelysmallbudgetintermsofsocialmarketingcampaignsweneededtocapitalizeonalltheleversathand.Thisincludedusingourinternalcommunicationschannelstonotonlydisseminateinformationtoschoolsbuttoalsoprovideschoolswithcontentthattheycouldpersonaliseandsharewithparentstoextendthereachofthecampaign.

ThetotalcampaignbudgetforPhaseOnewas$1,007,755(exGST),includingamediaspendof$614,169.

THE KEY OUTCOMES AND EVALUATIONThecampaignwashighlysuccessfulinreachingandengagingwiththetargetaudienceandpositivelyinfluencingtheirattitudesandbehaviour.ItfarexceededallofitsKPIsincludingFacebookengagement(actions)beingexceededbymorethan6000%,visitstothewebsite(pageviews)exceededby133%,parentresourcedownloadsexceededby26%andtheawarenessrateexceededby24%.SeeAttachment APerformanceAgainstKPIsfordetailedresultsandanoutlineofperformanceagainstKPIs.

Top line results: Theprintadvertisingreached72.3%(540,000)ofparentswithchildren10-17yearsandradio81%ofparentswithaminimumfrequencyoffive.Themicrositereceivedalargenumberofvisitsandpageviews(93,006visitorsand163,301pageviews)withanaveragetimespentonsiteofapproximately4.00minutes—thissuggeststhatthecampaignwassuccessfulinbringingpeopletothesiteandthatvisitorswereengagedandinterestedinthecampaigncontent.

ThecontentfeaturedintheDepartment’sschoolsnewsletterwashighlysuccessfulwith4,810downloadsofparentresourcesand2,661ofschoolresources.TheDepartment’sTwitteraccountgenerated119retweetsand328clicks-throughtothecampaignsite.ThisisaverystrongresultforcontentfeaturedontheDepartment’schannels.

Theonlinecampaignwasverystronganddelivered29millionimpressionstoauniqueaudienceof2.4millionusers.Theclick-through-rateof0.64%wasextremelystrongforagovernmentcampaignasthebenchmarkis0.09%.

TheFacebookcampaignwasalsohighlysuccessfulanddemonstratedastrongappetiteforcampaigninformationandengagementonthetopic.Itgenerated14,702clicks,9,292actions,1162likesandmeasuredatotalof1,000peopletalkingaboutthepage.

Thee-newsletterseededouttosubscribersviaAdconiangeneratedaverystrongclick-through-rateof16.9%,5,063clicksandanopenrateof11%,againthisisaverystrongresultforagovernmentcampaign.

The tracking research

Thetrackingresearchrevealedthatthecampaigngeneratedahighawarenessrateof34%;awarenesswashigherwithparentsthathadpost-schoolqualifications.Thetrackingreportalsorevealedthatoveralltherewasbroadcampaignrecognitionacrossawidevarietyofdemographicsthatdeliveredpositiveshiftsinkeyattitudesrelatingto‘preparingyourchildrenforthefuture’.MorethanonethirdofVictorianparentsofschool-agechildrenhaveseenorheardthecampaign.Initiallytheseweremainlyeducated,engagedandaffluentparents—thisalignswiththesubjectmatterofthecampaignandmediaemployed.However,asthecampaignrolledoutitincreaseditsreachagainstotherhardertoenagageaudiencessuchaslowerincome,culturallyandlinguisticallydiverse(CALD)andregionalaudiences.

Thewidespreadpositiveaffectontheselessengagedaudiencesdemonstratesthecampaign’simpacthasbeentobringthemorecynicalandlessknowledgeableaudiencesmorein-linewiththehigherengagedaudiences–thecampaigniscreatingamoreunifiedandinvolvedparentalmindsetacrosstheVictoriancommunityregardingtheirchildren’seducation.

ThecampaignalsogeneratedsignificantincreasesinthenumberofVictorianparentsthatbelievethattheeducationsystemishelpingbetterpreparetheirchildrenforthefuture.OtherpositivecampaignresultsaretheincreasedperceptionofVictorianschooleducationsystemasworld-class;andagreaterpreparednessforparentstoseekinformationandadvicetohelpintheirchildren’seducation.

ParentsofVictorianschool-agechildrenalsoexpressedverypositiveattitudestowardstheirchildren’seducationcitinghighinvolvementintheprocessofeducationandconfidenceinknowingwheretolookforhelp/informationwhenneeded.Thesepositiveattitudeswereskewedtoyoungerparents,thoselivinginMelbourneoverregional,highincomeearnerswithhigherlevelsofeducation—thislinkstoamoreconfidentattitudeandunderstandingoftheirchildren’seducation.

TheresearchalsorevealedthattherewasadirectresponsetoradioadvertisingintermsofvisitingtheDepartment’swebsite.Morethanhalftheparentsreachedbythecampaigntooksomeformofaction:40%hadafamilydiscussionregardingtheirchildren’seducationwhile37%tookactivestepswiththeschooldirectlyoronline.

Themessagerecallratewasalsohighat31%indicatingthatthecreativeandmessagingresonatedwiththeaudience.Theresultsalsodemonstratethatthecampaignpositivelyimpactedattitudeswithsignificantshiftsacrosskeyattitudinalmeasuresincludinga10%increaseinthenumberofpeopleagreeingwiththestatements“IbelieveVictoria’sschooleducationsystemishelpingbetterpreparemychild(ren)forthefutureintermsoffurthereducationandwork”and“Ifeelconfidentthatmychild(ren)’slearningwillhelpthembepreparedforthefuture”.

THE CLOSING REMARKSThecampaign’sresultsareverystrong,particularlygiventhatthecampaignwasliveforsixweeks.Thestrongpositiveshiftsinattitudes,highawarenessratesandtheimpactonbehaviour(morethanhalftheparentsreachedbythecampaigntooksomeformofaction)demonstratethestrengthofthestrategicapproach.Theresultsalsohighlightthecampaign’sabilitytoresonatewiththetargetaudienceandkeystakeholderstopositionthecampaignasinspiringandempowering;onethatsupportsparents’roleasfirstteacher;andpresentstheVictorianeducationsystem(nottheDepartmentperse)inapositivelight.Thecampaignreinforcedtheprofoundimpactthateducationhasonstudents’lives.

ThemediastrategyandtheuseoftheDepartment’schannelstoreachfamiliesalsoprovedtobehighlysuccessfulastheyworkedtogethertodelivertherightmessage,totherightaudienceattherighttime.Thesupportreceivedfromschools(inthedisseminationofcampaignmaterialstotheirparentcommunities)furtherdemonstratesthesuccessofthestrategicapproach.

TheinsightsfromthecampaignrevealedastrongappetitefromparentstoreceiveinformationfromtheDepartmenttosupporttheirchild’slearning.ThishasencouragedtheDepartmenttoreviewourparentresourcesandchannelswithaviewtoprovidingmorepracticaladviceandtipsforparentstohelpthembetterunderstandandengagewiththeirchild’seducation.

Basedonananalysisofvalueformoneyandoutcomes,thiscampaignisdeemedtobeoneofthemostsuccessfulcampaignsundertakenbytheDepartmentintermsofhoweffectiveitwasindeliveringthecampaignmessages;itsabilitytoinfluenceattitudes;andtheimpactithadonbehaviour.

Attachment A: Performance against KPIs 1. Raise awareness of the modern practice and scope of the Victorian education system.

KPIs:10%(promptedawareness+24unpromptedand+5)awarenessofcampaign,20%keymessagerecall(+11),5%shiftinattitudinalmeasureswithregardstomoderneducationsystem(VictorianEducationsystempreparingchildforfuture+5,confidencechildbeingprepared+5andVictorianeducationsystemcomparabletoleadingeducationsystems+2.

2. Engage and equip parents and their children with the right knowledge and tools to make informed decisions throughout their schooling and to help them actively engage in their child’s education.

KPIs:70,000visitstocampaignwebsite(+93,301pageviews),1,000downloadsofparentresources(+3,810),200Facebooklikes(+962)and1,000Facebookclick-throughs(+13,702),50retweets(+69)and100click-throughs(+228),5%shiftinattitudinalmeasuresaroundengagement(+6%),15%shiftinbehavioralmeasures,i.e.parentstakeaction(+41%).

3. Incite conversation about the best practice and diversity that exists within the Victorian education system.

KPIs:150Facebookactions(+9,142),100Twitteractions(+347),1,000downloadsofschoolresources(+6,471)

4. Develop an integrated campaign that brings together the Victorian Government’s numerous education and training initiatives.

KPI:campaignpackagesupVictorianeducationandtrainingcampaigns-complete