The Campaign

Challenge: As Australia’s leading independent political media voice, Crikey typically hold politicians to account through honest, unbiased journalism. With election promises spoken as easily as they are forgotten, Crikey wanted to ensure the promises made during the Victorian State Election were harder to break. Objectives: - Ensure politicians were more accountable - Make people realise the importance of independent media. - Ensure Crikey’s voice was heard during the election. - Increase Crikey’s social presence. Strategy: An act that was not only symbolic, but purposeful would give Crikey the ability to reach a wide audience and affect real change. Idea: Set political promises in stone. Execution: During the week of the election, eight key promises from both major parties were set in stone and exhibited on the steps of the Victorian State Library. This prominent and prestigious location allowed voters to get up close to these monuments to democracy. Voters could turn to Crikey.com.au to follow the campaign, and with each Crikey branded stone displaying the hashtag #setinstone, they were empowered to voice their opinions online. On Election Day itself, the promises were move to the polls, confronting frontrunner (and now Premier) Daniel Andrews as he went to cast his vote. This sparked even more publicity for the campaign in the form of major metro news coverage. Relevance: The campaign is a great example of how powerful symbolism can be when it comes to PR. Setting words in stone was a powerful act that garnered attention well beyond the exhibition location(s).

The Brief

Crikey wanted to make political promises harder to break. By doing so, they could have an impact on the election beyond traditional journalism, and make people understand the importance of independent media. With the idea being to set political promises in stone, social media and a hashtag (#setinstone) were used to assess which promises were most important to voters. This informed the promises which were etched and exhibited to drive a wider conversation.

Results

Receiving major metro news coverage and generating Crikey’s most engaging Twitter content to date, ‘Set in Stone’ ensured Crikey’s presence was felt during the cluttered media landscape of the election. The promises now stand as an enduring reminder of the importance of independent media and the power we have as democratic citizens to hold our governments to account. With Daniel Andrews going on to win the election, their existence will ensure that the promises his party made will be less likely to be broken. The numbers: -Twitter engagement up 148% -Trial subscriptions up 176% - $3,400 in earned broadcast media generated for every campaign dollar spent.

Execution

Type of PR/Media: Campaign launch/Launch film 1st Implementation: 9/11/14 Placement: Crikey.com.au The campaign began online, with Crikey’s site and social media channels announcing the idea. After assessing voter commentary on what issues were most important, eight key promises were chosen from both major parties to be etched into 20kg stone tablets. Type of PR/Media: Public unveiling & exhibition 1st Implementation: 26/11/14 Placement: Victorian State Library During election week, the promises were unveiled on the steps of the Victorian State Library by Crikey’s founder Stephen Mayne. Featuring the hashtag #setinstone, they remained on display until election day fuelling opinion and online debate. Type of PR/Media: Metro news coverage 1st Implementation: 29/11/14 Placement: Nine news On election day itself, a last minute tip off was received as to where election frontrunner Daniel Andrews would be casting his vote. The promises were quickly moved to the polls, confronting him with his party’s commitments.

The Situation

In Australia, state elections are very important. Occurring once every four years and affecting everything from roads, to transport and healthcare, the results of these elections can have a bigger impact on the day-to-day lives of people than an election at federal level. Crikey saw the 2014 Victorian State Election as an opportunity to affect real change through the power of their independent voice.

The Strategy

A limited budget determined the campaign generate awareness of it’s own merit. The act of setting promises in stone was chosen because of its powerful symbolism. By putting politicians’ words in something more permanent than pixels or print, they would be more accountable for them. The hashtag #setinstone was also etched into the stone tablets to ensure they could spark a wider conversation online when displayed. Crikey were targeting all Victorian voters with this campaign, as they believe we all have the right to expect the promises made during an election will be fulfilled.