Want a cracking not-for-profit campaign? Consider a professional

Each nomination represents a clearly defined promotional campaign, and most involve an event alongside a branding exercise. All but one campaign relied on – or worked with – a professional external company.

The nominations were:

• Clean Up Australia Day (Feature Communications)
• Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair (Bastion Agency)
• Families of Veterans Guild: rebranding one of Australia’s longest-standing veteran community support services (with Sefiani)
• Dying to Know Day 2023: reshaping Australia’s attitude to death, dying and end-of-life planning (Palin Communications and Proveda)
• Sydney Sick Kids Appeal: taking childhoods off hold (Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation)
• Vinnies Queensland CEO Sleepout (with Rowland).

Media and communications professionals can deliver a slick and successful campaign package, if a not-for-profit has the desire and the budget. But organisations should not expect help for less than $5,000, and should budget as much as $100,000 for a fully fledged high-profile campaign.

Feature Communications was appointed as the creative agency for Clean Up Australia Day in late 2022, inheriting the gig run by one of the country’s most recognised, credible and trusted environmental charities.

Clean Up Australia chair Pip Kiernan told Mumbrella at the time of the appointment that Feature Communications had been chosen for its ability to work with national and international brands and for its commitment to environmental causes.

The company’s brief was to build on the brand awareness built since the event was conceived by the late Ian Kiernan AO in 1990.

Sailing in a round-the-world yacht race in the late ’80s, Kiernan was horrified at the rubbish choking the oceans, prompting him to host a Clean Up Sydney Harbour event in 1989, which attracted 40,000 volunteers. That was the spark for the long-running national event, and even a “Clean Up the World” event involving 43 countries.

Event push focused on stories, ambassadors, brand and timing

Feature Communications managing director Lisa Poisel said its work to improve the organisation’s media exposure over the past two years including a focus on “impactful storytelling” and by increasing the support of “passionate influencers and ambassadors”.

After the 2023 event, the company revamped its brand identity. This year the campaign won widespread media coverage, deployed 20 high-profile influencers and supporters, including the Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek who attended the launch and the event itself.

The media release by Feature Communications told how organisers were hoping to exceed the 760,000 volunteers who had “pulled on their gloves” for the iconic day in years past, and add to the 22 million Australians who had gotten involved in the past three decades.

“There were many additional tweaks in our tactical activity and implementation timings for this year’s campaign based on learnings from the previous year, including the release date of Clean Up Australia’s annual litter report data,” Poisel said.

The 2024 campaign generating 3625 editorial mentions over a three-month window, including live crosses to breakfast programs, evening news and national, metropolitan and local media in print, online and on radio. Other supporters included large retail companies, environmental protection authorities, recycling advocates, and waste management companies.

She said there were strong advantages of promoting such an “iconic” day.

“So many of the journalists we speak with have a genuine interest in the organisation, the insights we share and the opportunities we present them. Volunteers, whether that’s members of the community, businesses or schools are also very happy to tell their incredible stories.”

The firm hopes to make the 35^th anniversary event in 2025 “the biggest ever”, but Poisel said this held challenges too.

“Being an annual campaign, the challenge is to be creative each year, drawing on new opportunities, new insights and stories to share, as well as news hooks to engage with and contribute thought leadership on, ensuring that Clean Up Australia is recognised year-round for its environmental leadership and work, and not just one date in the calendar year

Feature Communications recently promoted the newly created Clean Up Australia Community Awards, with the winners to be announced at the 2025 launch.

While the cost of the campaign is unknown, Clean Up Australia Day’s financial records show that “marketing and support costs” for 2023 were nearly $466,000, and pro bono marketing support was worth an additional $7 million.

Poisel said campaign budgets could range widely.

“Campaign budgets for PR activity can vary greatly depending on the objectives, the type of activity and the timeframe. There isn’t a one size fits all approach and when it comes to the not-for-profit sector, we know that budgets are often tight, so it’s important to identify the campaign must-haves over the would-like-to-haves.”