Page 49 - AdNews magazine Mar-Apr-May 2023

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younger, more diverse candidates the AFP requires. To combat these misperceptions and position them- selves as a progressive career choice for diverse candidates, the AFP repositioned themselves as an organisation that ‘outsmarts seri- ous crime with intelligent action’.”
To better reflect this position- ing, Host/Havas was tasked with creating a recruitment campaign aimed at more diverse and diverse- ly-skilled candidates.
“The biggest barrier for our tar- get audience was a significant lack of understanding about what the AFP does. They required a brand repositioning, however traditional media couldn't tell the stories that would help reposition us with the nuance required.
“Rather than using traditional
media to drive people to a career in the AFP, instead we drove them to a highly-engaging podcast. Specifically, true crime podcasts, which was one of Australia’s fast- est growing genres amongst our primary demographic (women aged 17 - 25).
“We conducted audience analy- sis of true crime podcasts against our desired audience demograph- ics to match recruitment objectives. We also looked at partners who could weave in our recruitment messaging without compromising their own brand. Casefile Presents was the perfect partner. The inves- tigative team was not only Australia's top true crime podcaster with an active audience that pro- vided us with a highly targeted reach, but the anonymous host was
an ex-police officer: someone well- versed in translating delicate or complex investigation material into entertaining narratives.
“Working with the Casefile team, we turned our recruitment messages into a six-part true crime podcast called Crime Interrupted – creating resonate entertainment in a compelling format, designed to pull listeners in rather than pushing into their lives. Each epi- sode delved into a particular, noto- rious serious crime and through an intriguing narrative, showed the diverse skills from diverse can- didates required to stop them. To drive repeat engagement, each of the six podcasts was released weekly across all major streaming platforms and linked directly to our recruitment hub.
“Despite the limitations of a (small) media budget, it’s regarded by the AFP as their most successful campaign in his- tory, resulting in significant upswings in recruitment and brand perception. By the second episode, it was Australia’s #2 most popular podcast, and #1 true crime podcast. With over 500,000 listeners, it also broke the Top 10 in NZ and UK podcast charts. Visits to the recruitment hub increased by 114%.
“It led to a 40% increase in appli- cations from women, and the pro- portion of women applications as a percentage rose by 35%, the highest ever on record. And in perhaps the biggest indication yet that Crime Interrupted was a huge success, series 2 is already underway.”
SMALL BUDGET MEDIA CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
OMD & Ogilvy
Howatson+Company
OMD & Ogilvy, for Suncorp, AAMI Rest Towns - “Driver fatigue is four times more likely to contribute to impairment than drugs or alcohol. We decided to inspire stops in rural town along popular highways, the perfect rest stop for passing road
trippers. The plan was simple -
get tired road trippers to stop by promoting the wonderful, unique attractions each town had to offer.”
Every Aussie town is famous for something, be it their humble beef pie or their seaside boardwalk.
Howatson+Company with PHD, for Matilda Bay Brewery, Rejected Ales - “Every one of the 27 Rejected Ales was given a name that spoke to how close they were to perfection while linking to the story of their rejection. These were brought to
life in outdoor, press, film, radio and DM. We focused on a community based earned strategy of engaging craft beer lovers and their influencers, who fell in love with the DM packs so much, they started sharing their own content.”