48% audience-reported behaviour change achieved for Government COVID-19 campaigns

The Federal Government is responsible for the conduct of national affairs. Its areas of responsibility include defence and foreign affairs; trade, immigration etc and supports on State issues such as health, education, environmental issues, industrial relations etc.

The Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) leads the Victorian public service, advising government on emerging policy issues and reviewing the impact of government decisions.

In 2020, the world was faced with the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the national response, Convenience Advertising delivered two extensive COVID-19 public health campaigns for the Federal Government, and the Victorian DPC.

The objective for both campaigns was to reach younger, less affluent Australians. The Federal Government campaign was focused on achieving mass reach Australia-wide, while the Victorian campaign had an additional focus of reaching people who speak a language other than English.

As several factors heightened the risk of COVID-19 transmission among Australia’s culturally and linguistically diverse community (CALD), Convenience Advertising needed to ensure the campaign messages, translated into multiple languages - including Mandarin, Italian, Vietnamese, Arabic, Assyrian, Turkish, Filipino and Hindi - were effectively reaching this audience and making an impact.

Convenience Advertising identified the most effective way to measure the impact of COVID-19 messaging for this traditionally hard to reach audience was to speak directly with them via in-person surveys.

From 30 March to 7 May 2021, surveys were conducted with a targeted sample of 300 respondents across sites in NSW, Victoria and Queensland. The sites were strategically selected to enable us to also speak with people across multiple CALD communities in Victoria.

Each respondent was asked to complete a short, structured questionnaire with a live interviewer, with all results recorded digitally.

• Venues: Shopping centres, bars, pubs, clubs, universities, TAFEs, airports, parent rooms
• Locations: Australia-wide, Victoria

The study, conducted by Dr Shaun Ratcliff from the University of Sydney, proved that both campaigns were impactful and effective, and directly contributed to positive behaviour changes among key audiences.