Deadly Questions
Aboriginal Victoria
Issue 48 | December 2018
Agency
Clemenger BBDO Melbourne
Creative Team
Creative Chairman: James McGrath Executve Creative Director: Evan Roberts Executive Creative Director: Stephen de Wolf Executive Creative Director: Carmela Soares Creative Director: Nicole Sykes Art Director: Lee Sunter Art Director: Elsa Caruso Copywriter: Hilary Badger Copywriter: Rowan Mansfield Champions people involved Richard Frankland Adam Briggs Jarman Impey Tiriki Onus Aunty Pam Pedersen Aunty Joy Murphy Ben Abbatangelo Uncle Kevin Coombs Carissa Lee Natarsha Bamblett Nakaya Frankland
Production Team
Digital Designer: Adam Hengstberger Interactive Designer: Brendan Forster Director / Cultural Champion: Richard Frankland COP / Cinematographer: Allan Collins Camera Operator: Daniel King Camera Operator: Drew Dunlop Editor: Andrew Packer Editor: Raphaela Lee Producer: Selin Yaman Executive Producer: Sonia von Bibra Head of Print & Studio: Craig Bulman Digital Producer: Cynthia Bons Photographer: Chris Budgeon Flare Productions: Post-production company: Finish Productions Full-stack developer: Sylvain Simao Front-end Developer: Todd Armstrong Tester: Sonali Bhattacharya Contributors, people involved Jill Gallagher Janine Coombs Jeremy Clark Muriel Bamblett Mick Harding
Other Credits
Managing Director: Simon Lamplough Group Business Director: Candice Koffke Project Director: Kelly Brigham Business Manager: Sarah Gates Planner: Ryan Smith Head of Social: Brie Stewart Social strategist: Rebecca de Beer Social strategist: Daniel Klug Social media manager: Casey Henderson Client – Aboriginal Victoria: Executive Director: Josh Smith Director, Office of the Executive Director: Andrew Gargett Strategic Communications Advisor: Drew Higgins Manager, Office of the Executive Director: Jack Register
Date
June 2018
Background
Australia is the only Commonwealth nation that has no Treaty with its Indigenous population. So, in 2017, the Victorian government sought to introduce its own Treaty legislation after extensive consultation with Aboriginal people from across the state. However, research showed the Victorian public knew little about Aboriginal cultures. There was a deep cultural divide between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Victorians. Further, very few people knew what a Treaty was, let alone supported one.
Idea
Before they could get a skeptical public to support Treaty, the task was to build a real connection with diverse Aboriginal people and cultures. Victorians lacked the exposure and knowledge to really understand the issue. But contrary to common belief, it wasn’t because they didn’t want to, but they didn’t know where to start or how to go about it. Further, many simply felt scared of saying the wrong thing or appearing culturally insensitive. The campaign needed a mechanism to bridge this gap and to facilitate dialogue between their cultures. Crucially, the campaign had to be led by Aboriginal voices and not non-Aboriginal Victorians speaking on their behalf.
“Deadly Questions” is a platform that allows Victorians find out what they’ve always wanted to know about Aboriginal cultures. On the campaign website, visitors can ask any question, anonymously if they prefer. Aboriginal Victorians answer the question with either text or video content. To launch the campaign, some highly respected Aboriginal Victorian faces signed up to create video answers, including Adam Briggs, elders Aunty Pam Pederson, Aunty Joy Murphy and Uncle Kevin Coombs, OAM. Filmmaker, academic and Gunditjmara man, Richard Frankland, directed the content and Aboriginal crew were also used. Hero questions appeared in OOH and social to attract the public’s attention and encourage them to ask their own questions.
Results
After only a few weeks since launch, they have already seen: • An earned media reach of 74,849,880 impressions • Over 5,800 questions asked • Over 60,000 questions viewed • Average engagement time on the website of over 3 minutes Most importantly, the awareness and attention that “Deadly Questions” delivered helped Aboriginal Victoria and the Victorian Government successfully pass Australia’s first Aboriginal Treaty bill.
In the run-up to the 2018 state election, further campaign activity will allow Victorians to ask questions about Treaty specifically, why it’s necessary and what it will mean. And with the legislation now enacted, the negotiation of Victoria’s historic Treaty can finally commence.