Outback School Project (CSR) 

CHALLENGE

  • In April 2007, a leading electronics manufacturer embarked on an ambitious project to donate a new, fully equipped computer classroom to a remote school in the Australian outback, St Francis Xavier in Daly River, NT.
  • The aim of this CSR program was to highlight the importance of technology in education, particularly in remote education, and to raise the organisation’s profile in this market.
  • B-M was engaged early in the project to manage much of the logistics of the project, as well as to develop and implement a comprehensive, national PR strategy around the launch, in February 2008.
  • The client’s goal was to generate coverage in target publications and to build relationships with key education journalists.

SOLUTION

  • B-M facilitated a three-day media event in Darwin, attended by five journalists from Melbourne and Sydney, which included a welcome dinner and presentations from key players in the project.
  • The event was to include an official launch at the school, however severe flooding in Daly River meant that this had to be cancelled at the last minute. Far from ruining the event, this only served to further demonstrate the challenges the school and the Daly River community face through their remoteness.
  • The B-M team put in place plan B and took the journalists to a local Darwin boarding school where they were able to speak with a number of students from remote indigenous communities about their experience.

 

OUTCOMES

  • The media event generated 17 articles in tier one and education trade publications and online, including an in-depth story which appeared on the front cover of the Next section of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
  • Media coverage ROI for the project was 350%.
  • Spending three days with the five journalists at the event allowed the client to build strong and lasting relationships with them.
  • The Outback School project was recognised as a ‘Stevie Finalist’ at the International Business Awards 2008 for Best Corporate Social Responsibility Program; was a finalist in the CSR category of the AMI Awards for Marketing Excellence; and won the Community Contribution category of the Australian Business Awards.