Deadly Questions

The Challenge
Non-Aboriginal Australians tend to walk on egg-shells around Aboriginal affairs. To pave the way for the Victorian Government to negotiate a Treaty with Aboriginal people, we needed to disrupt that behaviour.

The Idea
The Deadly Questions platform allowed Australians to ask taboo questions about Aboriginal culture. An Aboriginal person answered directly. On the campaign website, users could submit a question, which was answered directly to their inbox, published to the site and used as comms. Users could also ask questions via an Alexa skill and a live Q&A panel that toured schools. The campaign pushed site visitation via outdoor and social media.

The campaign also had a large social content piece that helped gain awareness around the campaign, and direct traffic to the Deadly Questions website. Given a limited budget, as well as looking at the best way to gain mass exposure on a cost efficient investment - we drove our main communications through Facebook and Instagram. Videos were created using key Victorian Aboriginal voices to bring to life the answers to some of the most appealing and uncomfortable questions.

The Results

  • 110 million impressions in the first 4 weeks

  • 52% increase in positive sentiment towards Aboriginal people

  • Treaty legislation passed in Victorian government (67% voted in favour)

  • The website received over 2,600 questions

  • Of the questions, 19% were specifically about Indigenous cultures and tradition – things like face and body painting, dancing and family names – while 16% asked how they could be an ally to Aboriginal people. Another 8% of questions focused on cultural appropriation and 4% were about the treaty process and what it meant for Indigenous people.

The Awards

  • Gold Spike in Direct (2019)

The Role I Played
I partnered with the creative team to ensure the correct story arc of content, editing elements and structure of core content pieces. In addition to this, I led the content social strategy, including the paid media strategy. Given the sensitive nature of this campaign, I also ran a risk management workshop with the client and key stakeholders, and developed a crisis management documentation to ensure the safe delivery of the campaign in the social media environment. 

Lastly, I led the social media and content team in terms of community management, content posting, media and performance reporting.

The Social Channels