BACKGROUND:

An all too common diagnosis

Every 20 hours, a child in Australia is born with Cerebral Palsy. It is the most common physical disability among children. Diagnosis can be years to confirm and is a long, emotional process for families. It is life changing and often leaves these families overwhelmed and unsure of where to go to seek help and questioning how to support their children.

Cerebral Palsy Alliance (CPA) is a global centre of research, innovation, technology, fundraising and services all which aim to improve and support the lives of those living with Cerebral Palsy (CP).

THE CHALLENGE:

A pioneering innovative organisation with a traditional perception

Cerebral Palsy Alliance operated as a collective of brands which had the perception of being a conservative disability provider. This unfair and inaccurate perception was far from the reality of the innovative and globally pioneering work CPA does every day.

CPA needed to shake off this traditional legacy driven perception and to be recognised as the innovative, world leading organisation that brings hope to millions of people that live with a disability.

We needed to make Australia aware of these humble heroes and the incredibly groundbreaking work they do behind closed doors. Creating an emotional connection showcasing their breadth of services and innovations. Perhaps most importantly, to hero those who live with cerebral palsy to show the impact that CPA can make in helping them unlock their full potential. 

The brand campaign had a number of core objectives:

●     Reach families affected by CP, but who weren’t currently aware of how the Alliance could benefit them, and thus, not engaged.

●     Reach existing and potential employees and represent CPA as a desirable place of work.

●     Ensure CPA’s existing clients and community feel represented and proud.

STRATEGY

A platform established on hope in a life of uncertainty

Through research, we identified that from diagnosis to every life stage thereon that people with cerebral palsy are led by fear of the unknown: how will cerebral palsy impact life? will I have any sense of individualism? can I overcome it?

Research also shows that as much as disability is a physical one, it is also a social one, with society narrowing their opportunities in life merely by perceiving and therefore placing limitations around what people living with CP can do. Society looked at the limitations of those with CP rather than their potential.

This led to our insight:

 Families and individuals living with CP were looking for hope in a time of fear.

The benefit of CPA, is that it truly does make a difference to people’s lives. Whilst cerebral palsy is permanent, it can improve, and so whether that’s working with physios so that they can take their first steps, or finding independence through job opportunities, it was important we convey this to our audience. The Alliance is a place that looks beyond limitations and seeks to unlock potential.

This led to our strategic proposition: 

The Alliance that Unlocks Human Potential

THE CAMPAIGN

Imagining the possibilities of a collective movement

For some, even the smallest movement can be life changing. Holding a spoon. Cracking an egg. Taking your first steps. Especially after being told you might not survive, let alone walk. These wonderfully ‘ordinary’ movements are truly extraordinary.

And if this is the power of a small movement, imagine the possibilities when we move together. Imagine the magic that can happen when we form an alliance of great minds that think differently — pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in research, advocacy, intervention and assistive technology. A movement that brings hope.

A life changing movement.

CPA has hundreds of stories that give reason to believe this proposition, and give hope to people who are so in need of it. The Alliance is a movement itself, who are there to help change people’s lives.

This led to our creative idea:

A Life Changing Movement

The strength of the idea is in its ability to marry both the big and small scale of CPA, i.e. a single, small movement for someone with CP can be life changing, and ultimately, CPA as a big movement (through its networks) that is changing lives.

To bring this idea to life, we wanted to empower those living with CP, and make them our brand heroes. We created an emotional manifesto style brand film that spoke to the experience of CPA clients, and what the impact of a movement could be - from small to great.

To capture the wide range of experiences of people with CP and also showcase our amazing brand heroes, we used a mix of shot and sourced content – so we had everything from implied first steps, to news footage of sporting achievement on the world stage. This gave the film a sense of really being grounded in the community.

The star and the voice of the film is by one of CPA’s brand heroes, a young boy named Arran who has big dreams of becoming Australia’s Prime Minister one day. The film was shot around Arran's dialogue. Powerful words coming directly from a young empowered boy who sees the incredible potential that he and others with CP can bring to the world thanks to the help and support of CPA. 

RESULTS

The campaign outperformed all expectations, thus proving the power of emotional yet authentic storytelling using real people.

We doubled the digital performance benchmark CTR of 0.05%.

Our partnership with Nine Network delivered over 1mil impressions over the course of the campaign with over 1000 clicks at a click through rate of 0.10%. The overall CTR is extremely strong for this campaign so far sitting above the average of our benchmarks.

The display activity across News is pacing well with over 1.3 mil impressions so far and a total of 4,078 clicks at a click through rate of 0.24%.

TV activity for our Brand campaign is currently tracking well with all markets currently sitting above our planned figures. 

We are also happy to share that we have received some bonus CSA activity on Seven.

Australians are a caring nation, but there are so many people living with disability who feel unseen, and are so in need of hope. This campaign is a testament to just how much our audience were waiting to hear our message, and discover hope through the Alliance.