Challenge

Chronic pain sufferers are often consumed with their pain and not readily available for interviews. Family members are angry at the lack of treatment for their loved ones and very often grieving the loss of their “normal” life.

Given the emotionally volatile state of potential talent and supporters, McClusky & Co had to attempt to remove some of the emotion from the subject, while highlighting the plight of sufferers and ignite media interest.

It was clear that DFPS needed to overcome the politically and emotionally charged nature of the topic and find its collective voice. As a group they needed to unite in their views and use some of their emotion and anger towards the situation in a positive way.

From the outset, the challenge for McClusky & Co was to engage the wider community with the issue and demonstrate that chronic pain has ’real’ and identifiable faces and voices that have major impacts on normal Aussie families.

Solution

McClusky & Co assisted in creating open communication lines with supporters, making the DFPS website a ‘one stop shop’ for the most up to date media activity. On our recommendation, the group also increased their presence in social media in order to reach a broader market.

We recommended the implementation of a staggered campaign over a twelve-month period to maximise media mileage around the court case and its subsequent developments. Our approach to the campaign, while still in progress, has been divided into the following stages:

• Identify the core issue: we undertook extensive media training with DFPS representatives and sufferers. It was essential that early media opportunities were created in order to create public understanding. A comprehensive schedule of radio interviews across metropolitan and regional South Australia was developed with DFPS Chairman and pain authority, Dr. Ian Buttfield.
• Court case awareness: we created a campaign to raise awareness of the court case utilising metropolitan print, television and radio. We also hosted a press conference with the DFPS Chairman on the date of the first court session, which resulted in major media interest.
• Media around families living with chronic pain: to increase public understanding, we highlighted a number of South Australian families impacted by chronic pain and facilitated a range of media interviews.
• Build momentum around court date (pending): this stage of the campaign will take DFPS and the issue to a national level. We have proposed a major community/media event to coincide with the announcement of the final court date. The event will draw on national speakers and ambassadors, creating the opportunity for public participation and national media coverage.

Result

Despite the controversial nature of the topic, McClusky & Co managed to achieve a 85% positive tone across all media coverage to date. While it is difficult to quantify public awareness at this stage, the visibility of DFPS in South Australian press has gone from being non-existent to strong and fully supportive of the group’s cause.

Additionally:

• 19 media hits were recorded to May 2011, with 85% recording a positive tone rating, easily surpassing the 70% target
• Traffic to the DFPS website increased by 180% in March (target 80%)
• 26% coverage was achieved in ‘tier 1’ media (target 20%)
• Two key spokespeople for the DFPS have been engaged thus far, surpassing the initial target of one • Two meetings between DFPS, Federal MP Nick Xenophon and SA Health Minister John Hill have been facilitated by McClusky & Co, with further meetings anticipated.