‘Not afraid to have a point of view’: New Howatson+Co work highlights Guardian Australia’s progressive role in media landscape
Guardian Australia has today launched the latest installment of its “news needs a guardian” campaign with two campaign films from Howatson+Company, Mumbrella can reveal.
The films, which were previewed at Mumbrella’s Publish Summit in September, highlight the uniquely progressive role the Guardian has played in the Australian media landscape, with a focus on the struggle for women’s and Indigenous rights.
Other assets:
Women’s rights 60″: https://jwp.io/s/BWxpxyZk
Both 60 second spots feature the achievements of notable activists within each movement, using archival footage, newspaper clippings and images, to underscore the role that journalism plays in documenting these events.
Lenore Taylor, editor of Guardian Australia, told Mumbrella that the campaign communicates the progressive role that The Guardian has had, and intends to have in the future, working to continue the progress that had been made prior to the publications 2013 launch in Australia.
Lenore Taylor, editor of Guardian Australia
“We look at the world through a progressive lens, and we do excellent reporting,” said Taylor. “We pick our topics and we’re not afraid to have a point of view on those topics.”
Taylor asserted that while the Guardian “adheres to all the normal and proper rules and norms of fair and balanced reporting”, being a progressive news organisation “does have a bearing on which stories we choose, how we choose to tell them and the way that we choose to tell them.”
“I think that does make us different from other mastheads. We don’t we don’t do anything just for the clicks or the traffic. We do choose to put our resources in different places from other people. For example, I have two inequality reporters on my team and I’m not sure that any other masthead has an inequality reporter.”
The films were developed in collaboration with Guardian Australia’s editorial team and academic experts, alongside consultation with community members and organisations including Parks Australia, Aboriginal Heritage Action Alliance, Mervyn Bishop, NFSA, NIAA, PKKP and PKKP Aboriginal Corporation, Victorian Indigenous Research Centre.
The outdoor component of the campaign was launched earlier this year
The movements that feature in the campaign were selected on the basis of “standout reporting” on the topics of gender equality and Indigenous affairs by the publication. Taylor added that she appreciated that both topics instilled a “sense of hope” and that “there is still more progress to be made”.
Chris Howatson, founder and CEO, Howatson+Company, added: “Often we assess societal progress in the moment, based on the events of the day. In telling the longitudinal stories of gender equality and Indigenous affairs we can step back, appreciate what has been achieved but focus on the work still to be done.”
Speaking to the strategy behind the campaign, Guardian Australia director of growth, Jocelin Abbey, told Mumbrella that there was an opportunity to build the salience of the publication, which only 45% of Australian are currently aware of, by hero’ing its unique journalism.
“To do this, we developed a two-pronged strategy. Firstly, a local brand platform – news needs a Guardian – celebrating our distinct proposition in this market as a progressive, independent, trusted news source. This was designed to build brand awareness and inspire emotional connections with Guardian Australia,” said Abbey.
“Secondly, a direct distribution channel was set up to serve newsroom bulletins, curated directly by our News editors, to commuters around the country via JCDecaux’s out-of-home network. This aids consideration and builds habit by acting as a behavioural prompt, when people have higher mental availability during their morning and evening commutes. It provides public service and improves the commuter experience by meeting the audience need of ‘help me understand what’s happening in the news today’.”
The films follows the debut of the Guardian Australia and Howatson+Company partnership in July, when the “news needs a guardian” campaign first launched its out-of-home component in partnership with JCDecaux.
The campaign rolls out across TV, video on demand, cinema and digital OOH.
Credits
Contributors
Archie Thomas, Research fellow, University of Technology, Sydney
Professor Sharon Crozier-De Rosa, Wollongong University
Guardian Australia
Lenore Taylor, Editor in Chief
Lorena Allam, Indigenous Affairs Editor
Alison Rourke, Managing Editor
Jocelin Abbey, Director of Growth
Bianca Wachtel, Senior Communications Manager
Howatson+Company
Roy Ah See, Wiradjuri Man, Cultural Consultant
Chris Howatson, CEO
Richard Shaw, ECD
Jeremy Hogg, ECD
Holly Alexander, Head of Production
Sam Butcher, Planning Director
Madde King, Account Director
Trent Michael, Senior Designer
King Yong, Senior Editor
Film
Production Company: Exit Films
Tim Georgeson, Director
Lisa Savage, Archive Producer
Jayson McNamara, Archive Researcher
Leah Churchill Brown – Executive Producer, Exit Films
Post Production Company – Heckler
Gina Wagstaffe, Design Director
Andrew Holmes, Editor
Brad Smith, VFX Supervisor and Flame Artist
Carlos Zalapa – Executive Producer, Heckler
Music Composition & Sound Design – Heckler Sound
Johnny Green – Composer
Dave Robertson – Sound Designer
Damian de Boos-Smith – Cello
Bonnie Law – Executive Producer, Heckler Sound
OOH
Production Company – Exit Films
Tim Georgeson, Photographer & Retouching
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