Reframing the volunteering narrative for younger generations
Volunteering WA needed to define a campaign that could inspire a younger audience to volunteer. The goal was to raise awareness of the value of volunteers to the WA community, re-engaging and re-mobilising people as well as attracting expressions of interest from new volunteers.
We sought to speak to the young adult demographic aged 18-27 by reinventing volunteering as a pathway for purpose, progress, wellbeing, and social connection.
Encouraging motivation through collaboration
We knew we had to tell a simple story, one that was relatable and met the audience on their terms. That meant tapping into their pre-existing desire to make positive change and connecting that feeling with volunteering.
We teamed up with two of the most influential and aspirational young brands in Perth and formed a true collaboration that would drive the campaign. Cold Nips, a not-for-profit association and Oli Clothing, a fashion label started in Northbridge, came together to help us put a unique and fresh stamp on volunteering for the new generation.
Oli Clothing volunteered their time to develop merchandise, branding, and a style guide for the newly formed VWA Volunteer Society.
A volunteering event to inspire positive change
We organised and documented a social volunteering day at the beach with Cold Nips and OzFish. Attendees received an Oli X VWA shirt and collected seagrass fruit to help restore and regenerate seagrass meadows.
The resulting integrated campaign consisted of two mini-docos, the above social volunteering event, a website portal, loads of photo and video content for Facebook, Youtube, and Tiktok, merchandise including the Oli X VWA shirts, audio ads on Spotify, and the development of three new styles of volunteering (social, expert, and upskill).
Cross-platform engagement and new volunteer applications
The Volunteering WA campaign ran across social media, video, and audio platforms. It strove to motivate people to leave their online platform to find out what all the fuss was about.
Achieving substantial engagement on Tiktok and Spotify, the campaign strongly resonated with its audience. However, its biggest impact stemmed from Facebook and Youtube. These two platforms led to 1252 clicks on the website’s volunteer application buttons over 2 months.
“YouTube is primarily an awareness channel, so being able to get people to move from there to the site and actually undertake an action is extremely great.”
Mat McGuinness, Campaign Manager, Glide Agency