How to influence government policy using PR
Protesting in the street is one way to grab the media’s attention but a strategic Government Relations campaign that makes the news and directly lobbies political decision-makers is a powerful way to influence public policy, particularly in Canberra.
Adoni Media has proven it is a leading agency in Australia for creating and delivering powerful and effective Government Relations campaigns that mobilise consumers, lobby political decision-makers, and influence public policy change.
Through award-winning campaigns, Adoni Media has demonstrated remarkable success with impactful campaigns that have achieved widespread recognition.
Award-winning Your Health Your Choice
Adoni Media’s Your Health Your Choice Government Relations campaign helped put a stop to natural therapy treatments being cut from private health insurance rebates and because of its effectiveness, was recognised with several awards.
In 2017, the then Federal Government proposed new laws to prevent popular natural treatments, such as acupuncture and massages, from being claimed under private health insurance.
The Australian Homeopathic Association engaged Adoni Media to create a multi-platform Government Relations campaign, utilising PR, and Digital Marketing, to mobilise voters through an online petition to argue these laws should not go ahead.
More than 70,000 people signed up to a purpose-built website which triggered protest letters to Australian MPs, including the Federal Health Minister. The campaign reached a worldwide audience of more than half a million people with many voicing their anger over the rebate cuts on social media.
The Your Health Your Choice campaign gained national media attention with more than $1million worth of stories across TV, radio, newspapers, and online and the topic of the campaign was listed on the Australian Federal Government’s “Issues” list. Public pressure resulted in a review of natural therapies and the then Health Minister announcing the proposed laws would be scrapped.
Australia’s largest campaign to protect natural therapies won multiple awards and accolades for Adoni Media, including national winner of the Complementary Medicines Australia Judges Choice Award in 2017 and a Mumbrella finalist for Australia’s Best Government Relations campaign in 2018.
Petrina Reichman from the Australian Homeopathy Association paid tribute to Adoni Media’s Managing Director Leisa Goddard, saying: “A big thank you to Adoni Media. We couldn’t have done it without you, the driving force.”
Save Aussie Supplements Campaign
With the clock ticking on a public consultation period over plans by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to classify sports and health supplements as therapeutic goods, a group of Australia’s leading supplement retailers sought Adoni Media’s expertise to kick off another Government Relations campaign.
Nutrition Warehouse and Australian Sports Nutrition were among up to 20 companies involved in the campaign called Save Aussie Supplements, which aimed to save the $1.1billion health and sports supplement industry.
Adoni Media had just days to create a multi-platform strategy which included a website that allowed each sign up to trigger an email to the person’s local MP. In just over 72 hours, a submission to the TGA was designed, built, and sent, and the support from the public was overwhelming.
In seven days, more than 14,000 people signed the website petition with an average of one Aussie making a submission to the TGA every minute. When the TGA consultation period closed, thousands of printed submissions were delivered to the TGA head office in Canberra.
Along with the PR campaign, Adoni’s key deliverables also included producing high-impact advertising videos and a Video News Release, as well as media training key spokespeople for press conferences that secured nationwide media coverage across TV, print, online, and radio. Influencers also shared stories with hundreds of thousands of posts across social media.
The result was a campaign win, with the TGA bowing to public pressure and extending its consultation period to have more collaboration with the supplements industry.
Real-world experience
By leveraging multi-platform strategic communication techniques, Adoni Media has effectively advocated for causes and helped shape public policy decisions. Our real-world experience in the Australian media means we can act quickly, we understand the political landscape, and we know which key decision-makers to target. We also know personal stories have impact and gravitas, so we work with clients to identify “case studies” and help them tell their story.
To find out how the Adoni team can help you successfully influence public policy, contact us.
