THE

PROBLEM

The Special Olympics, a global movement that has been transforming the lives of people with an intellectual disability for almost 50 years, relies on the support, donations, and participation from the wider Australian community in order to successfully help adults with an intellectual disability reach their personal best through sport. The pinnacle event being the Special Olympics games held every 2 years which aims to promote positive social change for people with intellectual disabilities and create a more inclusive society. In order to tailor their communications and reach a wider audience, Special Olympics needed to understand the public’s awareness and perceptions of the Special Olympics.

THE

SOLUTION

Bastion Insights conducted a nationally representative quantitative study to determine not only if Australians had heard of the Special Olympics but if they understood the purpose of the games. The research also set to understand the public’s perceptions of people living with a disability, and if there was a desire to understand lived experiences better.

The outcomes of the research helped Special Olympics quantify their marketing challenges and make a case for improved communications. The recommendations from this study shaped Special Olympics marketing strategy, to increase awareness and drive positive perceptions and tailor a marketing strategy that appealed benefactors and volunteers alike.

THE

PROBLEM

Negative media coverage has been an issue for the entire sun protection category for the past 3 years. Quantitative tracking of a well-known sunscreen brand shows dips in key brand metrics, most especially in the brand’s spearhead metric of ‘credibility’. Qualitative insight was needed to confirm the brand team’s hypotheses about the impact of negative media.

THE

SOLUTION

A pop-up insights community was the ideal platform to meet the demand for flexibility and fast turn around results. The consumer landscape with the lens of negative media was mapped – with high risk and low-risk consumers identified. Bastion Insights provided clear actionable recommendations on how communications could be targeted to each group. Additionally, brand personality and landscape were mapped, communications across multiple channels were assessed, assisting the marketing team to develop an insight-driven marketing strategy.

THE

PROBLEM

Camping and caravanning have been part of many Australians lives, but the demographics of buyers is changing.  A well-known caravanning and camping brand commissioned Bastion Insights to bring their current customer segments to life through understanding the customer journey, attitudes, behaviours and key purchasing decisions in the caravanning and camping space.

THE

SOLUTION

We developed a customer focussed research approach aimed at understanding customer profiles, motivations, and triggers to owning a caravan/camper.  From this, we developed a set of customer personas that the marketing and sales team could use to develop communications and products. The research has played a fundamental role in the strategic direction for targeting communications and product development for the respective personas, including matching existing product portfolio with the appropriate persona types.

THE

PROBLEM

In late 2016, Bastion Reputation Management and Bastion Insights were engaged by a leading Australian university about to launch its long-term strategic vision and comprehensive change program. At the same time, the university was also about to negotiate two separate enterprise agreements with employees. The university wanted to clearly communicate its vision and what it would mean for employees in a meaningful and engaging way that would support the large-scale change and transformation program as well as positive and constructive conversations in enterprise bargaining.

THE

SOLUTION

Bastion Reputation Management developed a strategic employee engagement strategy to launch a new vision.

In partnership with Bastion Insights, an online platform was launched that offered engaging content and opportunities for staff contribution while also measuring employee engagement and providing other valuable insights.

A content plan was also developed which centred around communicating the university’s vision and making the case for why this change was necessary. The online platform then brought to life all content and engagement activities (including forums, surveys, polls, questionnaires, ideation) related to the university’s vision and strategy. The digital platform created a compelling, interactive and engaging space for employees and conveyed a coordinated and consistent narrative for the vision and also supported research objectives by gathering insights and measuring staff engagement throughout the change program.

Through regular communications and engagement, the university was able to build trust and acceptance that the changes underway were positive and beneficial for employees and the university. This important work was the first implementation of its kind at the university and has set a new benchmark for employee engagement – with more than 75 percent of staff engaging with the platform and sharing their insights.