Helping Victorians plan and prepare for fire.
Victorian Government - Summer Fire Campaign
The idea.
Bushfires can start quickly and threaten lives within minutes. When it comes to fire, what you need to do is black and white.
Victoria's bushfire safety challenge was significant. Research showed residents believed they could stay and defend their homes, or were unaware of the dangers (and correct actions to take). At the same time, the messaging and actions to take depends on the location (bushfire versus grassfire, etc).
We created "The Reasons are Black & White" - a powerful bushfire safety campaign that cut through confusion with absolute clarity. By focusing on the brutal facts of fire and simplifying actions to planning, preparing, and leaving early, we gave Victorians clear direction when it mattered most.
This award-winning bushfire safety campaign demonstrated how strategic creative can transform complex emergency information into actionable public safety messaging.
The results were black and white.
45% increase in campaign recall (vs. the previous campaign) - More than 84% of all audiences agreed the ads were useful and worthwhile - More than 77% of all audiences agreed the ads made them think about what to do on days of high fire risk - The Facts of Fire series achieved over 7 million impressions and 1.2 million video views in the first few months - The VR soft launch garnered global attention from outlets such as BBC, BBC UK, ABC, Voice of America, and The Telegraph UK.
“This campaign has been imperative in providing Victorians with the information required to inform safety and understand risk.”
World-first VR experience.
Virtual reality has been shown to be a powerful tool in behaviour change, as by engaging users in simulated experiences, it can generate real emotional reactions. In a world-first, we allowed all Victorians to experience firsthand a number of scenarios as an out-of-control bushfire fast approached their location.
Awarded Gold - Summit International Creative Awards
Facts of Fire
Produced with the assistance of the CSIRO Bushfire Behaviour and Risks team, and shot on location at the CSIRO Pyrotron in Canberra, the Facts of Fire series explored the serious dangers Victorians face annually from fire, including ember attack, spot fires, radiant heat, wind speed and grassfires.
Awarded Silver - Summit International Creative Awards
