The communications strategy for Newman Futures outcomes was to develop, execute and implement a host of deliverables under a unifying campaign and ensure that both the community and the key stakeholders had an increased awareness of the collective potency of these outcomes.

In approaching this opportunity for BHP, Creating Communities considered potential lack of awareness within the community (and even among key stakeholders) of the broad range of projects, engagements, and activations given the diversity of engagement that formed Newman Futures. 

The approach integrated Creating Communities’ Engagement Continuum Model. This strategic approach engenders broader engagement and the opportunity to enhance brand and reputation through strengthening relationships, building advocacy and supporting project objectives. When projects fail to recognise the importance of integrated engagement, they run the risk of facing community outrage, which is costly to manage and can have broad, lasting negative impacts. It with a deep understanding of community and context combined with a highly considered strategy that engagement is able to support positive movement in the continuum. 

While engagement had been strong within targeted areas of the community, broader awareness of these projects and outcomes needed to be contextualised for the purposes understanding, recognition, and participation.

The strategy was to bring context to the different expressions of the project by drawing them to some unifying themes under a singular banner. We began to refer to this in-house as our ‘Campaign Glue’ – the messaging which connected all the elements of Newman Futures.

The primary message developed was ‘sustainable, positive impacts. together.’ The tagline encompassed the long-term vision of Newman Futures – to yield positive impact into the future in ways that could be continued sustainably in community. The ‘+’ device was incorporated into the branding to both reflect ‘positive impact’ but also open the way to contextual messaging. It became a glue that connected purpose with shared outcomes.

Martu Patrol, for example, is an indigenous led, co-created program to night patrol the streets of Newman to increase safety, lower rates of crime, and offer a food or a way home for people on the streets in the early hours, was distilled to its core positive impact: +safer communities.