Each year in Australia, we see homes destroyed and billions spent on rebuilding due to severe weather events. And even more troubling is that these are now occurring with more ferocity and frequency.

There have been more Category-5 cyclones in the last 20 years than in the preceding 100. Severe flooding is occurring 30% more often in the Pacific region. And calamitous bushfire seasons are starting earlier, and burning for longer.

In other words, Australian homes simply aren’t built to withstand Australian weather. In 2020 alone, 134,000 homes were damaged.

Even as you read this, there are over 100,000 homes in North Queensland that are below minimum standard for cyclone safety, and 90% of homes in bushfire-prone areas across Australia which aren’t built to standard.

Problem definition: The place Australians think of as being safest - their homes - is increasingly vulnerable to a world experiencing rapid climate change.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of Australian homes are destroyed or damaged

by extreme weather. And each year nothing changes. We just pick up the pieces, rebuild the same way, and hope it won’t happen again. And with the ever-increasing effects of climate change, the problem is only getting worse.

To help solve this enormous problem, Suncorp partnered with the CSIRO (science organisation), James Cook University and Room 11 Architects to create ‘One House To Save Many’. The world’s first home designed, scientifically tested, and built to withstand cyclones, floods and bushfires.

One House is the blueprint for the future of Australian housing. Enabling Australians to live in harmony with nature, and not in fear of it.

The project launched with a national ad campaign and prime time documentary. The learnings from One House were then made available to the public and presented to government institutions and national building companies.

The insight was that building codes in Australia just aren’t adequate for the ever-increasing effects of climate change. And despite the continued devastation of cyclones, floods and bushfires, nothing really changes. We just pick up the pieces, rebuild the same way, and hope it won’t happen again. In fact, 97% of disaster funding is spent on the repair and rebuild, and only 3% is spent on the prevention.

The key PR message was about repositioning Suncorp as a leader in resilience, not just insurance. ‘One House’ established Suncorp’s credibility in this space.

The primary audience was mid to high-income homeowners in storm-ravaged Queensland. With an expanded PR audience that aimed to reach all Australians, including government bodies and building companies.

The documentary provided ample assets that could be distributed across different news outlets.

We brought together Australia’s smartest experts in building and weather resilience; Suncorp, The CSIRO (Australia’s leading science agency), James Cook University, and Room 11 Architects.

Together, they designed, scientifically-tested and built the world’s-first prototype house that can withstand bushfires, floods and cyclones. We called it ‘One House To Save Many’.

The project launched with a national ad campaign (TV / OOH / Radio / Press etc), PR and prime time documentary.

The learnings from One House were presented to government institutions and national building companies.

The plans were made available to the public through a website where people could explore the features and find out what they could do to make their own homes more resilient. As well as discover more about Suncorp insurance products.

CAMPAIGN RESULTS:

Reached 99% of the audience.

20M+ earned impressions across national news outlets.

110,000+ unique website visitors.

Documentary aired several times on a major broadcast network.

BUSINESS IMPACT:

Because of One House, Suncorp created an industry-first product, “Build it Back Better”, which applies the learnings from One House to every home they rebuild.

Consideration grew from 40% to 45%

8.7% increase in new business calls

24.6% increase in quotes

7.3% increase in market share

11.6% increase in new business

NPS grew from 6.4 to 14.4 - a record high

CULTURAL IMPACT:

Led by Suncorp, the Insurance Council of Australia has since launched Project Resilience, which aims to embed resilience into the National Construction Code by 2025.

The Federal Government has since announced a $600m resilience fund for new disaster mitigation programs.

Received inquiries from 13 leading industry stakeholders to scale One House nationally.