Australia. A country surrounded by jewel seas.

Despite being deeply part of Australia’s national psyche, our oceans are threatened by climate change, pollution, overfishing and coral bleaching (to name a few).

Enter Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS). Campaigning tirelessly for 55 years as Australia’s only charity dedicated solely to oceans.

To protect our nation’s greatest asset, it was time to raise our voice.

THE BRIEF

Galvanise Australians to become active protectors of Australian oceans and marine life

CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES:

AWARENESS

Build awareness of AMCS and the threats posed on oceans

NURTURE

Grow a powerful community of supporters

Nurture ageing support-base and recruit younger demographic

ADVOCATE

Encourage Australians to share our message

In today’s age of environmental crisis, people have switched off to bad news.

To turn apathy into action, it was time to change the tune.

Introducing Australian Marine Conservation Society’s VOICE OF THE SEA:

The national anthem of the ocean recruiting the next generation of ocean protectors through the power of song.

We partnered with king of Australian country music, John Williamson - an icon with a 50 year history of turning Aussies into environmentalists. His hits have become Aussie anthems, and the soundtracks to major conservation protests saving river systems and log forests.

Together we composed an unrequited love song to the sea, a melody exploring all the issues faced by our seas and marine life.

From lyrics to lessons, we created an animated lyric film unpacking all the themes of the song - then launched at end-of-year school concerts for children and captive families to spread the message.

As conservation challenges escalate, so does the challenge for communications.

Ecological grief (or “solastalgia”) is so bad that 2 in 3 Australians don’t read the news (The Australian, 2022).

CHALLENGE

Traditional advertising wasn’t landing - we needed a new way to engage Australians.

STRATEGY: CONSERVATION TO THE POWER OF SONG

We turned to the medium with a history of creating monumental groundswell. Music.

But not any musician. John Williamson - icon and conservationist behind ‘Home-Among-the-Gumtrees’ and ‘Rip-Rip-Woodchip’.

Partnering with Warner Music, we didn’t write an ad, we wrote the next Aussie anthem.

AUDIENCE:

Mouthpieces: School children

Future voices impacted by today’s choices.

Listeners: Parents

Engaged adults through their kids (who grew up singing Williamson’s originals).

But song was not enough, we injected ourselves into Australian mythology…

LAUNCHING AT THE BIGGEST MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR: SCHOOL CONCERTS

Individual voices became a rally-cry as students, teachers and parents spread our message.

More than a song, a grassroots movement:

1. SING IT LOUD

We taught kids the song with an animated lyric film following a turtle through all the problems in the sea.

Then we took the song to the schoolyard where John Williamson performed live with Glenmore Road Primary on national television. Plus Williamson’s heartland on Australia's most influential talkback-radio stations.

2. LEARN THE LESSONS

Every school received an education kit created with AMCS scientists:

- Sheet music

- Lyric video

- Dance choreography

- Lesson plan

- Certificates

Teachers could even book a lesson from a Marine Biologist!

3. GROW THE MOVEMENT

FROM AUSTRALIA

30+ schools sung in their end-of-year concert in the first week.

Singing, dancing, even creating under-the-sea drawings.

TO THE GLOBE

We’ve entered international waters with three schools from Dominica and the UK.

In 2023, we’re launching the “Coast to Coast” program, connecting children across the oceans.

Our undercurrent quickly made waves across the nation.

AWARENESS OF AMCS AND OCEANS:

VoTS was launched by John Williamson, with monthly listenership of 306,840.

Reached 4,036,522 ocean protectors across broadcast and digital.

Earned 3.3M media impressions across 49 placements in one week.

That’s an earned value of $514,000.

With a total campaign investment of $60K (just $5K paid media), we achieved 8.5x ROI.

GROW A COMMUNITY:

AMCS subscribers grew +202%YoY - bringing their community to 300,000.

The average age was 31, compared to AMCS’ typical audience of 50+.

SHARE OUR MESSAGE:

In the first week, 30 schools joined our choir.

That’s 15,009 students not just “engaging” with a click, but singing a 2.5 minute ode to the ocean in-front of packed school halls.

We’ve even enrolled 3 international schools.

From a hum to a rally cry, we’re used song to ingrain conservation into the fabric of Australian culture for generations.