The issue of being ‘Fire Ready’ is far too complex to provide a simple call to action that can be applied across all scenarios. A range of personal factors and decisions based on individual circumstances will often impact at what point the ‘fire danger’ decision is made. However, a lack of awareness/understanding of fire danger ratings and limited preparation can have tragic results.

Due to the success of previous campaigns, the idea of becoming ‘Fire Ready’ was entrenched in the Victorian public’s psyche. However, from our research, it became apparent that complacency and familiarity with the ‘Fire Danger’ message was diminishing the danger perceived by ‘at risk’ Victorians regarding a possible real threat.

We needed to ensure that if and when Victorian’s searched for warnings or information, they found an accurate alert.

Our solution was born out of the thing people turn to first in an emergency? Their smart phone. And the

The campaign success hinged on serving the right message to the right user at the right time. We used location based targeting to serve each district within regional areas and urban fringe communities with the relevant alert ad.

Using a mobile network location based targeting system and a distinctive combination of Wi-Fi and telco signal strength, we mapped out locations. This helped us accurately identify the user’s location within the CFA fire districts. We then over laid this data with MCN ID targeting which uses aggregated Telstra subscriber data (age, gender and postcode data) cross referenced with Experian and Roy Morgan data. Using both publishers enabled us to accurately serve the right message to the right person.

A global first in search-marketing, this campaign was crucial in alerting and educating Victorians about fire and fire risks.

Our real-time strategy allowed us to communicate multiple messages to key audiences: mitigating the danger for those living in at-risk bushfire communities and raising awareness for urban fringe communities and travellers.

We drove behavioural change with our search ads, by serving relevant, personalised alerts when people needed them most. Without a live ‘real time’ approach, this campaign’s effectiveness would have been limited.

Our ultimate goal for this campaign was to prevent any casualties in the summer fire season and provide a safer Victoria. During the height of summer, 1 in 2 Victorians were clicking on our ads, proving the presence and engagement we were able to achieve with this solution.

No Victorian lost their life due to fire this season and whilst this cannot be attributed solely to our campaign, our ‘alert ads’