In 2020, the Black Summer bushfires ravaged the Australian landscape.

But the fires didn’t define this horrific natural disaster…help did.

NRMA Insurance released A FIRE INSIDE – a significant project including a feature documentary and a book telling the stories of devastation - and the help reflex that lies within all of us. With the aim of inspiring a national volunteer movement across Australia.

The project generated over 370 pieces of news coverage, reaching over 59 million people. It has redefined what's possible with earned media, highlighting its power to motivate people into action.

NRMA Insurance’s data shows Australia’s going to be facing more extreme temperatures, more droughts, more intense bushfire seasons, and more destructive floods and storms in the future.

Help sits at the core of NRMA Insurance and the brand has a vision to encourage all Australians to take preventive action against these extreme weather events to build more resilient communities.

NRMA Insurance has created a suite of action-oriented programs that inspire people to proactively prepare - ‘A Fire Inside’ is the brand’s most ambitious project to date.

The objective of A Fire Inside was to be the lightning strike that generates an army of helpers - 125,000 volunteers within the next 5 years - for the newly created Australian Resilience Corps developed by Minderoo Foundation and founding partner NRMA Insurance.

PR was utilised to create cultural interest for the film, book and ultimately drive sign ups to the Australian Resilience Corps.

In 2020, NRMA Insurance saw cinematographer Andrew Flakelear’s front line footage from the Black Summer and saw a unique opportunity to create a cultural conversation around how help is becoming Australia’s most important resource.

Set against the backdrop of the worst bushfires in Australian history, 'A Fire Inside' is a poignant documentary that turns a sensitive lens on the unprecedented devastation of the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires, focusing on the human stories of help.

To accompany the feature length documentary, NRMA Insurance partnered with book creator Blackwell & Ruth, to create a legacy coffee table book: ‘A Fire Inside: The Power of the Human Help Reflex’.

In line with the launch of the film & book, NRMA Insurance joined Minderoo Foundation to create the Australian Resilience Corps – a national network of volunteers trained to prepare/protect Australians against natural disasters; to create the nation’s largest army of volunteers ever seen.

The focus was not on the fires, but the human stories, how all of Australia wanted to help.

NRMA Insurance wanted to make sure the national conversation revolved around what can be done to prepare for future natural disasters.

Whilst producing the film & book, The Minderoo Foundation – who feature in the film said they were planning to build ‘The Australian Resilience Corps’ and described the documentary as a catalyst that could start the formation of the corps.

The ‘Australian Resilience Corps’ became our call to action for consumers, that piqued the earned worthiness of the campaign.

Through earned media, the various mediums created for ‘A Fire Inside’ (film & book), were utilised to act as a catalyst to spark a conversation around the growing need to provide more help across the country, & how Aussies could provide actual help by joining Minderoo Foundation’s newly launched ‘Australian Resilience Corps’.

The PR approach comprised of five key beats:

July 2021: The film was the heart of the project and launched in cinema via a partnership with ICON Film Distribution. Their publicity team placed it in entertainment and mainstream news placements.

October 2021: Photo-journalist Matthew Abbott partook in a publicity tour for his photography and corresponding book launch.

November 2021: Minderoo Foundation announced the ‘Australian Resilience Corps’, using the film as a catalyst to inspire others to join Australia’s largest ever volunteer movement.

December 2021: The film was aired nationally on free to air TV station NINE on a prime time evening slot and was available to view on their streaming platform 9Now. News outlets covered the human stories of help in the film to drive storytelling for its airing.

December 2021: NRMA Insurance drove local and international stories in major marketing outlets, to highlight their involvement with the project.

The earned media activity helped us generate 371 pieces of top tier earned news coverage across TV, newspapers, radio, online and social media channels with a potential reach of over 59,000,000. This meant Aussies saw news coverage for the campaign potentially more than twice.

100% of news coverage was either positive or neutral, with a combined advertising space rate value of over $5 million (source: iSentia).

News coverage was secured in all major news outlets (sometimes more than once) including prime time national news program The Project and major morning and evening news programs including ABC Breakfast, A Current Affair, Today Show, Sunrise, Studio 10, Ch 7 News and WIN News.

Storytelling was also secured en masse in major newspapers and online news including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, The Age, Broadsheet, Concrete Playground, Al Jazeera News, Nine.com.au and News.com.au. Radio spots also landed in nationally syndicated programs across 3AW, ABC, 4BC, 2GB and 2SER.

A Fire Inside has sparked the imagination of the Australian public with millions now seeing the film, and even more being exposed to the earned media and hype surrounding the project. The recruitment stage has just begun, with sign ups coming in fast to the Australian Resilience Corps. A further recruitment drive, off the back of A Fire Inside, will be starting March 2022.