Grand LIA   |   Winners   |   Finalists

Non-Traditional
Live Events - Beyond Advertising

Silver Winner

Entrant: McCann Melbourne, Melbourne
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
"Impossible Orchestra"
  • Corporate Name of Client:
    Care Aware
  • Client Account Director:
    Megan Jones
  • Group Account Director:
    Zoe Brown
  • Agency Account Director:
    Adrian Mills
  • Account Director:
    Emily Yarwood
  • Agency:
    McCann Melbourne , Melbourne
  • Executive Creative Director:
    John Mescall
  • Creative Director:
    Pat Baron
  • Copywriters:
    Natasha Wood
    John Mescall
  • Art Directors:
    Matt Stoddart
    Pat Baron
  • Agency Producer:
    Jo Alach
  • Graphic Designers:
    Scott Hall
    Pat Baron
  • Production Company:
    Airbag Productions , Melbourne
  • Director:
    Aaron Wilson
  • Producers:
    Katrina Fleming
    Victoria Conners-Bell
  • Music:
    Brett Kelly
  • Description of the Project:
  • Australia has 2.6 million unpaid family carers. They care for their disabled children and their partners 24 hours a day with almost no recognition. Our task was to find a way to launch the Federal Government’s National Carer Awareness Initiative by honouring the nation’s carers and drawing attention to the significant role they play. When you’re a carer, you never top caring. You might get the odd break but mentally, you’re always with the one you care for. So in order to draw attention to the significant role that carers play we needed an idea befitting their tireless efforts.
    The idea: Tell the story of what it’s like to care nonstop through a 24 hour, nonstop orchestral concert. Our primary target for this campaign was all Australian's 55+. Our objective was to raise awareness of carer related issues in this segment by 10%. To achieve this impossible challenge, we assembled over 200 of Australia’s finest classical musicians from our leading orchestras and challenged them to play for 24 hours in one of Australia’s finest concert venues – Melbourne’s Hamer Hall. During the event, carers and those they cared for rotated through the orchestra as guest musicians and conductors, including the carers from our short films. Many of the musicians themselves were also carers, and also told their stories throughout the 24 hours - bringing to life the message - When we work together, nothing is impossible. The whole event was broadcast to a live audience online. Almost every Australian will become a carer, or be cared for at some stage of their lives. So, with absolutely no money for media, our task was to find a way to launch the Federal Government’s National Carer Awareness Initiative by honouring the nation’s carers and drawing attention to the significant role they play.
    A secondary goal was to promote attendance at the concert (a 2,500 seat venue) and awareness online through the broadcast. The Strategy Caring is a somber issue. It affects millions of people, but few talk about it because it's not something that people want to talk about. So our strategy was to take an issue that people didn't want to engage with, and wrap it in a positive idea that would draw people to it. The whole event was captured for a feature length documentary and broadcast to a live audience online.
    Results 6,500 people attended the concert in person. Over 40 countries watched the event live online. The event trended twice on Twitter. The campaign message reached 217 news outlets nationwide, earned 15 minutes of national TV coverage earned 1 hour of radio coverage and reached 13.7 million Australians. In post campaign research the campaign achieved a 35% increase in awareness of caring as an issue amongst our target audience and a 20% increase in awareness of caring as an issue amongst all Australians (Qant research).