Start With a Smile campaign - Ashburton District Council
Priority Communications has been providing as-required support to the Ashburton District Council communications team for many years. This has included strategic communications advice; public awareness campaigns; graphic design support; consultation expertise; PIM support during major weather events; and assistance to the Mayor and senior management team.
Our work has also included communications and consultation on environmental issues such as the future of Ashburton’s airport; Mid Canterbury water issues; the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak (working with the Ministry for Primary Industries and the Mayor); and the Council’s new library and administration building.
We have helped implement many Council-led campaigns, including the Start with a Smile campaign - which was generated by the Canterbury Mayoral Forum; Welcoming Communities - an Immigration NZ initiative which focused on bringing locals and migrants closer together; Roading Worx - which aimed to increase public understanding of Ashburton’s large roading network; and Our Place – a stakeholder engagement campaign to involve the community in the Long Term Plan process. The Our Place campaign was highly commended at the 2019 SOLGM Awards.
What we did
As part of providing ongoing communications support, Priority Communications was approached by Ashburton District Council to lead the development and implementation of the Start With A Smile (SWAS) campaign.
The brief was to bring locals and newcomers together and foster an even more welcoming environment in the community. This would be initiated through the use of a bright blue smile-shaped couch. Ultimately, the campaign hoped to see the values of inclusivity and friendship continue to flourish, long after the couch had left the district.
Priority Communications engaged with local community leaders, produced and coordinated a wide range of marketing material, liaised with media, and created an exciting buzz across social media.
The success of SWAS contributed significantly to Ashburton becoming one of Immigration New Zealand’s trial regions for its Welcoming Communities programme. We were asked to develop and deliver a communications strategy to introduce it to the community and launch the region’s Welcoming Plan. The campaign received the attention of national and international media.
