Fight for the Reef: helping protect the Great Barrier Reef

Fight for the Reef successfully defended one of the world’s natural wonders, the Great Barrier Reef. It started in 2013, when the Federal Government approved the expansion of a coal port near Airlie Beach. Knowing this would lead to permanent damage to the reef, two of Australia’s largest environmental organisations – WWF and the Australian Marine Conservation Society – decided to launch a large-scale campaign to fight the expansion and protect the reef from further industrialisation. Seeking support with campaign strategy and execution, they engaged Essential, and Fight for the Reef was born.

Essential’s research showed 89% of Australians thought protecting the reef was the nation’s most important environmental issue, but the mining-industry was mounting a strong counter-campaign, spruiking industrialisation of reef areas as a creator of local jobs. In order for us to show politicians that their constituents in Bowen and Airlie Beach were as willing to fight (and vote) for reef conservation as constituents in Sydney and Melbourne, we needed to know more about the communities on the frontline of this issue.

The campaign design phase involved extensive polling and focus groups. This found that while locals were concerned about the environmental impact on the reef, their main concern was the economic impact of a loss of tourism if the reef were to be irrevocably damaged. Here was a framing that made sense to them: fighting for the reef meant fighting for jobs. These insights allowed us to develop a narrative that clearly articulated the problem and the solution in a way that resonated with locals. We rolled this out through a multi-channel advertising strategy and earned media campaign, complemented by inside track advocacy to decision-makers. People who may not normally have related to the messages of environmental organisations saw their own values and priorities reflected in the messaging of Fight for the Reef, and they joined with people from all around Australia to form a 260,000-strong movement.

Fight for the Reef contributed to a change of government in Queensland which ultimately stopped the expansion of several coal ports. The campaign contributed to the introduction of a ban on new dumping of dredge spoil in the Marine National Park Area, and protection for important parts of the reef coastline including Cape York and the Fitzroy Delta. Key to the campaign’s success was an evidence-driven communications strategy – something we are proud to be able to deliver from end-to-end as the leading hybrid research-campaigning agency for progressive Australia.