Plan MelbourneUnlocking the secrets behind Victoria’s

largest public consultation

Image by BPhotos

Melbourne is the world’s most livable city thanks in

part to decisions made more than 50 years ago.

Work is now underway to shape the future of

Melbourne for 2050 and beyond…

Governments

around the globe

now embrace

online

consultation.

Mass

democratisation

through

technology is

reshaping the way

we deliver public

value.

As expectations

continue to

grow, public

sector

communicators

are adapting to

more with less.

On-demand

technology is

changing the way

people consume

media.

This is having an

impact on

traditional

approaches to

advertising.

Adapted from LeaderLab.com

Insert YouTube video:

http://youtu.be/XIuX3iFY2I4

“A city is not an accident,

but the result of coherent

visions and aims”Leon Krier, The Architecture of Community

The views of the people are at the heart of the

vision for Melbourne’s future. A clear plan for two-

way engagement was critical.

Two core aims

were central to all

communication.

Six channels

worked together to

deliver a consistent

narrative.

Continual listening,

ongoing analysis

and evaluation

helped refine and

adapt.

A refreshed brand helped reinforce a sense of

shared responsibility. It reminded people the

choices they are helping make today will echo

for generations to come.

Print, radio and online worked

together to raise awareness and

encourage people to get

involved.

30% of traffic from

mobile devices.

Strong correlation with

advertisements and

website visits.

Surveys in daily papers

helped people have

their say

Social media

helped increase

message reach

and deepen

conversations

8000 surveys

completed

800 Melburnians at

the forum

200 joined in online

250+ stakeholders

100 organisations at

roundtables

48,000 unique

website visitors

16,000 discussion

paper downloads

5500 YouTube views

598 formal

submissions

The largest consultation

in Victoria’s history

Help! We couldn’t do everything at

once...

[Effective partnerships with experts gives

flexibility and agility]

[Can ramp up when needed]

[Builds capability through skills transfer]

[Need clear rules and guidelines]

[Self hosted discussions]

We couldn’t do it alone

Social media by engagement level

Social media at the public forum

Manually graded sentiment helped gather insights

Participants at the

forum continued

the conversation

during breaks

● Promoted on social media

● 9am-3.45pm

● 424 entries (one per minute)

● 127 remote participants

(during) and 89 in following

24 hours

● Compiled as report

(94 pages)

A liveblog meant anyone could get involved

● 161 posts by the social media team (some pre-

written, such as biographies)

● 172 tweets from the #planmelbourne hashtag

● 61 images, some photographed by the social

media team, others sourced from Twitter and

Instagram and including presentation slides

● 24 polls replicating the polls in the room

● Four videos from Plan Melbourne’s YouTube

channel

● Two comments directly to the live blog from

participants

Liveblog content

(c) William Gottlieb via Flickr

What did we learn?

1. Keep the content coming

2. Pick the best team you can

find

3. Can outsource

responsibility, but not risk

4. Have clear management

plans and processes in

place

5. Measure and report,

test and refine

6. Be risk aware, not risk

averse

Insert YouTube video:

http://youtu.be/0zHUo4OOyPA

To wrap up

• Communication is evolving,

we need to adapt

• Resource pressures help

drive productivity and

innovation

• Need a combination of

paid, earned and owned

media

• Have a plan, but be flexible

• Trust your partners and

listen to their advice

• #JBDI

Follow us:

@DarrenWhitelaw@CraigThomler

Questions?