Campaign objectives
The campaign needed to educate readers about Victoria’s Big Build. There was a general understanding that a lot of construction was taking place, but people didn’t necessarily know in detail what the projects were and how they would benefit Victoria long term.
It was also vital that we promoted Plan B and help raise awareness of alternative travel routes during construction. The aim was to alert readers of changes and to help them plan ahead with a Plan B for getting to their destination.
The idea
Time Out's approach involved a three-part content series breaking down Victoria’s Big Build for easier reader consumption.
Each content piece explored different aspects of the project and included interactive elements. All three pieces educated readers about Victoria’s Big Build and how it will help positively shape the state’s future.
Each content piece also promoted 'Plan B' and directed people to visit the official site to help them plan ahead.
The execution
The content series included three bespoke articles:
Everything you need to know about Victoria’s Big Build
This general overview of the project included an interactive bespoke map that outlined all the train lines getting an overhaul.
Level Crossing Removal Project
This piece was a closer look at Level Crossing Removal that was happening across the city. It outlined the train lines affected and included an interactive Before and After look at three train stations.
Time Out websites
1 bespoke feature package per city including pre and post coverage, polling and a competition.
All three content pieces urged readers to head over to the official site to find their Plan B. The articles were cross-promoted for greater discoverability and engagement.
The content series was amplified through our dedicated Solus newsletter, sponsored Facebook Posts and internal house content drivers (You Might Also Like Tiles). High Impact Takeovers and a strong display activity supported the content series.
How we worked
Developed proactive campaign idea with commercial and editorial team.
Approached client and agency with the proactive idea.
Met with agency to discuss the proactive and how it would best come to life.
Campaign sign off. Timelines, workflow and delivery agreed.
Fleshed out the content series further with client direct and agency to finesse the content idea and angle. The interactive elements of bespoke map and Before/After gallery were also brainstormed.
Content, themes and design developed by Time Out and approved by client and agency.
Client revisions and final approvals.
Campaign live (ongoing campaign management and optimisation).
Post-campaign report delivered with in-depth analysis of results.
The Results
The campaign was incredibly successful and far exceeded expectations. All three pieces garnered page views three times higher than the average with approximately 9k page views per content.
'Everything you need to know about Victoria’s Big Build' and 'Tunnel Projects' both saw dwell times (2.20 and 2.40 respectively) higher than the average of 1.52.
The dedicated Solus eDM saw CTR of 13.19% against a benchmark of 8% and the interactive map saw over 10k loads.
Time Out says…
Overall, the campaign was a huge success. All three content pieces saw great engagement from our readers and outperformed initial projections. Content around Melbourne public transport has always been extremely well received by our audience.
The success of this campaign is a testament to how much Time Out readers love Melbourne and care about the health and future of their city. It also showed that our readers are genuinely engaged with our content. The brand alignment between Time Out and Victoria’s Big Build proved to be a natural fit.
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