Championing women's health access
Client
Women's Health & Wellbeing Barwon South West
Services
communications strategy, strategy implementation, political briefing materials, media training, social media
Location
Australia
THE PROJECT
Women's Health and Wellbeing Barwon South West (WHWBSW) is the leading voice for gender equality and women’s health in the Barwon South West region of Victoria. For this project, WHWBSW partnered with Deakin Rural Health and the Centre for Australian Research into Access (CARA).
WHWBSW, Deakin Rural Health and CARA released groundbreaking research in the report, Mapping Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Regional Victoria, highlighting barriers to sexual and reproductive health access in the Barwon South West region. Our role was to develop and deliver a comprehensive communications strategy to amplify the impact of the report, maximise media coverage, and drive engagement with key stakeholders, including government decision-makers and healthcare providers.
THE CHALLENGE
Despite the strength of the research, there was a risk that, without coordinated promotion, the report could be overlooked in a saturated media and policy environment. This project had to:
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Cut through media noise to generate coverage across the region
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Equip spokespeople to confidently advocate for findings and recommendations
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Engage policymakers and service providers with clear, accessible messaging
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Position WHWBSW as a leading advocate for sexual and reproductive health equity.
THE SOLUTION
We led communications and stakeholder engagement for the launch and our approach was built on targeted, high-impact messaging designed to spark public interest and policy dialogue.
Key elements included:
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Strategic communications plan – A detailed roadmap aligning media, stakeholder, and government outreach with the report’s release.
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Media relations – Wrote media releases, op-eds, and pitch materials, and coordinated targeted outreach to key journalists and outlets across Victoria.
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Spokesperson support – Prepared WHWBSW and Deakin Rural Health
representatives for interviews with briefing materials, messaging guidance, and media coaching. -
Government engagement materials – Developed briefing documents, tailored MP packs, and electorate-specific data snapshots to support advocacy.
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Stakeholder communications – Created social media content, infographics and event support materials to help partners amplify the message.
THE RESULTS
The communications campaign generated extensive media coverage across TV, radio, print, and digital and strong political and stakeholder engagement, drawing attention to health access inequity. It also strengthened WHWBSW’s profile as a credible, expert voice on gender and health equity issues in regional Victoria.
Through strategic, targeted communications, we helped transform a vital piece of research into a powerful advocacy tool – sparking action, awareness, and momentum toward better access to sexual and reproductive health for all.
