National CCS conference and week

CHALLENGE

To generate conversation about Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and encourage curiosity amongst a commercial audience.

DATA

The National CCS Conference and 2010 National CCS Week were initiatives developed by a consortium including the Australian Government, the Australian Trade Commission, Victorian State Government, the Global CCS Institute, CSIRO, CO2CRC, ACA Low Emissions Technologies Ltd., the Minerals Council of Australia, Brown Coal Innovation Australia and the International Energy Agency Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme.

INSIGHT

There is little understanding and discussion about CCS amongst the Australian general public.

APPROACH

We were engaged to generate informed conversation about Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) by a mixture of media relations and social media outreach through Twitter and LinkedIn platforms.

In close collaboration with CO2CRC, we developed media materials, strong media relationships and partnerships and built a social media presence for Carbon Capture and Storage. We executed a wide-scale but highly targeted media relations campaign encompassing print, online, broadcast and social media platforms in the lead up to and during the Conference (28-30 November, 2010) and an onsite media centre was established and maintained at the Park Hyatt for the duration of the event.

SUCCESS

Greater understanding and curiosity about the role of CCS technology in the carbon and renewable energy debate was achieved through substantial media coverage in leading national and major metropolitan news and business outlets.

A four page lift-out in The Age, appearing 10 days prior to the conference was coordinated along with a full page editorial in The Weekend Australian. We also secured a broadcast partnership with Sky News’ A-PAC (Australian Public Affairs News Channel), seeing each of the 10 Conference sessions repeatedly aired during and after the conference with clear branding.

A total of seven international and national journalists attended the conference, with coverage received across radio, print, online and international wire services.