Yarra Valley Water is Melbourne’s largest retail water utility, providing water and sanitation services to more than 1.8 million people. Some of those 1.8 million Australian are struggling to pay their water bills. Think HQ has launched a campaign for Yarra Valley Water’s WaterCare program to identify and support vulnerable customers and those facing financial hardship.
The campaign addresses the barriers customers face in accessing financial support, including low awareness of available options, and aims to overcome the stigma associated with asking for help by normalising conversations about bill payment options. The campaign followed research that found one in three concession cardholders were unaware they could claim up to 50% off their annual bill, and low awareness of support options among vulnerable customers.
The creative work aims to raise awareness of Yarra Valley Water’s WaterCare support program, drive proactive engagement among customers struggling to pay their bill, and build trust in the Yarra Valley Water brand, underline by the tagline, Whatever position you’re in, we’re here to help.
Creative executions include 30-, 15- and 5-second videos, social media ads, OOH, direct marketing, eDMs and SMS messaging. To create them, Think HQ worked with data services and credit reporting provider, Experian, drawing on data science and machine learning algorithms to build predictive models around payment behaviours that allowed the agency to refine campaign messaging and segmentation to reach the customers who would most benefit from support at times when they would be most receptive. The creative was also designed to reach Melbourne’s diverse communities, with copy in Arabic, Greek, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Vietnamese, as well as First Nations peoples and concession card holders.
“The research showed many customers who were struggling with bills didn’t know about the support or rebates that are available to them. This highly targeted campaign is designed to turn that around by reaching the people who will benefit most from accessing the support and rebates they may have been missing out on until now,” stated Think HQ group head of creative, Andy Lima.
Yarra Valley Water managing director, Pat McCafferty, added, “Receiving your water bill shouldn’t cause extra stress. If people are finding it tough to keep on top of their bill, our WaterCare team is here to help.”
“This campaign will let them know not only what support is available to help them, but that the WaterCare team is there to help them navigate the options and find the best solution for their needs,” added Tamara Reid, YVW senior campaign specialist.
Credits
Client: Yarra Valley Water
Senior Campaign Specialist: Tamara Reid
Customer Strategy & Insights Manager: Julian Hill
Agency: Think HQ
Founder & Managing Director: Jen Sharpe
Group Head of Creative: Andy Lima
Creative Director: Simon Yeo
Senior Art Director: Nathan Barrow
Senior Copywriter: Ryan Graf
Art Director: Camilo Suarez
Head of Strategy and Research: Lani Cush
Senior Account Director: Torey Fitton
Director: John Sheedy
Integrated Producer: Grace Quinn
Production Assistant: Natasha Brock
Director of Photography: Michael Lincoln
Video Editor: Matthew Fregnan
Motion Graphics: Xiaohong Jiang, Roberta Ramalho
Campaign Partner: Experian
Consultant Analysts: Evelyn Hamilton & May Liew
Lead Analytics Consultant: Jonathan Haniman
Commercial Manager: Anthony Lansdown
Account Manager: Matt Simjanoski
Senior Solutions Consultant: Girish Vatvani
