Case study

Australian Futures Project: The Perfect Candidate

Shifting a nationwide conversation from short-term topics to long-term investment

The Australian Futures Project’s mission is to end short-termism by ensuring that Australia has all the ingredients for good future making. AFP wanted to create an intervention during the 2019 Federal Election campaign to address a barrier holding Australia back from effective long-termism; the “Broken National Conversation”.

Intervention

Collaborating with digital and data experts Isobar and Roy Morgan, we used data to highlight the disconnect between Australia’s loudest voices (media and government) and the people they represent.

We created Australia’s first politician driven by data, not bias. A first of its kind, The Perfect Candidate uses data from more than 125,000 Australians to compare the top concerns of each electorate, with those of the political parties that represent them.

Data from snap polls enabled us to keep information relevant and topical, optimising engagement.

Outcome

Successfully shifted the nationwide conversation, putting short-termism on the reporting agenda. Secured earned media coverage with a reach of 84 million, landing our campaign key messages.
Strategically targeted Australia’s most influential journalists to garner cut through in a noisy election space.
Doubled our target call to action, asking users to “rate their concerns” and compare them to their local Members of Parliament.
Set a new policy direction, seeding a long term solution to end short term policy.