The Challenge
Following the expiration of 3-year commercial deals in early 2024, Meta stated it would not enter into new agreements to pay for news content, threatening to remove news altogether if designated under Australia's News Media Bargaining Code.
The Task
ABC Made and ABC News Marketing was tasked with ensuring audiences knew where to find ABC News beyond social media.
We developed a large-scale campaign that both raised awareness of the removal and redirected audiences to ABC News’ owned platforms—reinforcing its position as Australia’s most trusted news source.
The campaign
We developed a large-scale campaign that both raised awareness of the removal and redirected audiences to ABC News’ owned platforms -reinforcing its position as Australia’s most trusted news source.
Creatively, the campaign marked a departure from our typical news marketing approach. It featured some of ABC’s most recognisable and trusted news talent, paired with a bold, eye-catching visual device: a light switching on. This symbolised clarity, truth, and access to information.
The messaging centred on the lines “Stay in the know” and “Shine a light on the issues that matter most,” encouraging audiences to actively seek out reliable news and remain informed, regardless of platform changes.
The Impact & Outcome
The campaign successfully redirected audiences from Meta platforms to ABC News’ owned channels, driving a significant uplift in traffic to the ABC News website and app. As awareness of the change grew, so too did audience intent - resulting in stronger, more consistent visitation and a measurable increase in repeat users.
Engagement with news content also rose, with audiences spending more time on articles, watching more video content, and interacting more deeply with key stories. The campaign not only mitigated the immediate risk of losing social referral traffic, but strengthened ABC News’ direct relationship with its audience - building more resilient, platform-independent habits for accessing trusted news.
