All

Strategy planning and awareness campaign

Client name Noongar Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Year 2022
Work completed Creative and digital, Government and stakeholder engagement
Team Fran Lawrence, Renée Wilkinson, Glenn Langridge, Adam Elovalis

Building Profile and Connections Across Aboriginal Business and Corporate Australia

The Noongar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) is Australia’s first culturally based chamber of commerce established to build the capacity and wealth of Noongar people in Western Australia’s South West.

NCCI supports the development of Noongar-owned, and other Aboriginal-owned, businesses to build economic capacity and wealth among the people of the Noongar nation and for Aboriginal people throughout the State. It is a strong advocate for Aboriginal businesses and connects its members’ businesses to corporate partners and other non-Aboriginal businesses in WA.

Purple has worked with NCCI’s founding directors to set the strategic communications strategy of the organisation and build profile with prospective members, government and potential corporate partners. Purple has been an early supporter of the NCCI, providing pro-bono communications support.

Strategy to launch

The NCCI concept and framework was developed with a small band of passionate and like-minded Aboriginal business leaders several years. With a constitution and business plan in place, Purple started working with NCCI’s leadership group late in 2017 to determine the best way to launch, secure community support and pique the interest of corporate supporters.

The NCCI leadership team’s vision and purpose was to promote the capacity and capabilities of Aboriginal businesses and bridge the divide between industry and the many potential Noongar businesses, who could be accessing contracts in the South West.

With national debate focused on the Uluru Statement and the Voice to Parliament, and State Government policies in place which promote procurement of Aboriginal goods and services, Purple worked alongside the NCCI to seize these opportunities to promote their member businesses and to continue to raise awareness of its important work.

Solution

We worked with the NCCI Directors to understand their communications objectives, develop key messages and build a program of activities to establish NCCI’s profile.

Our digital and design team developed NCCI’s existing logo and branding to build an effective website and brochures. We provided media support and advised the NCCI leadership on activities to build profile and use a range of platforms, including social media, in the lead-up to the launch event attended by the WA Treasurer and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt.

Purple and NCCI collaborated to hire an Aboriginal university graduate to provide additional, in-house strategic communications advice for the NCCI, helping the NCCI execute a communications plan to assist the achievement of its new primary goals and objectives. The Purple team facilitated a strategy session with the NCCI team and its board of directors to outline the requirements of a strategic communications plan that will be implemented over the year by the newly hired consultant, including:

- Advice and implementation of new key messages
- Refreshed stakeholder list and targets
- Member engagement
- New collateral
- Media and social media content plans
- We continue to provide support and advice to maximise opportunities for corporate support and build further profile.

Results

Since our involvement with NCCI, the organisation has achieved publication of an opinion piece and a news article in the State’s major newspaper, coverage in national indigenous news services and attracted hundreds of inquiries from potential member businesses and corporate partners.

After eight months of the next phase of our partnership, the NCCI LinkedIn page gained an additional 450 additional followers, raising the total to more than 1,150. In addition to the 39 per cent increase in followers, monthly impressions have risen from under 1,000 to over 9,000 in just eight months. Social media is a particularly valuable tool for NCCI in raising its corporate profile and showcasing the great work it is producing to attract new corporate partners.

The NCCI has become the fastest-growing business chamber in Australia – with 500 members joining since 2018. It has built strong and important relationships with corporate Australia, including Shell, CBRE, FMG, South32, Perth Airport and Hesperia. Purple are strong supporters of the vision and purpose of NCCI and believe the organisation provides local Aboriginal businesses with the support and connections needed to build financial success.

100

Sign ons from Aboriginal owned business