Case Study: University of NSW (UNSW)
Project
University students at UNSW (consistent with other universities in Australia) experience a high rate of gendered violence (GV), yet there is a low rate of support-seeking.
I worked with UNSW to develop a social marketing campaign to help address this issue – aimed at increasing student support-seeking for GV, in particular via the university’s online GV Portal.
A university-wide campaign was launched in Term 1, 2025, utilising owned channels across the university – including on-campus posters, floor decals and wallet cards as well as materials within university accommodation.
Results
- During the campaign period, reports of GV increased significantly year-on-year (compared to the same period in 2024).
- 70% of survey respondents took direct action in response to the campaign. This includes 15% who said they reached out for support via the GV Portal.
- Campaign awareness was very high – 71% unprompted awareness and 87% prompted awareness.
- 88% believed the advertising was effective in increasing awareness of the GV Portal.
My role
I supported the UNSW team throughout the entire project life cycle, from strategy and planning, through development and implementation, and finally to monitoring and evaluation. This included:
- Campaign strategy
- Creative concept development
- Channel planning
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Research design including survey tools and focus group discussion guides
- Production of the final campaign report
Campaign creative
Client testimonial
– Semra Tastan, Project Manager Safer Communities, UNSW
Working with Mel was a great experience for our team. Her expertise in social marketing and her thoughtful, strategic approach made a real difference to our campaign. Right from the start, she was professional, easy to work with, and generous with her time—providing helpful advice and support through every stage, from planning and development to rollout and evaluation.
We initially engaged Mel to help us navigate some challenges and fill gaps in progressing the project. Not only did she help us move forward with confidence, but the insights and skills we gained through working with her have continued to benefit our broader work. Her input has helped our team build skills in things like understanding our audience, writing clear briefs, and strategy development.
We’re really glad we had the chance to work with Mel and learned a lot from the experience. We’re looking forward to continuing our work together.
Let’s chat!
Drop me a line and let’s talk about your project and how I can help