Business Australia, with the support of content agency Daresay, has been awarded first place for Content Marketing Launch of the Year at the 2020 Content Marketing Awards – the largest and longest-running international content marketing awards program in the world.

Following a rebrand of the 190-year-old NSW Business Chamber, Business Australia was just days away from launching when COVID-19 hit, forcing it to drop its planned ‘In the business of better’ messaging and prioritise business support and survival as the country went into lockdown.

Business Australia, General Manager, Content and Acquisition, Genevieve Brock said the pivot was necessary to support Australian businesses facing a once-in-a-lifetime economic catastrophe.

“Within 24 hours, we had restructured our launch communications strategy and set up a newsroom – a dedicated coronavirus hub with ramped up content production specific to the quickly evolving situation for business owners,” Ms Brock said.

“At the beginning of the crisis, we went from generating five pieces of content a week to 40; and in the 10 weeks from March to May we published 248 pieces of new, timely and COVID-related content, from articles and tools through to the second season of our ‘The Company You Keep’ podcast and eight webinars.

“Every one of those content pieces was designed to help our members and customers navigate the pandemic – whether their business was trying to survive or thriving.

“Fast-forward five months, and many of our 40,000 members have tapped into this free support, including more than 15,000 new members, surpassing our goal of 10,000.

The company is also a finalist in the Best Content Marketing Program category and has just been shortlisted in the Australian Marketing Institute awards and Customer Experience Awards.
“It is a team effort, so I’d like to recognise our agency partners for their contribution - Daresay and Croud (content marketing), Indago Digital (SEO), and Filtered Media (podcast production).”

Daresay Managing Partner Ruth Haffenden said the ability to pivot and adapt to changing market demands has never been more important for both Daresay as an agency and our clients.

“This award is a real testament to the ambition and agility of Business Australia and the connected agency village they have fostered. Congratulations to all involved.”