A person-first approach to navigating ageing and the aged care system
The Ageing Ideal
Uniting AgeWell
The Brief
Australia’s aged care sector has been under scrutiny for a long time, with COVID-19 exacerbating the situation as facilities faced the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic.One organisation that’s been advocating for change and innovating in the space is Uniting AgeWell, which provides aged care in the community and in residential aged care across Victoria and Tasmania.Not only do they talk about the importance of being person centred and the importance of each person having their own agency, but they also provide care and services that back it up, something they’ve built into their values structure and training.Uniting AgeWell believe it is important to take a holistic approach and while we are all ageing, the idea of seeking out services to support us as we get older can be daunting.The team at Uniting AgeWell came to SoundCartel with a vision to reach older people, their families and carers who may be going through this transition or just starting to think about retaining choice as they age.
The Approach
Uniting AgeWell came to the podcast strategy workshop with a clear idea of what they were trying to achieve, providing a full and complete brief, which included key information about the brand, audience insights and even well thought through episode ideas.We manage clients at all levels of preparedness, but working with a client who has really thought about the finished product and why they’re doing it in the first place, makes all the difference.It was from this rich foudation and great discussion that a fleshed out podcast was born – ‘The Ageing Ideal’. Uniting AgeWell had also suggested Jacinta Parsons (ABC radio host and journalist), as host.Already in the middle of writing a book about older Australian women, the focus of The Ageing Ideal was a topic very close to Jacinta’s heart and she jumped at the opportunity to host. Jacinta was able to interview people from within Uniting AgeWell, people in the community, experts in the sector and residents themselves about their own experiences.As it happened, Jacinta was in the middle of writing her new book ‘A Wisdom of Age’ – about inspirational Australian women who are doing ‘this ageing thing’ right.With the topic so close to her heart, the opportunity to host The Ageing Ideal could not have been better timed, and for Jacinta, it was an immediate yes!An interview narrative style was agreed upon in collaboration with SoundCartel, and Senior Producer Nicole Goodman has led the project.Final scripting was written shaped by Uniting AgeWell in order to marry their deep industry knowlege and get the most out of the interviews that were recorded.Detailed epsiode briefs were also prepared as well as pre interviews and scheduling recordings. Video recorded in studio is also being used to create social media assets to promote each episode.At the same time as launching a new website, Uniting AgeWell is also rolling out the podcast marketing campaign to include digital marketing, social media marketing and PR. And since marketing contributes about 50% to the success of any podcast, this is the best approach.
The RESULT
The podcast has only recently launched with a monthly cadence, but already, the feedback has been incredibly positive. Marketing activities have had an immediate impact with episode downloads exceeding pre-launch expectations, with some hitting more than 10,000 downloads. It’s onwards and upwards from here!
