Projects
Capital Raising
Digital
Community Engagement
Issues Management
Brand Building
Health
Events
Business-to-Business
The Marina Hindmarsh Island
Turning the tide
The situation. The Marina Hindmarsh Island (TMHI) is a $330 million residential development on the doorstep of the Lower Murray and the Coorong, where Australia’s biggest river meets a coastal playground and the Southern Ocean. The master-planned subdivision, which commenced in 1992, involved the creation of 1000 new allotments, 1100 marina berths, a retail precinct, four-star resort, yacht club, heli-pad and recreation areas.
The Marina Hindmarsh Island has travelled a very rough – and public – road. The resort-style development, which included a proposal to replace the ageing ferry with a bridge linking Hindmarsh Island with Goolwa, weathered dramatic controversy related to indigenous opposition and a subsequent Royal Commission into the construction of the Hindmarsh Island Bridge.
This resulted in significant delays and substantial adverse public opinion.
Objectives. With the Hindmarsh Island Bridge Royal Commission attracting national attention, one of the consultancy’s key challenges was to change the attitudes of the wider community and the media and encourage the media to leave the “controversial Hindmarsh Island Bridge” tag behind and highlight the success of the project.
The public relations program was designed to:
- Drive land sales in TMHI;
- Build the value of the “brand” to boost allotment value;
- Generate positive awareness of TMHI among prospective buyers, boat owners and the wider community;
- Drive visitation to TMHI, particularly return visitation by potential purchasers deterred by early visits to the stalled project;
- Foster acceptance of TMHI among key stakeholders, including builders, government, the local community, joint venture partners and the urban development industry;
- Secure closure to the ongoing controversy surrounding the Hindmarsh Island Bridge Royal Commission.
Elements. The communication program included the following key elements:
- Generating “milestone” events, award-driven and general publicity to drive land sales and build community acceptance;
- Promoting the availability of medium density allotments for sale to developers/builders through national publicity;
- Maintaining a consistent news presence in the media, combining general publicity with advertising features in metropolitan and regional media;
- Targeting interstate investors and marina and boating industry members through coverage in Australian and international boating and marina magazines;
- Providing strategic direction on the new website, including content, application and design – and establishing a news page where media can access news releases and updated photos;
- Writing and coordinating production of marketing material and a residents’ newsletter;
- Reinforcing TMHI’s commitment to the local community by securing publicity for community events;
- Identifying and supporting key sponsorship opportunities;
- Identifying industry, environment and community award opportunities for the project to build credibility within the industry and among prospective buyers.
Outcome. When the Hindmarsh Island Bridge opened in March 2001, TMHI experienced a surge in land sales. Since then it has become the fastest selling residential development in the State, with the project now 60 per cent complete.
The media has all but forgotten TMHI’s troubled past, with the phrase “controversial bridge” now a rare occurrence in coverage.
TMHI’s difficult history is now behind it. TMHI was named Australian Marina of the Year 2003. It was also recognised on an international scale with the prestigious Five Gold Anchors Award – only the second Australian marina and one of 38 worldwide to achieve this highest accolade.
