Queensland Racing Integrity Commission

Challenge

The Commission has a media and communications team with two officers and no designated marketing resource. While the Commission is a relatively small agency within the Queensland Government, it still has the governance requirements and functions of larger agencies.

To do so effectively, industry stakeholders need to remain well informed of any changes and events in the industry. “One of the primary things we need to do effectively is monitor news and social media. As the media landscape changes and becomes increasingly social, it’s where we go to see how the messaging of our industry is evolving,” says Principal Media and Communications Advisor, Vincene Overs.

The integration of news and social has also opened up new responsibilities for Vincene’s team, including the management of owned social channels and marketing for the Commission's initiatives such as their Greyhound Adoption Program. “There’s nowhere near as many journalists as there used to be. We've had to adapt to those changes by using channels such as social media to do our jobs,” says Vincene, “You can’t rely on those traditional channels anymore.”

With a rapidly evolving media climate and a wide remit of responsibilities, The Commission’s media and communications team needed a media intelligence provider that could service their needs to scale

Solution

“Having an understanding of what is happening in the racing industry on a daily basis is very important to the Commission,” says Vincene, “Much of what is occurring in the industry is spread across social media, print, online news and broadcast, so we need to have eyes everywhere.”

The Commission’s key staff want to know what people are saying about racing and the key players in the industry on any given day. “The Meltwater mobile application has been well received by the Commission as it delivers a newsletter to the Commission’s staff, which includes daily news media segmented into industry codes in a way which uses little time or resources.”

The Commission’s key staff are updated each morning and, if necessary, throughout the day of happenings in the racing industry. "The media and communications team is proud to be able to assist the organisation this way. When a media release is distributed we’re interested in how quickly it hits the airwaves or the online pages of Queensland and interstate publications. "

Social chatter is vital to the Commission, as it helps inform an understanding of industry trends and in turn share insights with relevant parties. By having available a wide suite of media data, the Commission’s media and communications team have been able to effectively demonstrate the integrated impact of marketing and communications on the success of their programs, and the Commission’s position in the industry.