$600 000 Outdoor Media Campaign Helping People Help Themselves

The Big Issue has teamed up with the Outdoor Media Association (OMA) to launch a $600,000 pro-bono outdoor campaign, showing people how just $5 a fortnight can help homeless and marginalised Australians earn an income.

The two-month national campaign that was launched on Monday 27th April will run across billboards, bus and tram shelters, transit (buses, trams and taxis) as well as in shopping centres, raising awareness of The Big Issue and how the street magazine enterprise works.

The creative for the campaign was developed pro bono by Melbourne agency, the blue group, who came up with the tag line “You pay five. I earn half. Everyone feels good.” and features one of The Big Issue’s very own vendors, Brian.

The Big Issue CEO Steven Persson said the new campaign drew on extensive market research that showed the need to tell The Big Issue story in a straightforward way.

“Earlier this year we undertook a market study that examined what people think about The Big Issue and we found that a lot of people did not understand the connection between purchasing the $5 magazine and how it directly helped those who were selling it.” Mr Persson said.

“What we also learned is that once people did understand how the magazine enterprise worked they thought it was a great initiative and wanted to get behind it.

“As Australia experiences tough economic times we need to support our vendors more than ever.

“We are grateful to OMA and the generous support of their members in assisting us to cement our position as a magazine that people love, sold by vendors that people want to support,” Mr Pearson added.

Chief Executive of the OMA, Ms Helen Willoughby, said they were delighted to be once again supporting the Big Issue and its many hundreds of vendors.

The Big Issue would like to thank the blue group, photographer Saville Coble and OMA’s Media Display Members, Printers and Installers.

Click here for the locations of some of our roadside billboards. 

Check out the blue group, photographer Saville Coble and The Big Issue team as they spend the day in Melbourne conducting a photoshoot for the new ad campaign!