Sustainability Victoria - You have the Power. Save Energy

Sustainability Victoria is a state owned corporation whose charter is communicating to all Victorians the responsible use of natural resources and reducing the environmental impact of this consumption. Characterised by a number of high profile campaigns and initiatives, SV has interests in all sectors of the Victorian community, with its programs targeted at individuals, families, business and government.

Of these, one of the most well known is the greenhouse gas reduction campaign: "You have the Power. Save Energy" hallmarked by its innovative use of the "Black Balloon" device representing 50 grams of greenhouse gas emission. This device has been visually tied to appliance use and energy consumption in the typical Victorian residential home.

With a successful level of market penetration and awareness, it had been determined that the campaign needed to shift from raising people's awareness to getting them to act. Areeba were awarded the revamping of the campaign initiative, and were tasked with creating a higher level of community involvement using the website and the online medium as the central vehicle. Assessment of the existing website presence yielded:

• Heavy use of large blocks of text and minimal visual cues and interactivity
• Language use across the site was bland and uninspiring
• Audience was not clearly defined, with minimal catering to all but the academically inclined
• Visually, the site did little to encourage the visitor to explore the site and take the initiative to make a difference

With the above in mind, Areeba recommended a strategic review of content to re-brand with a sharper, more consumer driven focus. Part of this content rewrite included partnering with Content experts ui3. The strategy to appeal to an audience which were focussed on finding quick, readily digestible information in a non-threatening format was underpinned by creating a more interactive site which encouraged exploration of the different ways Victorians could introduce positive behaviour into their day-to-day lives.

Improvements to the new site include:

• Clear representation of consumer focussed communicative text which is succinct and to the point
• Introduction of language that reinforces positive action and encourages behavioural change
• Highly considered design of the audiences browsing behaviour and habits
• Information has been presented so that cross links and relevant information is presented to encourage exploration of the site

Ongoing site content is managed by SV staff using the RedDot CMS in a benchmark project for usability and accessibility. The site launch saw the introduction of revised information architecture and content design, with the visual imagery created to form a positive message of responsible consumer behaviour. Interactivity has been introduced with a consumer checklist of actions that can be committed to by site visitors as well as cross linked information and points of interest.