St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland

Vinnies CEO Sleepout

The Vinnies CEO Sleepout® is an annual, national event run by the St Vincent de Paul Society (Vinnies) to raise awareness of and funds to address the issue of homelessness. The event challenges business, community and government leaders to sleep rough for one night and raise funds for Vinnies’ homeless support services.

Rowland has partnered with Vinnies Queensland since 2013 to plan, promote and execute the Vinnies CEO Sleepout® campaign in Queensland. Support each year is tailored to meet client requirements and specific campaign objectives.

Key activities and achievements throughout the years have included:

• developing and executing multi-audience integrated marketing communication strategies in collaboration with the Vinnies Queensland team
• managing and mentoring teams of communication and video production interns to extend the support available to Vinnies Queensland
• leveraging Rowland’s extensive database and network to share the Vinnies CEO Sleepout message and successfully engage new high-profile and high-fundraising participants
• securing significant media coverage in the lead up to, during and following the event
• managing participant communication, including providing templates and toolkits to support participants in achieving their individual fundraising targets
• developing and publishing social media content and managing responses
• providing event management support for the campaign launch, participant mentoring functions and main event
• coordinating the development of various campaign videos
• assisting Vinnies Queensland to successfully manage and mitigate the potential effects of activist activity and negative commentary.

In partnership, Rowland and Vinnies Queensland have exceeded fundraising and participation objectives on several occasions and secured the following awards for the Queensland Vinnies CEO Sleepout campaigns:

• Winner, 2018 PR Daily’s Nonprofit PR Award (fundraising campaign)
• Winner, 2016 Asia-Pacific SABRE Awards (not-for-profit sector)
• Highly Commended, 2018 Public Relations Institute of Australia Golden Target Awards (integrated marketing and communication campaign)
• Highly Commended, 2016 PR Daily’s Nonprofit PR Awards (corporate-nonprofit partnership)
• Shortlisted, 2018 Public Affairs Asia Gold Standard Awards.

The Vinnies CEO Sleepout is an important event for Rowland, with a significant portion of our communication support provided pro-bono as part of our Helping Hand program.

Rowland’s Chairman Geoff Rodgers has also participated in the event since 2011, served as an ambassador for eight years, and raised more than $585,000 for Vinnies’ homeless support services.

Rowland has an ongoing relationship with Vinnies Queensland providing media relations and issues management support.

Services

• Communication strategy
• Materials development
• Media relations
• Issues management
• Graphic design
• Video production