Tag: hapee

The brief

In 2021, Hearing Australia engaged us to help develop materials and drive media engagement as part of their national HAPEE program (Hearing Assessment – Early Ears).

With 1 in 3 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids affected by serious ear and hearing troubles, HAPEE promotes awareness around early detection and hearing loss prevention through offering free diagnostic assessments to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who have not yet reached school age.

Our role was to develop a comprehensive range of materials to help with the program delivery on the ground. We also created the campaign’s tagline, ‘HAPEE Ears for Early Years’ featured throughout the materials.

As part of the program, HAPEE aims to upskill and support primary care providers, early education staff, and parents and carers with the ability to identify, manage and monitor potential hearing loss in young children. It was essential that these materials were engaging, useful, and spoke to stakeholders, parents and carers at a community level.

As part of the materials roll out and the program’s media and advertising output, we engaged ambassadors, Wiradjuri man, Luke Carroll (Actor and Playschool Presenter), and Gumbaynggirr, Dhungatti, Yamatji and Bibbulman woman, Emma Donovan (Musician), to draw on their lived experiences as parents and bring wider media and community attention to the topic of hearing loss in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids.

Video and Creative Production

To support the campaign, we produced several video products, including a 30-second television commercial and several videos for social media platforms. Video shoots took place at Hearing Australia centres located in Western Sydney and Cairns. We also coordinated a photoshoot with the campaign ambassadors and their children in Sydney, choosing a home setting to align most strongly with the community minded and family focused nature of the campaign.

The Impact

Increased awareness and prevention are at the heart of the HAPEE program. Delivered within a social and political landscape where communities were receiving higher than average amounts of health messaging due to COVID-19, it was vital we created materials and media discourse that cut through and made an impact about what continues to be an extremely important issue.

Overall, Hearing Australia enjoyed a significant increase in web traffic and the downloading of the newly developed HAPEE resources. Calls to their helpline also increased as a result of the media engagement.

HAPEE’s next phase will focus on partnering with Indigenous media outlets to gain deeper national traction, particularly across regional and remote communities, with a focus on access.

Image of Luke Carroll and Son with the book 'The Spirit of Sound'

Hearing health resources shine on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s day

New resources have been released to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander hearing health as part of Hearing Australia’s Hearing Assessment Program – Early Ears (HAPEE).

Hearing Australia has released a new video telling the story of the Spirit of Sound as part of ongoing efforts to improve the hearing health of First Nations children.

The ‘Spirit of Sound’ Storybook is a collaboration with artist Davinder Hart, of the Noongar nation and is available in Children’s Day packs from SNAICC (Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care) and at Hearing Australia’s centres across the country. The Storybook has been distributed nationally to childcare centres, community organisations and Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations.

A series of community events kicked off across Australia in August 2022  with storybook sessions and opportunities to meet with Hearing Australia community engagement officers.

Wiradjuri man, father and actor Luke Carroll and Gumbaynggirr, Dhungatti, Yamatji and Bibbulman woman, mother and songwriter Emma Donovan, are encouraging community to make sure children have regular hearing checks before they start school.

“A regular check is so important before they start school. Hearing is so important, especially in the early years to listen and learn. From birth, my daughter has had regular appointments with Hearing Australia, who have helped us to understand her deafness and different ways of communicating,” said Emma.

“I’m very proud to work with Hearing Australia to highlight the importance of a regular hearing check for our kids,” said Emma.

Luke, who stars in the Spirit of Sound storybook video, says Children’s Day is an important time to highlight the benefits of hearing checks to help kids to be their best and dream big.

“Our kids are far more likely to be affected by hearing issues than non-Indigenous children and it can severely impact their ability to listen and learn. Under the HAPEE Program, regular hearing checks are free from Hearing Australia for all First Nations children aged 0-6 not yet attending full time school and they give them the very best start in life” said Luke.

Joining Luke and Emma are local First Nations community ambassadors, including Richard Tambling, Elsie Seriat in the Torres Strait and Daniella Borg in Perth.
Jabiru based former AFL player, father and descendant of the Uwynmil people, Richard Tambling reflects on the importance of hearing in culture.

“When we’re out bush on country, we need healthy ears, we need hearing to learn our old ways and for our knowledge and for our Elders to share their stories,” said Richard.
“Hearing Australia’s HAPEE program means hearing checks are free, safe and simple. I encourage everyone to get their kids a regular hearing check, from birth.”

Resources are available for parents and educators to support hearing health on the HAPEE website.