A brilliant campaign can easily fall flat.
Not because the creative or messaging was wrong. Not because the media strategy failed. But because the people who mattered most weren’t engaged or part of it.
We’ve seen it happen. What may have looked like a communications challenge was actually a people challenge.
That’s why it’s important to consider stakeholder relations and how it shows up in marketing and communications strategies.
Every organisation has stakeholders. Not every organisation engages them well.
When organisations think about their marketing and communications, the focus is often on reaching their target audience. But achieving real impact also requires talking to a variety of people who can be involved or affected by a business’ decision, launch or new offering.
A stakeholder engagement matrix can help identify which stakeholders require the greatest attention, have the most influence or should be consulted throughout a project or campaign. These stakeholders might include employees, customers, industry partners, government, investors, community groups, suppliers or the media, to name a few. It’s also important to remember that messaging should be tailored to each stakeholder group, addressing their needs and concerns.
Take Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers’ (QFVG) We Give A Fork campaign for example. It was shaped by ongoing conversations with growers, board and industry members, highlighting mounting pressures from rising costs to increasing regulatory and workforce challenges. Such discussions revealed key advocacy priorities that ultimately drove the campaign’s call for change across local, state and federal government.
These stakeholder insights helped generate national media attention, which in turn increased the campaign’s awareness. More proof that some of the most valuable understandings come from those closest to the issue, reinforcing the importance of early engagement with stakeholders.
Better engagement leads to better decisions
Taking the time to listen can have a greater impact than having the loudest voice.
When organisations create opportunities for genuine engagement with stakeholders, they gain access to different perspectives, lived experiences and local knowledge that can strengthen decision-making.
This same approach was used for The Paint Factory, where the plans for the former Taubmans site in Yeronga was shaped through active and ongoing engagement with artists, local residents, industry representatives and government stakeholders.
By bringing stakeholders into the conversation early, the team developed a vibrant vision for Australia’s first fully integrated arts village which reflected the needs of those who would live, work and play there.
This is why a strong stakeholder engagement plan should be considered from the start, giving organisations access to the insights that lead to more informed decisions.
The most successful campaigns create advocates
Through early and ongoing engagement with stakeholders, organisations can transform passive audiences into potential active supporters who help amplify messages and strengthen organisational credibility.
Bowel Cancer Australia has demonstrated this well. The organisation works closely with patients, survivors and their families, creating opportunities to share their lived experiences through media and advocacy initiatives. Those voices have helped raise awareness of bowel cancer, strengthen calls for policy change and highlighted a disease that affects more than 14,000 Australians every year.
The result is a network of passionate advocates whose voices often carry greater credibility and influence than any campaign message.
Why stakeholder relations deserve a place in every strategy
Whether it’s consumer engagement, employee engagement, community consultation or industry advocacy, the value lies in bringing the right people to the table because the strongest campaigns don’t just start with a message, they start with a genuine conversation with active listening.
If there’s one key takeaway from the experiences of QFVG, The Paint Factory and Bowel Cancer Australia, it’s that stakeholders have a genuine desire to contribute to something they’re passionate about.
They just need to be invited to take a seat.
