REIMAGINEREIMAGINE || 6–266–26 APRILAPRIL 20212021

2021 EVALUATION REPORT Acknowledgment to Country Yuma Dhawura Nguna Dhawura Ngunnawal Yanggu ngalawiri dhunimanyin Ngunnawalwari dhawurawari Nginggada Dindi yindumaralidjinyin Dhawura Ngunnawal yindumaralidjinyin Produced by the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Hello, This is Ngunnawal Country Today we are meeting on Ngunnawal country © Australian Capital Territory, 2021 We always respect Elders, male and female This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, We always respect Ngunnawal Country no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission from:

The Environment, Planning and Sustainable Director-General, Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Development Directorate acknowledges Directorate, ACT Government, GPO Box 158, Canberra ACT 2601. the Ngunnawal people as Canberra’s first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians. Telephone: 02 6207 1923 We recognise the special relationship and Website: www.environment.act.gov.au connection that Ngunnawal peoples have with this Country. Prior to the dislocation of Ngunnawal people from their land, they were Accessibility a thriving people whose life and culture was The ACT Government is committed to making its information, services, events and connected unequivocally to this land in a way venues as accessible as possible. that only they understand and know, and is core to their physical and spiritual being. The If you have difficulty reading a standard printed document and would like to disconnection of the Ngunnawal people from receive this publication in an alternative format, such as large print, please Culture and Country has had long-lasting, phone Access Canberra on 13 22 81 or email the Environment, Planning and profound and ongoing health and well- Sustainable Development Directorate at [email protected] being effects on their life, cultural practices, families and continuation of their law/lore. If English is not your first language and you require a translating and interpreting The Environment, Planning and Sustainable service, please phone 13 14 50. Development Directorate acknowledges If you are deaf, or have a speech or hearing impairment, and need the teletypewriter the historic dispossession of the Ngunnawal service, please phone 13 36 77 and ask for Access Canberra on 13 22 81. people of Canberra and their surrounding regions. We recognise the significant For speak and listen users, please phone 1300 555 727 contribution the Ngunnawal people have and ask for Canberra Connect on 13 22 81. played in caring for Country as for time immemorial they have maintained a tangible For more information on these services visit http://www.relayservice.com.au and intangible cultural, social, environmental, spiritual and economic connection to these lands and waters. PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER CONTENTS

2021 theme and visual identity ...... 3

What was new for 2021?...... 4

Management and planning ...... 4

Festival program content ...... 4

ACT Heritage Grants showcased during the 2021 Heritage Festival ...5

Marketing and promotion ...... 6

Website ...... 6

Festival branding pack ...... 7

Pop-ups ...... 7

Festival booklet production and distribution ...... 7

Promotion, media and marketing ...... 7

T!lt campaign overview ...... 8

Digital campaign ...... 8

Social media campaign ...... 9

Out-of-home campaign ...... 9

Evaluation ...... 10

Festival de-brief ...... 13

WWW.ENVIRONMENT.ACT.GOV.AU/HERITAGE 1 London Bridge Woolshed at the Googong Open Day.

THIS WAS GREAT—I’VE LIVED IN CANBERRA SINCE 1960 AND LEARNT SO MUCH THAT I NEVER KNEW. IT WAS FASCINATING, THE PRESENTERS WERE FANTASTIC AND IT WAS THOROUGHLY ENJOYABLE.

TOUR OF CANBERRA’S RAIL HERITAGE (RUN BY ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA)

2 CANBERRA AND REGION 2021 HERITAGE FESTIVAL REPORT 2021 theme and visual identity

The Canberra and Region Heritage Festival (the Festival) was held from 6 to 26 April 2021. The program included 165 diverse events and involved 70 groups from the business, government and community sectors. The Festival celebrates natural, Aboriginal and historic heritage and raises awareness of the ongoing need to conserve the heritage of the Canberra region. Each year the Festival is refreshed through a different theme, allowing for new perspectives and new partnerships. For 2021 the theme was ‘Reimagine’. After the cancellation of the 2020 Heritage Festival, ‘Reimagine’ was even more apt. ‘Reimagine’ was a chance for people to redefine or reconsider what heritage is, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions created heightened interest in our neighbourhood. ‘Reimagine’ looks backwards and forwards and aligns with the Australian Heritage Festival theme of ‘Our heritage for the future’. Three main graphics, developed in a pop art style, resonated well with Canberra’s mid-century building boom and with audiences. The creatives were optimised for the three targeted audiences.

REIMAGINE YOUR IDEA OF OUR IRREPLACABLE ABORIGINAL, HISTORIC AND NATURAL HERITAGE AT APRIL’S HERITAGE FESTIVAL. What was new Festival program content for 2021? → 165 events were hosted by 64 different community groups, not- for-profit organisations, ACT and Australian government agencies → Program ‘tip-on’ on the front and private tourism operators. This was a great result after the cover of ‘Canberra Weekly’. cancellation of the 2020 festival due to the pandemic. → Artwork from local artist → 52% of events were free. The majority were affordable and Hannah Minter. accessible. → Feedback cards with a QR code → This year the Festival welcomed 12 new event organisers, distributed by event organisers. including: → ‘Heritage at Home’ where free > Ginninderry Conservation Trust virtual tours and talks were > Girl Guides ACT and SE NSW Region available. > Braddon Collective → Online promotion with RiotACT. > Yarralumla Residents Group → COVID-safe provisions including the Check in Canberra app. > Red Hill Primary School > The Old Barn Pialligo. → Aboriginal culture featured in six events with tours, exhibitions and demonstrations. → Attendance numbers for larger events: > Artists-in-Residence Exhibition = 940 > Lanyon Harvest Day = 750 > Canberra Railway Museum = 449 > Wings of Dickson exhibition & sign unveiling = 400+ → Regional partners held activities throughout the Festival, including Bungendore, Bungonia, Marulan, Yass, Queanbeyan and Goulburn; 22 regional events were staged ranging from exhibitions, tours, open days, performances and forums. → The Festival enabled access to places normally closed to the public such as inside Manning Clark House, Swinger Hill, London Management Bridge Woolshed and Homestead, and Parkwood Chapel. and planning

The Festival was coordinated by ACT Heritage with communications, publication and graphic design support from the Environment, Planning Sustainable Development Directorate (EPSDD) Communications Team. The marketing campaign was directed by Tilt Agency.

The 1939-built Forrest Fire Station houses the Canberra Fire Museum. Over 250 people visited during the Festival. [Mary Gleeson]

4 CANBERRA AND REGION 2021 HERITAGE FESTIVAL REPORT ACT Heritage Grants showcased during the 2021 Heritage Festival

A large number of projects funded through both the 2019–20 and 2020–21 ACT Heritage Grants rounds were showcased. In 2021, 16 projects held an event or activity during the Festival included:

→ Engineering Australia bus tour → All Saints Ainslie ‘Station of the Cross’ → National Trust’s Heritage Polaris → Rock Valley picnic day → Canberra Railway Museum open days → Canberra Modern’s 10 various events → Canberra & District Historical Society cricketing exhibition → Heraldry and Genealogy Society → Girl Guide Uniform Display → Reid Residents Association tours → School unveiling ceremony → Canberra Fire Museum open days → Red Hill P&C 60+1 anniversary open day → Sullivans Trail walk and talk

→ Cuppacumbalong Reminisce, Recreate, Reimagine Girl Guides started in Canberra in 1927. A collection of → Forrest Residents Group tours. uniforms and badges from the last 90 years were on display. [Mary Gleeson]

TOO MUCH GREAT STUFF ON—CAN WE HAVE HERITAGE YEAR?? JULIA RAINE 11 APRIL VIA FACEBOOK

WWW.ENVIRONMENT.ACT.GOV.AU/HERITAGE 5 Marketing and promotion

Website The website resulted in an average of 420 page views per day, slightly up from 413 in 2019.

→ The program was live for 48 days = 20,171 visits 20,171 → Biggest days: > 19 March, the day after launch visits in 48 days day = 1,646 pageviews > 20 March = 1,543 views > 6, 7, 8 April, the three opening days of the Festival = about 1,560 views each → When compared to previous years, adjusted to 37 days 19 42page views per0 day March > 2017 = 7,656 > 2018 = 9,038 biggest day > 2019 = 13,520 > 2021 = 15,540 Heritage Festival Page 1,646 Second most popular → the Heritage Festival page was page views 2 after Namadgi National Park the second most popular page after Namadgi National Park for environment.act.gov.au

Top 10 referrers:

TOP REFERRER 2021 2019 2018 2017

m.facebook.com 4,322 60% 5,944 672 830 Visitcanberra.com.au 1,190 17% The-riotact.com 393 5% Hercanberra.com.au 293 4% 221 126 l.facebook.com 271 606 Nationaltrust.org.au 256 Instagram.com 66 Act.gov.au 32 458 682 126 Canberratimes.com.au 30 751 Anumc.org.au 27

6 CANBERRA AND REGION 2021 HERITAGE FESTIVAL REPORT Festival branding pack Festival booklet Promotion, media The festival pack contained a suite production and and marketing of promotional materials and distribution → Minister Vassarotti launched the tips for organisers to effectively → The Festival booklet was Festival at Dirty Janes Antique promote their event and heighten published as a tip-on on The Emporium on Thursday 18 awareness that their event was Canberra Weekly on 18 March March 2021. This resulted in part of a larger festival. The 2021, 19 days before the start television coverage on WIN. pack was available from late of the Festival. The Canberra → Four ‘Whole of Government February 2021 and used by 56% of Weekly has a print run of 43,500 Notices’ about the Festival and organisers. It included: and readership of 96,600, with one about the Festival survey average 94% pick-up rate. went out to approximately 20,171 → Eventbrite banners 64% of magazines are picked 24,000 ACT Government → Email signatures visits in 48 days up at shopping centres and employees. → social media pack supermarkets. There are a total → Three media releases were of 900 outlets in the ACT, 51 in → poster template issued from both the Minister’s Queanbeyan and 20 in region. → other templates to be used on office and the Environment, site such as arrows, toilet or → 5,000 extra booklets were Planning and Sustainable ‘tour starts here’ signs. distributed via the pop-ups Development Directorate. and in venues such as public Organisers could book one of libraries and the Canberra and three Heritage Festival flags for 19 Region Visitor Centre. Event 42page views per0 day March their event. organisers also had copies to biggest day distribute.

Heritage Festival Page 1,646 Second most popular page views 2 after Namadgi National Park

Pop-ups These stalls provided a colourful focal point for Canberrans to learn about the Festival from staff and stakeholders. Hannah Minter’s artwork was printed on postcards, temporary tattoos and 1000 bags. Each bag had a copy of the program, postcard, tattoos and badges from Dirty Janes (where the Festival was launched). The public also had the opportunity to make badges using these quirky graphics.

→ , 25 March 11am–2pm → Neighbourhood Day at Taylor, 28 March 12–3pm

Neighbourhood Day at Taylor

WWW.ENVIRONMENT.ACT.GOV.AU/HERITAGE 7 T!lt campaign overview → The 2021 Festival was supported by a marketing campaign directed by T!lt Agency. T!lt developed a targeted marketing strategy for the Festival, liaised with media and advertising agencies and were responsible for monitoring the campaign performance and redirecting graphics on Facebook to capitalise on exposure. → The three primary target audiences were young families, young adults and mature adults/empty nesters (55+). → To reach target audiences, the campaign used Google search, retargeting audiences and displaying ads in shopping centres, cafes and universities. → The campaign included tools used in previous years, such as the program delivery via Canberra Weekly, advertising in ‘Holiday Happenings’ and ‘Her Canberra’. → Overall, the digital and social campaign reached about 885,000 people, with approximately 21,000 clicks through to the Heritage Festival website. Digital campaign → Digital tools included Google search, retargeting audiences and the partnership with Her Canberra and RiotACT. > Google search – people who search on Google for ‘Festivals’, ‘Heritage’ and ‘Canberra Heritage Festival’ were provided with Heritage Festival ads leading them to the website. This campaign performed very well, receiving 13,719 impressions with a click through rate of 15.45% (compared to the industry average of 1.99%). The top performing audience segments were ‘Art & Afficionados’ and ‘Outdoor Enthusiasts’. > ‘Her Canberra’ partnership included banner ads on their website, a series of editorial pieces on the Festival that highlighted both the broader Festival and a range of individual events (e.g. Brindabella sunset event). They also promoted the Festival on their Facebook and Instagram pages. This led to a reach of 20,217 people and resulted in 404 clicks to the website. Their Instagram post on 22 March 2021 featuring video of Aboriginal weaver Gail Neuss (National Arboretum) delivered 8,481 impressions. > RiotACT included booked articles (Tidbinbilla and All Saints Ainslie Church) and social posts. They had an overall reach of 61,066 people and achieved 2,980 engagements. The Heritage Festival feature article ‘The fascinating history and heritage of Canberra and the region on show’ was shared in RiotACT’s Daily Digest on 3 April 2021. Social media campaign → Ads were promoted across Facebook. → Socials reached 152,679 people, with 8,632 link clicks and a click through rate of 1.4%, surpassing the standard social benchmark of 0.20%. → The campaign also performed best with ‘P18+’ and ‘Families P31–50’. → ‘Young adult P18–31’ was the most expensive age group across the campaign. Out-of-home campaign → Digital display ads were included in shopping centres, cafes, and at the Australian National University and University of Canberra from 4 to 18 April 2021: > Four smart panels at Belconnen and Woden Westfield Plazas. > Seven retail panels at Canberra Centre. > Four panels in cafes. > Nine study panels at the universities.

WWW.ENVIRONMENT.ACT.GOV.AU/HERITAGE 9 Evaluation

Evaluation surveys for participants and event organisers were provided to each individual organiser. There were 267 forms collected from participants via the new QR code on business cards. 1. What do we know about the audience?

1% ery satisfied 2% atisfied

11% verage oor

86%

97% of participants who completed a feedback form were very satisfied or satisfied with the event they attended.

2. How did you find out about this event?

68 69 66 68

54 48 42 44 35

24 21 15 12 11

4 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 Festival Word of Other ocial Heritage Canberra Advertising HerCR Outdoor Radio Heritage CR printed mouth media Festival Weekly flyer for signage Festival Centre program website event stall promotion

2021 2019

10 CANBERRA AND REGION 2021 HERITAGE FESTIVAL REPORT 3. Did you know this event was part of the Heritage Festival?

Yes No Don’t know

Yes No Don’t know

15% 1% 84%

This result shows the success of the branding pack used by event organisers and ACT Heritage promotion.

4. Have you attended the Heritage Festival in previous years?

Yes

No

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

This is the first time since 2011 that there were more people who had previously been to a Heritage Festival event. With the inability to travel (pandemic restrictions) there were more Canberrans around to reacquaint themselves with what is available within the ACT and region.

5. Most liked at events were:

Engaging and Learning Setting/ Access Quality of Kids/family Well Food Use of Community Music Reminiscing knowledgeable about atmosphere to site displays/ activity organised & drink technology participation presenter history friendly activities

WWW.ENVIRONMENT.ACT.GOV.AU/HERITAGE 11 6. Improvement to event with:

18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Better Clearer Poor More tours/ Provide More Amplification Timing More Earlier Tech More support Better organisation instructions facilities access handout/ catering publicity notification problems from Govt COVID more info awareness

7. Event Organiser Feedback

18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Event ery atisfied Average Media & ery atisfied Average Distribution, ery atisified Average Use of es o success satisfied promo satsfied quality & satisfied branding kit content

60 teams depart for a 7-hour biking event navigating their way to as many of the 40 checkpoints – most linked to heritage sites, as possible. [Linda Roberts]

12 CANBERRA AND REGION 2021 HERITAGE FESTIVAL REPORT Festival de-brief

On 11 May 2021 ACT Heritage held a debrief session was to discuss how this year’s Festival went, opportunities for improvement, possible dates for the 2022 Festival and the proposed 2022 theme. There were 26 in attendance including the Minister, Chair of the Heritage Council and Deputy Director-General. Discussion included:

→ 2022 dates of 9 to 25 April with possible extension to 1 May due to Easter and Anzac public holidays. This would incorporate the ACT and NSW school holidays. → Reflection on positive aspects with the experience of past COVID restrictions: > Greater interest in suburban walks > Less ‘no shows’ at events as people were aware that others would miss out with strict attendance limits → Avoided a clash with the Running Festival → Importance of eye-catching graphics to promote the Festival → Directions for 2022: > Compile more opportunities to pitch to media in lead up to Festival and different events, noting there may very limited space in current media environment (with COVID messaging taking up most space, whether on vaccines or otherwise). > Possibility of an accommodation partner to attract more interstate visitation to Festival events. > Earlier start to develop artwork. > Liaison with Dhawura Ngunnawal Caring for Country Committee to increase awareness of opportunities for more events focused on Aboriginal cultural heritage. > Continue with badges, postcards and bags.

HUMAN SCALE EVENT—NOT EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE ABOUT FAMOUS LANDMARKS. MIX OF EXPERTS: BUILDING HISTORY, GARDEN HISTORY AND PLANTING. MODERNIST GARDEN EVENT PARTICIPANT

WWW.ENVIRONMENT.ACT.GOV.AU/HERITAGE 13