A Census is held once every 5 years in Australia. The primary objective of the Census is to get as many people as possible to participate, as higher participation ultimately results in better quality data. The brief for the 2011 Census was to help shift perception of the Census from a compulsory government initative to something compelling and relevant to the participants’ own lives - particularly members of Generation Y.

We knew that Gen Y would be difficult to reach using traditional channels, and that telling them they had to participate would be ineffective, and potentially counterproductive.

So instead, we concentrated on something we knew they cared about – themselves. We created Spotlight – a personalized online film that uses real Census data to tell a story about each visitor as an individual – who they are, where they live, where they’re from and what they do.

The unique tone and personalized nature of the site meant that Spotlight quickly gained traction through Facebook and Twitter.And once users had finished the site experience, we used their own data to extend the reach of the campaign. For each visitor, Spotlight can create a custom infographic that they can share through their own networks, giving us a unique way to draw more visitors back into the Spotlight experience.

In just a few short weeks, and without paid media support, this government website about statistical data was visited by more than a quarter of a million people, each spending on average more than four and a half minutes with the content. More than 37,600 personalised infographics were generated and shared online with over 61,500 views and 4,500 'likes'.

And while official Census participation rates won’t be released until later this year, data from Spotlight indicates that more than half of our visitors were from Gen Y, showing that our previously disinterested target were now actively engaging with us.