What you need to know:

• Aspect (Autism Spectrum Australia) is one of Australia’s largest autism-specific service providers. In 2022, Aspect redefined the United Nations’ World Autism Awareness Day into World Autism Understanding Day (WAUD) – a bold repositioning designed to shift the national conversation from passive awareness to active, practical understanding and action.
• The campaign was co-designed and co-delivered with Autistic individuals and parents of Autistic children, and included people of diverse ages, cultures and genders, ensuring authenticity and representation.
• The campaign was developed and designed entirely in-house.
• WAUD was not a fundraising campaign to drive donations or to promote Aspect to attract new customers/revenue, but a public awareness campaign to create positive change, drive inclusivity and greater understanding and acceptance of autism, while dispelling myths.
• The campaign previously took out the Not-for-Profit Marketing Campaign and Marketing Campaign of the Year (under $1m) in 2023.

Behind the story

In 2025, Aspect’s Marketing and Communications team wanted to grow the World Autism Understanding Day (WAUD) campaign messaging and outreach further amongst the general public.

With newly commissioned YouGov research revealing that only 50% of Australians understood autism, and one in three were unsure how to respond to an Autistic person, the goal was clear: empower people with the knowledge and tools to create inclusive, everyday interactions.

What we were aiming for

The campaign’s primary objective was to increase public understanding and drive resource downloads, engagement and reach across multiple channels. Specific KPIs included a 25% increase in Partnership Pack downloads, a 10% lift in website views and expanded national media and social media reach.

Our approach

With a modest budget of just $25k, Aspect adopted a phased, insight-led strategy that put Autistic voices at the forefront and prioritised practical action.

The creative concept was built around a single insight that emerged during Autistic community consultations:

“If you learn I am Autistic, this is what I’d like you to know, say and do.”

This simple, actionable statement underpinned every message, resource and engagement tool. The campaign ran across digital, social, grassroots, PR and government channels – all coordinated in-house by Aspect’s small but mighty marketing team.

Marketing activities included:

• customisable Partnership Packs tailored to schools, workplaces, individuals and government;
• expression of interest forms to build segmented databases and drive early engagement;
• a redesigned and accessible WAUD website categorised by audience type; and
• a national media strategy using YouGov data as a compelling news hook.

The team also used the opportunity to launch our TikTok channel to reach younger Australians, and reached out to partners and organisations we’ve worked with to donate ad space. Excitingly, eighteen organisations donated space valued at over $2 million, with WAUD content featured in high-traffic areas nationally, including airports, stadiums, retail centres and museums.

The difference we made

All campaign targets were exceeded:

• Partnership Pack downloads increased by 73% year-on-year (YOY)
• WAUD website landing page saw over 45,500 views – a 17% increase YOY
• Media reach hit 7.96 million — up 67% on the previous year
• Social media reach grew by 41% YOY, while engagement skyrocketed by 315% to over 31,000 interactions
• TikTok platform launch gathered a total of 39,000 views and 408 followers across 9 videos
• Grassroots advocacy saw approximately 65–80 organisations, 260–300 individuals, and 19 NSW Members of Parliament sharing content
• OOH placements reached over 4.27 million Australians, illuminating spaces like Sydney Airport, retail centres and the MCG, which was ‘lit up’ in Aspect’s colours and displaying digital ads

Beyond the numbers, qualitative feedback poured in from educators, families, professionals and Autistic advocates. Public comments highlighted how practical and inclusive the tools were, and how visible the campaign had become across everyday spaces.  Specific feedback on social media included:

• Thank you for spreading awareness and helping people to understand more about autism. You are all great advocates! – outbackbushbuddies
• What a brilliant campaign Aspect! SYD was proud to be part of it and is committed to making the airport more accessible for all, not just on one day, but every day. –Sydney Airport
• Congratulations on a fantastic resource breaking down barriers and helping us move towards a truly inclusive society. I especially love the resource for schools with great activity ideas and conversation starters. – Anonymous

The campaign reinforced Aspect’s leadership in autism understanding and helped cement World Autism Understanding Day as a key date on Australia’s national calendar.

Key learnings from the campaign include the importance of letting lived experience lead, the power of giving people clear guidance on what to say and do and the value of mobilising partners, schools and communities to extend reach. Embedding a national benchmark through YouGov research also established a strong foundation for future behaviour change measurement.

Get involved and help create change

Marketers, communicators and community leaders are warmly encouraged to get involved in 2026. Join Aspect and a growing national movement to build a more inclusive Australia. If your organisation would like to be involved fill in the Expression of Interest at aspect.org.au/waud