RIO TINTO: INDIGENOUS RELATIONS

PositioningCopywritingPhotographyStorytellingVideographyDigital DesignResearch & InterviewsCampaign Strategy

26 May

What can we be, together?

Rio Tinto set out to shift perceptions and culture by demonstrating the company’s commitment to retaining, growing and attracting Indigenous talent across its Australian operations. They needed a way to make that commitment real, visible and relatable so we partnered with Rio to design and deliver their first external storytelling-led campaign that put Indigenous voices at the centre. Through the personal experience of Indigenous leaders we created emotive films, on-Country photography and authentic narratives, we helped the business connect hearts and minds to a bold vision: What we can be, together?

The Challenge
Following a period of deep reflection, Rio Tinto set out to build a stronger foundation for cultural safety and Indigenous leadership across its operations in Australia. While incredible programs and partnerships were already underway, the challenge was visibility. How do you show, not just say, that change is happening? And how do you invite others to be part of it?

Our Approach
We gained insights through interviews and workshops focusing on respect and connection. We brought the findings to life through powerful storytelling; built on truth, trust and shared purpose. From early strategy through to filming on Country, we worked alongside Rio leaders and Indigenous employees to co-create a campaign that could shift internal mindsets and raise external awareness.
Services Provided
- Research & stakeholder discovery – Deep dive into audience mindsets, leadership priorities and business tensions around Indigenous inclusion. Included a series of research interviews with the selected talent to define the story arc for this campaign in a compelling and authentic way.
- Creative strategy – Defined the campaign territory, emotional drivers and messaging architecture to ensure alignment with Rio’s cultural change goals - as well as the greater brand as a whole.
- Concept development – Crafted the central idea “What we can be, together” as a unifying message across multiple audience groups and content formats.
- Scriptwriting & storyboarding – Wrote and structured all narrative elements, including a hero video script, 11 personal stories, interview frameworks and visual graphic treatments.
- Interviewing & directing – Conducted on-camera interviews with Indigenous and non-Indigenous talent across seven locations, capturing lived experience with care and cultural sensitivity.
- Photography & filming – Led production across WA, NT and QLD, creating portrait and action-based imagery and emotive video content on Country, in community and on site.
- Post-production & design – Delivered campaign-ready digital and print assets to complement the suite of videos. We also partnered on the landing page design for the videos and delivered social-ready formats for driving traffic to the website.