A new campaign from Guide Dogs Australia aims to dispel misconceptions that the organisation only provides services related to its much-loved namesake, and encourage people with low vision or blindness to seek support from the charity’s wide range of services much sooner.

The campaign aims to speak directly to Guide Dogs’ existing and prospective Client base through a video with executions that are accessible and tailored specifically to people with low vision or blindness.

“We are so much more than an organisation that just provides Guide Dogs. In fact, 70 per cent of the support and services we offer are not dog related,” said Charlie Spendlove, Head of Marketing and Communications Centre of Excellence at Guide Dogs.

“Through the clever rearrangement of our main message on screen, we hope this campaign reaches more people through inclusion and accessibility. We want to start a conversation and for people to know that no matter their vision level, we have a service that can be tailored to increase their independence and help them reach their individual goals,” Spendlove said.

The video was developed in collaboration with a range of specialists including Guide Dogs practitioners and people with low vision or blindness, and features the singular message, “More than just Guide Dogs” animated on screen to change in size, position and colour to account for some of the most common vision conditions.

These include blurred vision, tunnel vision, peripheral vision, patchy blindness, field blindness, colour blindness and lastly total blindness.

The music and sound design have also been constructed to enhance inclusivity and add another layer of depth by creating a sense of each eye condition with an audio effect. The video’s voice over and audio description is provided by long-term Guide Dogs Client, Alistair Lee – a professional voice over artist who is also blind.

A broader campaign website features vox pop style videos from Guide Dogs Clients talking about their own experiences accessing a wide variety of services from Guide Dogs – everything from Orientation and Mobility to occupational therapy, white cane training, learning how to use accessible technology, peer support programs and more.

“It was important for us to work with our Clients and practitioners on getting the messaging and language used in the campaign correct, so we could ensure we are representing and appealing to the people we can actually provide support to,” Ms Spendlove said.

The video and campaign idea was developed from a partnership with creative agency, Thinkerbell.