Brave new ways to move your audience
Populares works with brands ready to build movements. We apply decades of political persuasion expertise to unlock commercial performance. We help you understand your audience more deeply, find the right people to move, and activate them at scale.
Some call it movement marketing. We call it exponential growth.
Some call it movement marketing. We call it exponential growth.
We engineer behavioural shifts to unlock growth.
We work across strategy, research, data and audience insights, persuasive messaging, campaign planning, media buying and public affairs.
Below, you can see the challenges we are most engaged to overcome. But whatever your challenge, we bring the same values-based, persuasion-led methodology that moves people.
Below, you can see the challenges we are most engaged to overcome. But whatever your challenge, we bring the same values-based, persuasion-led methodology that moves people.
- Launch products in disrupted categories
- Build social licence and navigate regulation
- Shift beliefs shaping your category
- Evolve and reposition brands
- Build policy and advocacy movements, and
- Deepen member loyalty through community
Some of the great organisations we have worked with
Three Phases. One Growth Model
Most brands are drowning in sameness. Corporate Australia relies on identical data sets, familiar targeting logic and recycled messaging frameworks The result? Rising costs, falling relevance.
A new model is required. One that shifts from who people are to what they believe.
The result? Precision targeting and messaging based on what moves people - not [just] what they bought yesterday.
A new model is required. One that shifts from who people are to what they believe.
The result? Precision targeting and messaging based on what moves people - not [just] what they bought yesterday.
Map
…your persuadables. We identify the specific people most likely to shift preference in your favour, but not yet choosing you, and why - using data and political intelligence methods no other agency has access to.
Bridge
…the belief gap. We create narratives and identity markers that make choosing you feel obvious, aligned and low-risk. We arm your champions with meaning, not just messaging.
Activate
…at scale. We orchestrate campaigns across channels, test in real-time, and create social proof that compounds and drives the change. We mobilise the movement with precision and speed, until you achieve exponential scale.
This is building a belief-based movement. And it's how you build exponential growth.
This is building a belief-based movement. And it's how you build exponential growth.
Our services
Most client challenges fall into one of these six areas. If you recognise your situation, you’ll see where we can help.
If your challenge doesn’t fit neatly into a box, that’s fine. We shape the engagement around your objectives, working with your team to define the right approach.
The discipline stays the same - belief-led segmentation, persuasion testing and real-time optimisation.
How we apply it depends on what you’re trying to achieve.
If your challenge doesn’t fit neatly into a box, that’s fine. We shape the engagement around your objectives, working with your team to define the right approach.
The discipline stays the same - belief-led segmentation, persuasion testing and real-time optimisation.
How we apply it depends on what you’re trying to achieve.
What are you looking to achieve?
When you need Populares
What we deliver
Identify and persuade the specific people whose values align with your product - but who haven't found you yet.
How we work
See it in action
Origin Energy identified high-propensity EV owners in their customer database with 90% accuracy, leading to a 123% increase in customer acquisition in month one.
- Your target audience doesn't see themselves as your customer.
- You've done consumer research, but don't know how to activate it.
- Previous campaigns moved awareness, but didn't change minds
- Your standard product consulting services have not moved the needle
What we deliver
Identify and persuade the specific people whose values align with your product - but who haven't found you yet.
How we work
- We map your persuadables using political intelligence and data no other agency has access to.
- We identify what will genuinely move them, test messaging for persuasiveness before deployment, and activate across channels to create social proof that compounds.
- Values-based segmentation of your market
- Psychographic profiling of high-propensity buyers
- Persuasive narrative framework tested for effectiveness
- Multi-channel campaign orchestration
- Real-time optimisation and measurement
See it in action
Origin Energy identified high-propensity EV owners in their customer database with 90% accuracy, leading to a 123% increase in customer acquisition in month one.
When You Need Populares
What we deliver
A defensible constituency of informed supporters. Move from opposition to acceptance by persuading stakeholders and creating identity markers that make support feel like belonging.
Identify the beliefs beneath objections, then mobilise advocates. Identify early movers and create identity markers that make support feel safe and desirable.
Deliverables
See it in action
Community concern about hydrogen production shifted when we identified that beliefs about job creation and energy independence outweighed environmental concerns. See Fortescue Future Industries' story.
- You're facing organised opposition to your business or project
- Traditional PR and media relations campaigns aren't moving stakeholders
- Internal alignment exists, but external conversation is stalled
- You need social license to operate
What we deliver
A defensible constituency of informed supporters. Move from opposition to acceptance by persuading stakeholders and creating identity markers that make support feel like belonging.
Identify the beliefs beneath objections, then mobilise advocates. Identify early movers and create identity markers that make support feel safe and desirable.
Deliverables
- Stakeholder mindset mapping
- Advocate identification
- Persuasive narrative
- Community mobilisation
- Real-time sentiment tracking
See it in action
Community concern about hydrogen production shifted when we identified that beliefs about job creation and energy independence outweighed environmental concerns. See Fortescue Future Industries' story.
When You Need Populares
What we deliver
Shift how an entire category is perceived. Find early movers whose values align with the new narrative, create identity markers that make adoption irresistible, then mobilise them to recruit others.
Deliverables
EV adoption was stalled not by range anxiety, but because people didn't see themselves as "EV people." We identified early adopters whose values aligned with EVs, created identity markers around independence and innovation, then mobilised them as advocates. Brand evolution and repositioning. See how fast adoption accelerated.
- Market adoption has plateaued despite product quality
- Customer beliefs about the category are outdated or negative
- Existing messaging approaches haven't shifted perceptions
What we deliver
Shift how an entire category is perceived. Find early movers whose values align with the new narrative, create identity markers that make adoption irresistible, then mobilise them to recruit others.
Deliverables
- Category belief audit
- Early mover identification
- Persuasive narrative
- Identity markers
- PopScore™ tested messaging
- Advocate mobilisation
EV adoption was stalled not by range anxiety, but because people didn't see themselves as "EV people." We identified early adopters whose values aligned with EVs, created identity markers around independence and innovation, then mobilised them as advocates. Brand evolution and repositioning. See how fast adoption accelerated.
When you need Populares
What we deliver
Evolve your brand to new audiences without losing your base. Use values-based segmentation to identify who moves with you, who evolves, and who leaves - then message each segment accordingly.
Deliverables
See it in action
Repositioning from "industry super" to "ethical investment leader" required three distinct narratives: core members became advocates for ethical investing. See improved retention and acquisition accelerated for CBus Super.
- You're reaching new audiences but risk alienating existing customers
- Traditional segmentation can't tell you who will move with you versus who will leave
- You have a brand repositioning on values, not just features
What we deliver
Evolve your brand to new audiences without losing your base. Use values-based segmentation to identify who moves with you, who evolves, and who leaves - then message each segment accordingly.
Deliverables
- Values-based segmentation
- Psychographic profiling
- Belief framework mapping
- Segment-specific narratives
- Identity marker evolution
See it in action
Repositioning from "industry super" to "ethical investment leader" required three distinct narratives: core members became advocates for ethical investing. See improved retention and acquisition accelerated for CBus Super.
When you need Populares
What we deliver
Advocacy campaigns fail when they treat stakeholders as audiences to be messaged at. Movements succeed because each member recruits the next.
We find natural advocates and turn them into self-sustaining movement around your strategic position. Move from isolated voices to a groundswell.
Deliverables
See it in action
We identified voters whose values aligned with independent representation but who identified as loyal party members. See how the Teal Wave won an election.
- You need to move decision-makers on policy or regulatory issues
- Traditional government relations and lobbying aren't creating traction
- You need advocates who recruit other advocates, not just earned media
- You want community building and exponential growth
What we deliver
Advocacy campaigns fail when they treat stakeholders as audiences to be messaged at. Movements succeed because each member recruits the next.
We find natural advocates and turn them into self-sustaining movement around your strategic position. Move from isolated voices to a groundswell.
Deliverables
- Stakeholder mindset mapping
- Advocate identification
- Persuasive narrative
- Identity markers
- Champion recruitment
- Network analysis
See it in action
We identified voters whose values aligned with independent representation but who identified as loyal party members. See how the Teal Wave won an election.
When you need Populares
What we deliver
Sometimes, even satisfied customers leave for better value. Believers stay and recruit others.
We deepen member loyalty by building identity markers and advocate networks. Turn satisfied customers into believers who stay - and recruit others.
Deliverables
See it in action
Strong NPS but steady churn revealed members were satisfied customers, not believers. See how we built identity around ethical investment for CBus Super.
- Your NPS is strong, but churn isn't falling
- Your advocacy campaign has stalled
- You're competing on price or features with other membership models
- You want members to recruit other members
- You need to shift from "satisfied customer" to "believer who belongs"
What we deliver
Sometimes, even satisfied customers leave for better value. Believers stay and recruit others.
We deepen member loyalty by building identity markers and advocate networks. Turn satisfied customers into believers who stay - and recruit others.
Deliverables
- Member mindset profiling
- Values-based community identity
- Identity markers
- Advocacy toolkit
- Community platform
- Sentiment tracking
See it in action
Strong NPS but steady churn revealed members were satisfied customers, not believers. See how we built identity around ethical investment for CBus Super.
Where Belief Becomes Performance
We've built movements that shifted election results. Moved public opinion on issues that seemed impossible to move. Now we apply that expertise to help commercial brands acquire customers more efficiently, build loyalty that price can't undercut, and create competitive moats through belonging, not barriers.
- Origin Energy90% accuracy in identifying high-propensity EV buyers
- Cbus SuperBest acquisition month in company history through values-aligned targeting
- Teal Independents40% of voters switched lifelong party loyalty
Trusted in High-Stakes Environments
Stop Optimising Noise. Start Moving People.
Learn how belief-based brands build movements