Australia’s total fertility rate fell to 1.481 babies per woman in 2024. That’s below 2023 (1.499), well below 2014 (1.795), and far short of the 2.1 replacement threshold. It has been below replacement level since 1976.
The data reflects a deeper shift in how Australians think about parenthood. Women aged 25–35 are delaying fertility decisions for layered reasons: economic insecurity, career ambition, a social script that frames adulthood as something to complete before starting a family, and a quiet overconfidence that medical science will fix the problem later. Parenthood has become a capstone, not a cornerstone.
This shift is showing up in GP consultations. Only 1 in 10 women have ever spoken to a GP about fertility before trying to conceive. Low GP contact rates, a contraception mindset, present bias and a system that doesn’t build fertility into standard preventive care all mean the conversation starts too late, if it starts at all.
Merck identified an opportunity to support people with credible fertility health information earlier in their search to enable confident and informed choices.
We built the campaign around a simple but powerful reframe: fertility literacy is about freedom, not pressure.
Research revealed that women aged 25–35 care deeply about their future options, but fertility often feels like a distant issue for their “future self”. Traditional fertility communications tend to appear too late and rely heavily on clinical language, statistics or fear-based messaging.
Rather than relying on traditional clinical messaging, we repositioned fertility literacy as part of broader health wellbeing, future planning and self-care. The campaign centred on a simple idea: understanding your fertility earlier gives you more freedom and more choices later.
This strategic shift informed every aspect of the campaign’s creative development. We designed content to feel native to the environments where Australians aged 25–35 already seek advice about health, fitness, relationships and life planning. Instead of polished healthcare advertising,
Fertility Fit used bold colours, relatable scenarios, myth-busting content and accessible explanations of what it means to be “Fertility Fit”. The aim was to stop the scroll, spark curiosity and make fertility feel relevant long before parenthood becomes an immediate priority.
The campaign launched as an integrated ecosystem spanning TikTok, Meta, Pinterest, Google Search, influencer partnerships, earned media and in-gym activations through Fernwood Fitness and Fitness First and GP education campaign. Authentic lived experiences from creators including Brittany Hockley, Chanel Contos and Reece Conca helped normalise fertility conversations, while trusted medical experts such as Dr Preeya Alexander provided evidence-based education and credibility.
A dedicated campaign website connected audiences with practical fertility information and a direct pathway to healthcare professionals through a “Connect with a GP” function, helping bridge the gap between awareness and action.
Fertility Fit successfully transformed fertility from a treatment-stage conversation into a mainstream lifestyle and wellbeing topic.
The campaign generated 52 million impressions, more than 170,000 website visits and 15.4 million earned media reach (across more than 90 media outlets). Coverage across major national publications including The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age helped elevate fertility literacy into broader public discussion, significantly exceeding original PR targets.
The platform-native creative approach proved particularly effective. Audiences engaged strongly with myth-busting content, personal stories and educational resources, while influencer content Organic influencer content reached 582,000 views and thousands of meaningful interactions. Comments revealed a recurring theme: many people wished they had received this information sooner. Healthcare professionals also publicly endorsed the campaign, reinforcing both its credibility and its relevance.
The Fertility Fit campaign demonstrated that fertility education can be proactive, empowering and culturally relevant. By meeting people in the spaces where they already seek guidance about their future, the campaign helped normalise earlier fertility conversations and encourage more informed decision-making.
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