2022 Silver Charity
13 Dec 2022
Agency: BBH
Client: Refuge
Campaign Name: Domestic abuse is getting smarter
Campaign Overview
Refuge offers vital support to the one in four women in England and Wales who experience abuse in their lifetime. It’s 50th anniversary was something to celebrate.
Strategy
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sound the alarm - get people talking about tech abuse, especially young women
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make it loud - expose as many people as possible to the campaign, with no media spend and only donated media
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provide refuge - help women who experience abuse find Refuge and engage with its services
Creativity
With no media spend, relying on organic or gifted coverage, Refuge needed to disrupt the category and shift perceptions of what domestic abuse is, beyond the familiar signs of physical abuse.
The team created a dual-pronged campaign. Firstly, it caught the public off-guard with a fake phone launch; the phone's features revealed as tools of an abuser. Secondly, it spoke to young women by 'hacking' celebrities' Instagrams, so followers could see ‘abuse’.
Results
By educating, not self-congratulating, Refuge's 50th anniversary became a new chapter in its impressive history of adaptation.
It shifted perceptions, evidenced by the +31% unique visitors to Refuge's website. These are women accessing Refuge's services for the first time; a life-changing step.
With two women being killed a week by a current or former partner in England and Wales, one campaign is never enough. But, if the viewer is inspired to think differently about abuse, donate, reach out to a friend or seek out Refuge for themselves, that represents success. Refuge sounded the alarm.
The Team
BBH - Helen Rhodes, Executive Creative Director - Joy Molan, Senior Strategist - Oliver Short, Creative - Jennifer Ashton, Creative - Isabella Bertolotti, Senior Account Director - Zimini Fongho, Account Manager - Lucy Moody, Strategy Director
Contributors
FleishmanHillard and Optical Arts