2022 Silver Charity | DMA

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2022 Silver Charity

T-refuge.jpg

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

2021 saw a troubling trend. Between April and May that year, there was a 97% average increase in the number of complex abuse cases that needing specialist Refuge support. 'Domestic abuse 2.0' allows abusers to operate from home or 200 miles away in ways that don't always leave a visible mark.
Rather than celebrate past achievements Refuge used its anniversary to meet the issues head-on. It aimed to shift perceptions and help affected women know that it can help, encouraging them to take action.
The objectives were to:
  • sound the alarm - get people talking about tech abuse, especially young women

  • make it loud - expose as many people as possible to the campaign, with no media spend and only donated media

  • 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