2023 Gold Voice or Audio

Agency: Wunderman Thompson

Client: HSBC UK

Entry Name: Safe Spaces

Executive Summary

When we think of domestic abuse, we think of physical violence. But that’s only one part of a much bigger problem.

Research revealed economic abuse is experienced in 95% of domestically abusive relationships, yet 69% of people don’t see the two concepts as related. This pointed to a huge awareness gulf, reflecting enemies that many of us can’t see, and pointing to an urgent story that needed telling.

Strategy

The team landed on a unifying insight: escaping an abusive relationship isn’t as simple as walking out of the door. Financial independence is the first and most vital step in a victim’s route out of these situations.

They also realised that as a bank, HSBC UK was intrinsically involved in the issue of economic abuse, by virtue of its products’ misuse being a direct cause of abuse. The creative thought was that a bank account should never be a barrier to escaping an abusive relationship.

Creativity

To bring the problem of financial control to life in radio, a male voiceover took control of the ad halfway through and changed the narrative. What starts out as a young woman explaining how she manages her money transforms into him telling you how he ensures that none of ‘his money’ is wasted on the things she likes to do.

Financial abuse can happen to anyone, so the message was taken to a broad cross-section of stations including Absolute Radio Network, Kiss Network, Hits Radio, Greatest Hits Radio, Magic Network, Smooth Radio Network, Capital Network, Radio X and LBC.

Digital audio was added on Dax, Octave and Spotify as the platforms can be used to reach users in intimate environments. HSBC UK targeted particular playlists where users were expected to have their headphones in so the message could be delivered without the risk of it being overheard, protecting potentially vulnerable users.

Results

Victims praised the campaign for raising awareness of this under-represented issue. One abuse survivor on Twitter shared the campaign stating: “What a simple yet informative campaign. I only wished this was around when I was younger.”

Results included:

• + 4% consideration, driven predominantly by the younger 18 to 34 audience; an 8% uplift during the quarter
• 40% reduction in the number of abusive messages sent on HSBC’s banking platforms
• visits to the Financial Independence landing page increased by 1400% during the campaign period

The Team

Wunderman Thompson: Mike Watson, Creative Director

Contributors

Knucklehead, Marshall Street Editors, Framestore & Company 3, PhD/Talon/Kepler and That Lot