The Question:
For three years we have been working with the Welsh Government to change attitudes to Violence Against Women and Domestic Abuse in Wales. We have worked on behavioural and attitudinal change across a spectrum of issues including tackling hostile sexism, stopping the blame of rape victims, tackling the escalation of domestic abuse instances during major sports events and prompting the general public to look out for the signs and symptoms of abuse amongst their friends, family members and colleagues. These are subjects that require a great deal of sensitivity and risk assessment due to the potential consequences that could fall out of a badly executed campaign.
The Answer:
Having a 360 view on the matter (we have access to victim case studies, domestic abuse charities and influencers in this field, comments from members of the public generated by our campaigns and also the political stand point) we are able to constantly refine our messages, ensuring we are being inclusive of all members of society that this issue affects. With control of all the web assets and social media we are in a position to react quickly and communicate via multiple platforms. For example, comments from the LGBT community after our first campaign led to the inclusion of same sex relationships in the second campaign. We are always balancing the needs of the audience with the priorities of the client to ensure the most satisfactory outcome for all parties.
The Result:
After 3 years we have an umbrella brand (Live Fear Free) well established in the mind of the consumer from which we can hang our various campaigns using integrated media channels (TV, radio, online, social media, outdoor, PR, videos, case studies and ambient media). We gained plaudits from the public and specialists alike for our innovative approach to tackling the role of social media in domestic abuse cases (www.facebook.com/livefearfree) – the campaign that ran in December was a first for tackling the subject of domestic abuse on Facebook. Another campaign specific example is the data from the All Wales Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Helpline. They saw a 30% (year on year) increase in call volume for the week following our Christmas 2012 Campaign.
