The COVID-19 pandemic was a truly tough time for everyone in terms of their physical health, mental health, and overall well-being.
While some were suffering from challenges in their physical health, others were struggling with the effects of the pandemic on their mental health.
… but did you know that during this time also, there was another group of people experiencing a different kind of problem?
We’re talking about domestic abuse.
During the onset of the pandemic, a surge in domestic violence was anticipated by the Canadian Women’s Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on helping women and girls.
The pandemic-induced lockdown measures furthered the problem, with victims of abuse being even more closely controlled and monitored than usual.
So, in partnership with Canadian Women’s Organization, advertising company TBWA was tasked with finding a way to combat this devastating increase in domestic violence.
How?
By providing a tool that victims could safely use during lockdown to seek help.
The “Signal For Help” Campaign
When women—or men—face violence at home, they aren’t free to do as they choose. Their communications are often monitored and they have little, if any, privacy.
Imagine how much worse that was during the lockdown. Victims of abuse might have not had any escape or reprieve.
For these people, asking for help was more difficult than under normal circumstances because of a cultural shift in how people communicated during the pandemic: ONLINE.
There was no simple, covert way to ask for aid since communication with the outside world was more limited than ever.
With that, Canadian Women’s Foundation and TBWA created a tool that victims used to safely signal that they needed help without being detected.
Enter the “Signal For Help”…
Photo from The Work
The “Signal For Help” is an untraceable and discreet one-handed gesture designed as a continuous hand movement that could be easily visible over a video call.
The signal involves holding your hand up to the camera with your thumb tucked into your palm, folding your fingers down and trapping your thumb in your fingers.
The gesture means, “reach out to me safely.”
Photo from TBWA
Once the signal was established and successfully promoted, Canadian Women’s Foundation and TBWA made sure people knew how to respond and intervene when someone showed them the signal.
So, they created a number—540–540, the numerical representation of each part of the hand gesture—that Canadians could text. This was where texters would receive a free action guide with the best ways to respond.
Photo from TBWA
Was Canadian Women’s Foundation’s “Signal For Help” campaign effective?
Not long after it was established, the signal became viral not only in Canada but also in different parts of the world.
In fact, it received many press coverages and even helped rescue a missing girl after using the hand signal on TikTok!
Photo from The Work
Here are other results of the campaign:
- Over 5 billion organic media impressions
- Around 1,600 coverage articles across the globe
- A total of 45 countries covered the “Signal For Help” campaign
- A 2.6% increase in traffic to the Canadian Women’s Foundation website
- Five lives of women were saved, thanks to the signal
- Around 42,000 people signed up to become responders
Great job on this, Canadian Women’s Foundation and TBWA!
Clearly, these results show that a simple gesture can make a BIG difference in the lives of many people around the world.
*Applause*
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It’s amazing how guerrilla marketing can be used not only for promoting a brand or business but also in contributing to the betterment of the society.
Take for example this strategy from the Canadian Women’s Foundation in partnership with TBWA…
The goal was not really to get the public’s attention to the non-profit organization, receive donations, and the likes; the goal was to implement something good for the welfare of domestic abuse victims, especially at a time when communication was hard.
Do you see the point?
When you think of a marketing strategy to execute, don’t just think about what’s in it for you and your brand. First think about your target market—what they need and want—and anchor your ideas on how you can address that.
You’ll see, as you prioritize your target market, your engagement rates, sales, revenue, profit, growth, etc. will come naturally… you won’t even have to force it.
Take inspiration from the playbook of the Canadian Women’s Foundation!
With genuine concern for your target audience, you’ll be able to set your brand apart from the rest and make an impact on society.
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Fridays: Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing”
Jay Conrad Levinson (1984) said that Guerrilla Marketing “works because it’s simple to appreciate, easy to execute, and inexpensive.”
Guerrilla Marketing is unconventional.
Looking beyond the traditional ways of advertising, marketers and advertisers need to spice things up in order for their brand to have campaigns that not only make an impact but also stick to their target market’s mind.
Guerrilla Marketing usually aims to have direct contact with consumers.
This type of direct contact should spark an emotional reaction that leads to consumers effectively remembering the brand.
It’s about making a big impression and making that impression last a long time (if not forever).
Guerrilla Marketing can be inexpensive.
The effect of this is being able to create a buzz around the brand, and the strategy used to market it. Almost everything is passed around through word-of-mouth.
Word-of-mouth is one of the greatest outcomes and it usually doesn’t cost anything.
This is every business’ or brand’s dream!
Every Friday, we publish tips, examples, and other useful content on unconventional ways of marketing and promotion.
Learn more about how to grab your target market’s attention and make an amazing first and lasting impression without having to spend a lot of money.
Businesses don’t really need to spend much for a guerrilla campaign. You do not need a big budget to be successful. You just need creativity and a good imagination.
Hope you find this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Friday’s “Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing!”
Cheers,
Dyane Diasanta
Senior Content Writer
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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