The Campaign

Reach is a youth Charity that believes every teenager deserves support, regardless of their situation. We wanted to raise awareness of Reach and show teenagers that everyone – even the most famous people in Australia – went through exactly the same stuff once. So we created The Open Book Project. The first phase was a call for entries to celebrities, TV and radio personalities, politicians, actors, sports stars, musicians and comedians asking to submit their own intimate diary confessions online at the openbookproject.com.au. This in turn encouraged visitors to the site to submit their own teenage diary entries to our website and their Facebook page. As our celebrity’s stories spread through the media, the public became captivated. The Project generated 59,944 page views, over $1.2 million of editorial coverage, and spread Reach’s message to over 9 million Australians in the month long campaign. And all for a total cost of $30,000.

The Brief

Our goal was primarily one of awareness with the broader Australian public, specifically adults, about what Reach does as an organization. We wanted these adults to upload their own diary pages that in turn would stimulate and create conversations online, specifically on Facebook. Allowing people to physically and emotionally engage with Reach was the ideal goal, and social media seemed the perfect vehicle for topics rarely spoken about in the real world.

Results

As our celebrity’s stories spread through the media, the public became captivated. The Project generated 59,944 page views, over $1.2 million of editorial coverage, and spread Reach’s message to over 9 million Australians in the month long campaign. And all for a total cost of $30,000. The Australian media loved the campaign, generating $1.2 million of editorial coverage. Prompting conversations about the struggles that all teenagers go through made the public aware of Reach and their commitment in helping Australian teenagers through their struggles.

Execution

The first phase was a call for entries to celebrities, TV and radio personalities, politicians, actors, sports stars, musicians and comedians asking to submit their own intimate diary confessions online at the openbookproject.com.au. This in turn encouraged visitors to the site to submit their own teenage diary entries to our site and their Facebook page.

The Situation

Reach is an Australian charity that runs workshops in over 500 Australian schools reaching more than 57,000 young Australians a year. The problem they face is many Australians are not aware of them and what they do. Reach approached us to come up with an inexpensive awareness campaign that highlighted the fact that they encourage young people to develop trust and openness, feel comfortable enough to express their concerns, discuss their aspirations and recognize that they’re not alone in the world.

The Strategy

Our strategy was to get Australian celebrities to share pages from their teenage diaries. After all, there’s probably nobody better than the rich and famous, with their seemingly glamorous and perfect lives, to demonstrate first hand that they went through exactly the same stuff as teenagers today. The celebrity diary entries were shared on our website and Facebook and acted as a device to prompt everyday Australians to share their teenage experiences online as well. We also used these real celebrity entries in outdoor, radio, magazine and direct marketing to great effect.