Title | SELF |
Brand | ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN FOR ACTION & RESEARCH |
Product / Service | GENDER EQUALITY ADVOCACY GROUP |
Category | A06. Best Use of Other Digital Platforms in a Direct Campaign |
Entrant | LOWE SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE |
Entrant Company | LOWE SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE |
Advertising Agency | LOWE SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE |
Name | Company | Position |
---|---|---|
Other Credits | Leigh Reyes/Chris Bautista/Hernando Rugay/Patricia Torres/Ena Escanan | |
Caryn Koh | Account Manager | |
Mawar Quek | Group Account Director | |
Mihir Dhairyawan | Copywriter | |
Mandar Wairkar | Art Director | |
Eranga Tennekoon | Art Director | |
Noel Perlas | Creative Technology | Deputy Head |
Dominic Stallard | Chief Creative Officer/Executive Creative Director |
There are over 130,000 domestic violence cases in Singapore every year, but only 30% of them are reported, mainly due to lack of evidence. This app when activated, monitors for a spike in ambient decibel levels and automatically starts recording. It then saves the audio file in a secret folder to be used later by the victim applying for a protection order. The app also has an optional facility of automatically sending as SOS, via SMS to a nominated person, a secret folder for storing photographic evidence, as well as important information, such as police stations and help centres. Because of its sensitive nature, the app poses as a mirror until it’s unlocked by a secret gesture.
Singapore has the highest smartphone penetration in the world, which meant that the app would always be close to hand. It was also relatively easy to implement and a cost-effective solution, without the need for costly multiple channels, which was ideal for a non-profit organisation.
AWARE (Singapore's leading gender equality advocacy group), wanted us to find a solution to the fact that there are over 130,000 domestic abuse cases each year, of which, only 30% are reported, mainly due to lack of evidence. Our main aim was to give the victims something that would help them get a protection order, with something other than a testimonial in court. So we created the SELF app to covertly record the abuse, based on the insight that most attacks are accompanied by loud noise, like shouting and screaming.
The app won 1st prize at the Singapore National Council of Social Service pitch contest, so was completely funded, without AWARE having to pay development and marketing costs. Although the app was intended for use in Singapore, due to its popularity, it has travelled to other countries in the region, such as Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia, and Malaysia.