The Brief

The Center for Psychological Research, Shenyang, China, is a government body that is concerned about the rise of juvenile crime in the northern region. Their research shows a strong link between juvenile crime and childhood verbal abuse. They wanted parents and teachers of Shenyang to understand that this kind of abuse can cause significant psychiatric problems, sometimes even leading to violent crime. The objective was to give parents pause, to make them sit up and take notice about the style of parenting and the words they use with their children. The significant challenge was with such a small budget, how to create something that people noticed and that they felt deeply.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

We got six juveniles from the Shenyang Detention Center to narrate their stories. Artists then transformed the abusive words that had scarred the delinquents most during their childhood into the very weapons that they used to commit crimes in later years. Along with showing the words and weapons in an exhibition to teachers, the Center’s website told the stories through vivid motion graphics and emotional videos of six specific cases. And the site also connected those in need with the center’s psychologists.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

Nine TV channels covered campaign giving the campaign widespread exposure. Hundreds of teachers took part in the event. Thousands of parents learned from the website. And 326 calls were made to the campaign helpline in the first few weeks. 326 calls were made to the helpline in the first two weeks, along with creating 3,112,315 impressions on the Center's Weibo topic page. Over 30 websites (including government official sites) and 9 TV stations carried reports of this important campaign.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

We took the words of abuse and turned this type into the very weapons they used to commit their crimes. Craftsmen and artists transformed the abusive words first into nickel-plated steel. Then we created 3D equivalents and gave them a little weathering, for online digital use. This emphasis on the words themselves was both insightful and meaningful as the Centre very much wanted to concentrate on those 'words' as the core of their messaging.