The Brief

This campaign shows how a powerful insight lead to creation of a very simple but highly targeted & effective media channel, which directly connected the target audience with the issue under discussion through a clear and straightforward call to action. By creating a new media channel – the blue shoelaces, and building it into a social currency among the target audience, we solved the brief in very effective and creative way and drove the desired response /actions among the school kids and even beyond.

Creative Execution

With very limited budget and restricted choice of media channels, there was no single channel that worked, so we created a new media channel – one that could effectively make its way into the classroom: Blue laces. Blue laces were seeded with key influencers, who could #LaceItUp in their own way, and share photos on social with a call to action. As momentum built, we deployed small teams to school and high-footfall CBD locations to chalk stencils on the pavement. With laces selling through the charity’s website, PR began being generated. By creating a connection to the issue and building a social currency, we encouraged kids to purchase the blue laces to show support and emulate their idols. The laces even made it to the floor of NSW Parliament in August. As Members debated homelessness during National Homelessness Week with #laceitup blue laces hung around their necks.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

In Australia, students are bombarded with charity and commercial messages, and they are often emotionally detached from the reality of youth homelessness. School is a unique marketing environment where students spend bulk of the day in a virtual media blackout. With limited budget our investment had to raise awareness of the issue and make tangible returns. Spending a night on the streets, we noticed that homeless kids sleep with their shoes on: never untying their laces. We wanted to make school children aware of this cold reality: homeless kids can’t take off their shoes.

Results

#LaceItUp’s success was unprecedented – connecting with the target audience in the classrooms, but also extending beyond the school gates. Enough blue laces were sold on the Charity’s website, to run the length of the Sydney Harbour Bridge over 630 times. Almost 300 editorial pieces generated earned media reach of more than 1.4 million Australians so far across online, print and radio. On Instagram alone, #laceitup reached 850,000 people with 32,000 engagements across the content. Most importantly donations increased by over 125% ! With the money raised, Youth Off The Streets can: • Offer over 250 nights of crisis accommodation; • Deliver over 500 weeks of learning at its high schools; • Supply warm clothing for 1000 disadvantaged youth; • Provide more than 5 years worth of counselling, family support and rehabilitation. All these were achieved with a total budget of only US$ 10,770!