REWORD

TitleREWORD
BrandHEADSPACE
Product / ServiceREWORD
CategoryD01. Curation of Data
EntrantLEO BURNETT MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Idea Creation LEO BURNETT MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Media STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
PR INSIDEOUT Crows Nest, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Josh Popow Leo Burnett Melbourne Social Media Manager
Eric Lay Leo Burnett Melbourne Digital Designer
Matt Cahill Leo Burnett Melbourne Motion Graphics/Digital Designer
Michael Richardson Leo Burnett Melbourne Senior Front-end Developer
Ken Chen Leo Burnett Melbourne Senior Developer
Jodie Walker Leo Burnett Melbourne Front-end Developer
Joshua Armstrong Leo Burnett Melbourne Front-end Developer
Nick Hayden Leo Burnett Melbourne Back-end Developer
Monica Lewin Leo Burnett Melbourne Group Account Director & Strategic Planner
Lauralee Cuzner Leo Burnett Melbourne Account Director
Suzi Williamson Leo Burnett Melbourne Account Manager
Suzi Williamson Leo Burnett Melbourne Account Manager
Ee-Lyn Law Leo Burnett Melbourne Digital Producer
Johnson Diep Leo Burnett Melbourne Designer
Aaron Farrugia Studio Pancho Director of Photography
Jason Williams Leo Burnett Melbourne Chief Creative Officer
Cinnamon Darvall Leo Burnett Melbourne Senior Agency Producer
Ilona Janashvili Leo Burnett Melbourne Director of Integrated Strategy
Tim Shelley Leo Burnett Melbourne Associate Digital Creative Director
Nicole Ross  Leo Burnett Melbourne Head of Digital
Maria Borowski Leo Burnett Melbourne Agency Producer
Chris Steele Leo Burnett Melbourne Head of Social
Kaelene Morton Leo Burnett Melbourne Production Manager
Brandon Rice Leo Burnett Melbourne Social Creative
Matt Peters Leo Burnett Melbourne Social Creative
Edward Heckes Leo Burnett Melbourne Creative
Daniel Sparkes Leo Burnett Melbourne Creative
Daniel Sparkes Leo Burnett Melbourne Creative
Emily Gould Leo Burnett Melbourne Strategy Planner
Luke Torney Leo Burnett Melbourne Technical Director

The Campaign

Bullying has moved from schoolyards to social media. 7 out of 10 children suffer from cyberbullying but there is nothing to protect them. We created Reword, a real-time alert for online bullying. Reword is an educational tool that helps develop young people’s moral compass when they become active on social media. Reword uses a custom lexicon database to identify strings of words that form millions of potential insult combinations. As a child types, regex matching cross-references the database to identify abusive patterns, scanning for insulting phrases and bullying sentiment, not just swearing. When a pattern is found, the child is alerted with a red strikethrough, instantly interrupting behaviour and prompting them to reconsider their words. Reword is designed for children to become co-authors by adding their own bullying terms, helping Reword recognise evolving language and slang. Reword not only protects potential victims, but also stops children from becoming bullies themselves.

Creative Execution

A simple JavaScript tool, Reword integrates seamlessly across all social and messaging platforms. The user experience is influenced by a grammar checker, using syntax theory and regex matching to identify bullying patterns. When a pattern is identified, the red line is activated, along with a targeted alert message, limited to first use during each unique session. Gradually, as users become educated by the tool, only the red line appears – an intuitive symbol that encourages children to reconsider their words. During prototype development, we collaborated with Headspace Youth Mental Health Foundation and youth to refine usability and messaging. Testing showed 79% of kids were willing to reword when prompted. We launched Reword as a Google Chrome extension, housing it on a website where people could explore content, try the tool, contribute to the lexicon, and install Reword. After a successful pilot program, we launched in schools, supported with an integrated media campaign. Featuring shareable content of real kids, parents and experts, it highlighted the problem and presented Reword as a solution. Through the in-school program and social media, we invited children to add new insults to the tool, empowering them to take a stand against online bullying. The first six weeks showed distinct impact on behaviour: 84% of insults detected were reworded. Bullying behaviour per user dropped an incredible 67%. In the same period, Reword was introduced to 260+ schools nationwide and installed on 150,000+ computers. Our call to action resonated, generating over 20,000 insult submissions from young people, creating millions of new combinations. Now, with global coverage and public support from local and federal governments and expansion to a mobile application, Headspace is committed to implementing Reword in every school nationwide. Reword is changing online bullying behaviour, creating a new generation that respects each other – online and in real life.

Links

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