The Campaign

The idea behind The Refugee Collection was to showcase in the most powerful and shocking way the plight of refugees worldwide. To confront an oblivious public with the tragic conditions experienced everyday in refugee camps around the world, and share the personal story behind every horrific event that shapes each and every refugee life. To achieve this, RIJ Volunteers collected 100+ exclusive items in refugee camps from Somalia to Myanmar. All the objects were donated by refugees who wanted to send an unforgettable personal message to the people of Japan. Each item was placed in a once in a lifetime bespoke piece of packaging that looked innocent on the outside but contained the tragedy inside. The packaging design was further complemented with the name of the donor and the story behind the object. The collection was launched in a special Pop-Up shop where all objects were up for sale.

Creative Execution

The Refugee Collection is a collection of 100+ exclusive items collected by RIJ volunteers in refugee camps from Somalia to Myanmar. All the objects were donated by refugees who wanted to send an unforgettable personal message to the people of Japan. Each item was placed in a once in a lifetime bespoke piece of packaging that looked innocent on the outside but contained the tragedy inside. The packaging design was further complemented with the name of the donor and the story behind the object. For the launch, a Pop-Up shop was opened in Omotesando, the most upmarket shopping street in Tokyo, where all the objects were made available to buy. Supported by an integrated campaign including PR, posters, digital, social and an online store, the collection sold out in 48 hours breaking all RIJ donations’ records. All funds generated reverted back to the refugees who donated the items.

Results

The collection sold out in 48 hours breaking all RIJ’s donation records and the Pop-up shop was visited by more than 1200 persons. The PR effort generated articles in the biggest Japanese newspapers and coverage on the most popular digital news platforms, generating more than 33,000,000 impressions.

The Refugee Collection is a project routed in Direct as it reached out to its audience with a collection of objects donated by refugees in exchange for donations. All the 100+ objects, collected in refugee camps from Somalia to Myanmar, were placed in a once in a lifetime bespoke piece of packaging that looked innocent on the outside but contained the tragedy inside. The packaging was further complemented with the name of the donor and the story behind the object. The collection was put on sale in an exclusive Pop-Up shop in the most upmarket street of Tokyo.

The strategy for The Refugee Collection focused on young urban adults who are willing to help those in need but aren’t well informed about the current refugee crisis worldwide. By packaging real items from refugees in an innocent manner commonly seen in shops around Tokyo, we were able to surprise and shock them, share the real human stories behind the objects and give our audience an immediate opportunity to donate. To support the launch a concentrated effort was done to engage the media that’s more opened to the international current issues, and an even stronger effort was made to engage and activate the stronger opinion leaders, opinion makers and influencers by hosting an exclusive opening and preview private viewings.