REWORD

Short List
TitleREWORD
BrandHEADSPACE
Product / ServiceREWORD
CategoryA07. Charities, Public Health & Safety, Public Awareness Messages
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

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. A simple JavaScript tool that integrates with social and messaging platforms, 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 behavior and prompting them to reconsider their words. Children can become co-authors by adding their own bullying terms, helping Reword recognize evolving language and slang. Reword not only protects potential victims, but also stops children from becoming bullies themselves. Don’t bully, and the red line will never appear.

Execution

After a successful pilot program, we launched our in-school program and made Reword available online as a free Google Chrome extension. To engage Protectors emotionally, we ran an integrated campaign across outdoor, print, TV, display, social media and extensive PR. Featuring real kids, it highlighted the problem of online abuse and presented Reword as a solution. The campaign asked Protectors to install the tool at home and in schools, and to show their support and raise awareness in their school communities by sharing. We targeted youth via the in-school program and on social media, inviting them to directly interact with the tool and add new bullying terms. Being co-authors impelled them to take a stand against cyberbullying and promote Reword among their friends, extending the tool’s reach. We directed our audience to our website, where they could explore videos; install the tool; and contribute to the lexicon.

Within six weeks, we saw a distinct impact on behaviour. 84% of insults detected were reworded. And we saw an incredible 67% reduction in bullying behaviour per user. Our call to action resonated, generating over 20,000 insult submissions from young people, creating millions of new combinations. We received publically voiced support from education ministers. Reword showed clear universal relevance, garnering global coverage on CNN, Good Morning America, Mashable and Wired – contributing to 150 million media impressions – and personal messages from around the world. In the same period, Reword was introduced to over 260 schools nationwide and installed on over 150,000 computers. First six weeks: • 150 million media impressions • $500,000 in generated media value • 150,000+ installs • 20,0000+ contributed insults • 84% of insults reworded • 67% reduction in bullying behaviour per user Reword is changing online bullying behaviour, creating a new generation that respects each other – online and in real life.

The Situation

Cyberbullying is quickly becoming one of society’s most serious problems, creating millions of victims globally. Reword is an educational tool activating change within the culture of online bullying by stopping the behaviour before it happens. Acting as a real-time alert for online bullying, Reword identifies hurtful words, prompting young people to reword their message or post. Starting from a zero-knowledge base, Reword has achieved over 150 million media impressions and has been introduced to 260 Australian schools through the success of tactical PR that targeted schools, educational bodies, parents – and, most importantly, has gotten young people engaged with the

The Strategy

During prototype development, we collaborated with Headspace Youth Mental Health Foundation and children to refine usability and messaging. Testing showed 79% of youth were willing to reword when prompted. Targets were segmented with distinct calls to action: 1. “Protectors” – parents and educators, including our trial schools and potential new ones; also educational bodies and media across all platforms CTA: Install the tool at home and in schools To obtain wider media and influencer support, we generated case studies from our trial schools. 2. Government officials - education sector CTA: To give official support for mass implementation in schools nationwide 3. Youth – targeted separately to encourage acceptance and uptake CTA: Interact with the tool and become co-authors, through our in-school program and social media Media materials were tailored with a clear division between Protectors (e.g., news and parental media) and users (youth media).

Links

Website URL