The Campaign

To create The Bottom 100 - a look at life at the other end of global top 100 ‘rich lists’. The Bottom 100 was a completely new initiative that would tell the personal stories of one hundred people, representing the world’s poorest individuals across the globe. Our aim was to put a face on the issue of global poverty so that it stopped being someone else’s problem, “over there”.

Creative Execution

8 Photographers documented 100 incredible individuals from 23 countries over 5 different continents. A simple blue graphic device was used as a backdrop throughout the 100 images to act as a common thread, putting the focus on the individual by bringing them out of their surroundings. We wanted these people to meet the eyes of the viewer, not just to enhance the sense of human connection and empathy, but to empower them. They are not victims, they are survivors of circumstances beyond their control. We wanted to convey their resilience, pride, hope and personal struggle. Launching in Australia, we brought the individual stories of The Bottom 100 closer to the public than they have ever been before - transforming an unused space to create a real-life gallery where media, influencers, stakeholders and the public could see the faces and read the stories of those featured in The Bottom 100.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

Within a week of launching The Bottom 100, we secured 100+ pieces of local coverage (Australia), across key targets including ABC News, SBS, Fairfax (SMH and The Age), HuffPost and AAP. Local media and social media reached an audience of 19 million+ (80% of the Aussie population). We captured the attention of flagship media titles around the world including NY Times, Vanity Fair, France 24, Humanosphere and amazingly the front cover of the highly influential Osservatore Romano – the daily newspaper of the Vatican. Global earned media reached a further 70 million+. Global PR Reach 90,000,000 Media impressions 40,369,000 - with $0 spend Doubled their annual social reach - in one month 540% increase in monthly engagement And most importantly, Funds For Peace now has an annual way to draw our attention to the faces and stories from the other end of the world’s rich list.

The target audience was two-fold: - The public: Raise awareness for the millions displaced by conflict and persecution. - Key stakeholders within Government, not-for-profit organisations, universities and other advocates for international social welfare initiatives. The PR strategy focused on communicating the objectives and ethos behind The Bottom 100 within Australia and internationally, to put a human face on the suffering of millions. We wanted to tell stories that are so prevalent in the Third World but go unnoticed or ignored by those in the West every day. We needed to find a way to tell a global story on a local level to give our target audiences compelling reasons to engage with the campaign and provoke action. The campaign was planned to launch through PR, with activity timed to coincide with World Refugee Day (20th June) to give us a timely global hook for our story.