Why is this work relevant for Media?

The See Past The Screen campaign united a stronghold of media, technology and government to drive awareness, conversation and guidance for parents, and provide them with the tools necessary to protect the eyesight of their kids. The campaign message was amplified across all media platforms including TV, print, OOH, radio, digital and social media, to deliver a tangible shift in awareness and conversation among parents in Singapore, about the associated risks of excessive device usage and the development of myopia, and to help drive downloads of an innovative app designed to help flip the problem into a solution.

Background

For almost 2 years, plano, an innovative app, has empowered Singapore to prevent myopia by helping parents manage their children’s time spent on devices and nurture good eye care habits. Embedded with scientific functions, plano was the very first kids-safe app with real-time alerts for face-to-screen distance and posture. Although Singapore has become “the myopia capital of the world”, children just 9-12 years old continue to spend the equivalent of a working week (50hrs) looking at devices. Making matters worse, it was aging down! Children as young as 2 years old were spending an average of 2 hours on devices every day! We needed to address the myopia and smartphone epidemic by helping parents see the urgency of the problem and take preventative action by downloading the app immediately. Specifically, we sought to make 60% of parents concerned about excessive device use and generate 200,000 plano app downloads in 2019.

Describe the creative idea/insights (30% of vote)

Our research study (conducted through Milieu) told us that myopia was a top health concern for parents themselves but dropped to the bottom of the list for their children; indicating an awareness gap in the link between excessive screen time in children during this vital period of growth and the early development of myopia. When it comes to their children’s eyesight, parents were short-sighted. We would bring this epidemic into urgent focus, by using impactful devices to dramatize children’s unhealthy relationships with devices. Zooming right into what their children’s eyes could become, we encouraged parents to see beyond the problems right in front of them, and look further into their children’s future. We prompted parents to “See Past The Screen”.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Confronting our primary target of Singaporean parents close up, we used ‘Square Eyes’ as a creative visual device to dramatize children’s immersive addiction to screens. Striking visuals embedded the shape of phones and tablets in the eyes of kids, capturing parents’ attention at the very moment they were glued to their screens. From there, we turned this visual into an impactful social media call-to-action with actual mobile devices. We asked people to post selfies holding their device up as an opaque block in front of their eyes, using a hashtag #SeePastTheScreen to amplify the fact we are all at risk of being ‘blinded by our devices’. All ads directed parents to a central campaign microsite SeePastTheScreen.sg where they could learn about prevention advice and app features to activate plano downloads. Meanwhile, we reinforced myopia prevention as a social norm by streaming all selfies live onto the website.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

With $0 media budget, we pitched to garner the pro-bono support of every major publisher in Singapore including SPH, Mediacorp, JC Decaux, Clear Channel, MooveMedia, Adello, Amobee, plus Health Promotion Board’s National Myopia Program. Having secured SGD800,000 media value, we needed to use it wisely. To shift behavior, we strategically launched right after CNY, when everyone made resolutions for the year ahead. Our striking ‘Square Eye’ visuals took over Singaporean’s morning read on Strait Times, The New Paper, StraitTimes.com, Lianha Wanbao and Shin Min Daily News. The ‘Square Eye’ TVC haunted parents across Mediacorp TV Channels (5,8, Suria and Vasantham) in the evenings disrupting their comfortable viewing times. We targeted parents when their parenting mode was on. During their commute home from work and school runs, we customized our messaging across 15 MRT stations, 450 bus shelters, and 60 OOH digital screens, while popular radio DJ’s adlibbed myopia related stats.

List the results (30% of vote)

Uniting 14 Singapore industry, technology and government organizations, See Past the Screen sparked more than awareness and conversation – it shocked parents into action: 92% of parents demonstrated concern about the amount of time their children spend on devices. 80% of parents have discussed the information they have seen or heard about #SeePastTheScreen. 80% of parents confirmed they've taken action after seeing the #SeePastTheScreen campaign. Their interest was reflected by double the average CTR, and a 65% contribution to website organic traffic from offline media. We have hit more than 500,000 app downloads, 150% above target. Beyond parents, we penetrated mainstream conversation: 50% increase in message recall among 16-54 year-olds. We’re most happy the organic #SeePastTheScreen selfies attracted active participation of a number of Singaporean schools and pre-schools, engaging parents and industry professionals internationally. #SeePastTheScreen managed to bring a vital message into focus, in the myopia capital of the world.