THE REALITY CHECK

Short List
TitleTHE REALITY CHECK
BrandHAGAR INTERNATIONAL
Product / ServiceANTI SLAVERY CHARITY
CategoryA10. Not-for-profit / Charity / Government
EntrantDDB Hong Kong, HONG KONG SAR
Idea Creation DDB Hong Kong, HONG KONG SAR

Credits

Name Company Position
Jamal Hamidi DDB Group Hong Kong Executive Creative Director
Christel Chong DDB Group Hong Kong Associate Creative Director
Natalie Parengkuan DDB Group Hong Kong Art Director
Aaron Cheng DDB Group Hong Kong Art Director
Karen Lew DDB Group Hong Kong Planner
Adrian Tso DDB Group Hong Kong Planning Director
Andreas Krasser DDB Group Hong Kong Chief Executive Officer
Joanne Tong MRJ Productions Executive Producer
Melissa Petros Hagar International Executive Director
Lara Wiemer Hagar International Communications Director
Lilian Lee Hagar International Board Director

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation ?

This campaign for non-government organisation Hagar International is relevant to the Brand Experience & Activation category for two main reasons. Firstly, the campaign is centered on a one-off guerilla activation that took place in a restaurant in Hong Kong. A number of people directly experienced the guerilla activation and walked away with a greater understanding of Hagar's mission and work. Secondly, video documenting the activation was used as the centrepiece at live fundraising events. In doing so, it formed the central part of secondary activations that generated much needed funds for Hagar.

Background

Slavery is not a thing of the past; it’s very much alive. Indeed, in comparative purchasing power, the average cost of a slave in 2019 is cheaper than at any other time in human history. Hagar International is a nonprofit organization who helps survivors of modern day slavery and human trafficking to recover from their ordeal and reintegrate back into society. And like any other nonprofit, they rely on donations. The difference is that Hagar is not a household name like the Red Cross or WWF, and modern day slavery is not a cause that people often talk, or even think, about. With Hagar’s 25th anniversary benefit dinner on the horizon, our goal was to create a campaign to help the organization to raise much-needed funds. Could we do this by making people aware of exactly how little a human life is worth, here and now in 2019?

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

On average, a slave costs USD90. You’d easily spend that amount of money on, say, a dinner for two with a bottle of wine. To serve up this statistic to ordinary people, we took over a Hong Kong bistro and presented unsuspecting diners with “reality checks” – restaurant bills that showed how many slaves could be bought for the cost of a meal. During our activation, a Hagar staffer was disguised as a waiter, explaining the issue – and Hagar’s role in the solution. She also invited diners to meet survivors of trafficking, who were present in the restaurant posing as guests. To capture and amplify this experience, hidden cameras were placed throughout the restaurant. Content from the activation was then used as the central setpiece at Hagar’s corporate fundraising events, and pushed out through social and PR as part of a donation drive aimed at the general public.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Donations are Hagar’s lifeblood. So, we needed to target individuals and corporate donors who had sufficient discretionary funds that they could donate. This came with its own challenge. If you’re the sort of person with enough disposable income to donate to an anti-slavery charity, it's likely that slavery is a long way removed from your everyday life. Rather than try to bring the audience into the world of slavery, we needed to bring the issue into their world. For instance - while many affluent people find it hard to empathize with being sold into slavery, they do know what it was like to spend USD90 without thinking too much about it. And so, from the campaign concept (set in a trendy restaurant, using restaurant checks) to the media used (fundraisers and social PR, our guiding principle then was to bring the issue into the world of our audience.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

The execution for this campaign can be broken down into four components. 1. Live Experience (February 26, 2019) The guerilla experience held at a restaurant. This was designed with a view to creating video content that could be later amplified. 2. Fundraising events (From March 11, 2019) The Reality Check video was used as the centerpiece of corporate fundraising events, starting with Hagar’s 25th anniversary benefit dinner held in Hong Kong on March 11. 3. Consumer Amplification (From March 13, 2019) Video of our live experience was distributed on social, and as part of an earned media outreach aimed at the general public. that commenced March 13. 4. Microsite (From March 11, 2019) All touchpoints led to a campaign microsite which offered additional content including survivor and staff interviews, as well an online donation function that was localized for key international markets.

List the results (30% of vote)

For this campaign, it was not enough to generate awareness. We needed donations. Hagar International is a small non-profit organisation. It does not have the recognizable name, the resources, or the budget that NGOs such as Greenpeace, Unicef, or WWF have at their disposal. So, in order for Hagar to continue their efforts to help survivors of slavery heal and reintegrate into society, every campaign that Hagar does needs to generate much needed funds. On the donations front, The Reality Check campaign delivered. Results include: - Pledge amounts for 2019: 550% of target - Amount donated at launch event: 165% of target - Year-on year donations (2019 vs 2018): 142% of previous year, as of April 2019.

Links

Supporting Webpage