SUB CATEGORY :

INNOVA LOTUS

COMPANY ENTERING :

LEO BURNETT MELBOURNE, MELBOURNE

ENTRY TITLE :

REWORD

BRAND :

REWORD

ADVERTISER :

HEADSPACE

AGENCY :

LEO BURNETT, MELBOURNE

CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER :

JASON WILLIAMS

CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

TIM SHELLEY

COPYWRITER :

EDWARD HECKES

ART DIRECTOR :

DANIEL SPARKES

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR :

LUKE TORNEY

DEVELOPER :

MICHAEL RICHARDSON/KEN CHEN/JOSHUA ARMSTRONG

ACCOUNT DIRECTOR :

LAURALEE CUZNER

ACCOUNT MANAGER :

SUZI WILLIAMSON

HEAD OF SOCIAL :

CHRIS STEELE

STRATEGIC PLANNING DIRECTOR :

ILONA JANASHVILI

STRATEGIC PLANNING MANAGER :

MONICA LEWIN

STRATEGIC PLANNER :

EMILY GOULD

AGENCY PRODUCER :

CINNAMON DARVALL/MARIA BOROWSKI

DIGITAL PRODUCER :

EE-LYN LAW

FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY :

STUDIO PANCHO, MELBOURNE

D.O.P/CINEMATOGRAPHER :

AARON FARRUGIA

CAMPAIGN SUMMARY :

CYBERBULLYING IS QUICKLY BECOMING ONE OF SOCIETY’S GRAVEST PROBLEMS, CREATING MILLIONS OF VICTIMS GLOBALLY. ANTI-BULLYING EFFORTS HAVE TRADITIONALLY FOCUSED ON INCIDENT REPORTING RATHER THAN PREVENTION. WE WANTED TO FIND AN INNOVATIVE WAY TO TACKLE ONLINE BULLYING BEHAVIOUR BEFORE IT HAPPENS. WE CREATED REWORD, A REAL-TIME ALERT FOR CYBERBULLYING. DESIGNED AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL TO HELP DEVELOP YOUNG PEOPLE’S MORAL COMPASS, REWORD IDENTIFIES HURTFUL LANGUAGE, PROMPTING USERS TO RECONSIDER THEIR WORDS. REWORD LAUNCHED AS A FREE GOOGLE CHROME EXTENSION SUPPORTED BY AN INTEGRATED CAMPAIGN.
SOCIAL CONTENT GALVANIZED A LIKE-MINDED COMMUNITY OF PARENTS AND EDUCATORS. PR INSTIGATED SUPPORT OF GOVERNMENT AND INFLUENCERS. ABOVE-THE-LINE PLACEMENTS CALLED FOR TOOL INSTALLATIONS. THROUGH AN IN-SCHOOL PROGRAM AND SOCIAL, CHILDREN WERE INVITED TO CO-AUTHOR THE DATABASE BY ADDING NEW BULLYING PHRASES, GIVING THEM OWNERSHIP AND EMPOWERING THEM TO STAND AGAINST CYBERBULLYING. REWORD IS CREATING A NEW GENERATION THAT RESPECTS EACH OTHER – ONLINE AND IN REAL-LIFE

THE BRIEF :

CYBERBULLYING CREATES MILLIONS OF VICTIMS GLOBALLY. ~463,000 YOUNG PEOPLE ARE BULLIED ONLINE IN AUSTRALIA EACH YEAR, AND 78% ARE 10-15 YEARS OLD. VICTIMS OF ONLINE ABUSE ARE UP TO NINE TIMES MORE LIKELY TO ENGAGE IN SELF-HARM AND SUICIDAL THOUGHTS. TO TRY TO STOP BULLYING, THE FOCUS HAS ALWAYS BEEN ON REPORTING IT AFTER IT’S HAPPENED. BUT THERE’S BEEN NOTHING TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM IT HAPPENING IN THE FIRST PLACE, AND LEADING SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS HAVE FAILED TO INTRODUCE EFFECTIVE MEASURES. WE SET OUT TO FIND AN INNOVATIVE WAY TO EFFECT REAL BEHAVIOUR CHANGE IN THE ONLINE ENVIRONMENT.

THE STRATEGY :

SCHOOLS WERE THE KEY TO PRE-LAUNCH AND LAUNCH SUCCESS.
THE LAUNCH STRATEGY WAS TO DEVELOP AN INFRASTRUCTURE AROUND YOUTH AT A VULNERABLE AGE. KNOWING SCHOOL AND HOME ARE INFLUENTIAL ENVIRONMENTS WHERE MUCH OF BULLYING OCCURS, GETTING “PROTECTORS” – EDUCATORS, PARENTS AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR - ON BOARD WAS A PRIORITY. EMPOWERING THE USER. TO BE SUCCESSFUL, REWORD NEEDED THE “APPROVAL” OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO WOULD USE IT. TAPPING INTO THEIR NEED TO FEEL IMPORTANT, VALUED AND HEARD, REWORD GIVES THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE AGENTS OF CHANGE. THE TOOL IS BUILT TO EMPOWER YOUNG PEOPLE TO CONTRIBUTE THEIR OWN BULLYING WORDS AND PHRASES, GROWING THE TOOL’S INTELLIGENCE BY HELPING IT RECOGNISE EVOLVING LANGUAGE AND SLANG. THIS CO-AUTHORSHIP WOULD GIVE YOUNG PEOPLE OWNERSHIP OF REWORD, PROMOTING ACCEPTANCE AND UPTAKE. IT WOULD ALSO NATURALLY ENCOURAGE ADVOCACY AMONG THEIR FRIENDS, INCREASING THE TOOL’S POTENTIAL REACH AND IMPACT.

THE EXECUTION :

REWORD IS A REAL-TIME ALERT FOR ONLINE BULLYING.
REWORD IDENTIFIES HURTFUL LANGUAGE, PROMPTING CHILDREN TO RECONSIDER THEIR WORDS. REWORD NOT ONLY PROTECTS POTENTIAL VICTIMS, BUT ALSO STOPS CHILDREN FROM BECOMING BULLIES THEMSELVES. WE LAUNCHED REWORD AS A FREE GOOGLE CHROME EXTENSION. CONCENTRATED OUTREACH FOCUSED ON EDUCATION GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND TARGETED EDUCATION TRADE PUBLICATIONS. EXTENSIVE PR DROVE WIDER MEDIA AND INFLUENCER SUPPORT. AN INTEGRATED CAMPAIGN (OUTDOOR, PRINT, TV, DISPLAY, SOCIAL AND PR) ENGAGED PROTECTORS EMOTIONALLY. FEATURING REAL KIDS, IT HIGHLIGHTED THE PROBLEM AND PRESENTED REWORD AS A SOLUTION. PROTECTORS WERE ASKED TO INSTALL REWORD AT HOME AND IN SCHOOLS, AND TO SHOW SUPPORT AND RAISE AWARENESS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES BY SHARING. WE TARGETED YOUTH VIA THE IN-SCHOOL PROGRAM AND ON SOCIAL MEDIA, INVITING THEM TO DIRECTLY INTERACT WITH REWORD AND ADD NEW BULLYING TERMS. BEING CO-AUTHORS IMPELLED THEM STAND AGAINST CYBERBULLYING AND PROMOTE REWORD AMONG THEIR FRIENDS, EXTENDING ITS REACH.

THE RESULT :

WITHIN 6 WEEKS, REWORD WAS INSTALLED ON OVER 150,000 COMPUTERS AND INTRODUCED TO OVER 260 SCHOOLS NATIONWIDE. IN THE SAME PERIOD, 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. FEDERAL AND STATE EDUCATION MINISTERS PUBLICLY VOICED THEIR SUPPORT. REWORD SHOWED CLEAR UNIVERSAL RELEVANCE, GARNERING GLOBAL COVERAGE ON CNN, MASHABLE AND WIRED – CONTRIBUTING TO 150 MILLION MEDIA IMPRESSIONS – AND PERSONAL MESSAGES FROM AROUND THE WORLD. FIRST SIX WEEKS: • 150,000+ INSTALLS • 84% OF INSULTS REWORDED • 67% REDUCTION IN BULLYING BEHAVIOUR PER USER • 20,0000+ CONTRIBUTED INSULTS • 150 MILLION MEDIA IMPRESSIONS • $500,000 GENERATED MEDIA VALUE