ENTRY COPY
Background
Nationwide Building Society is a financial services business
that competes with banks but isn’t one. This difference matters because, unlike
banks, they put people before profit. Nationwide operates for the benefit of
its members, founded on the principle of ‘mutuality’: we can achieve more
together than we can alone. Making this concept mean something is a core communications
task. Success is measured through brand metrics “Brand I can Trust” and “Care
More about Meeting Customer Needs Than Maximising Profit”. Shifting these
measures creates greater brand consideration, bringing more members into Nationwide.
Nationwide champions diversity in their advertising. However, the more they
showed real people from diverse backgrounds – spanning race, gender and
sexuality – the more personal, hateful online abuse they received. This
disturbing context motivated Nationwide to create a public-facing campaign highlighting
the scale of online abuse in the UK to instigate change in the nation’s online
behaviour.
Creative Idea / Insights
A staggering 41% of young adults have seen racist abuse,
bullying or harassment online, according to UK charity The Cybersmile
Foundation. When Nationwide shared their “Hate Log” – a catalogue of unadulterated
abuse targeted at people in their ads (which brands are generally advised to
hide) – we had a lightbulb moment. What if we could use it to help turn
people’s darkest actions into a beacon to instigate change? Exposing this would
shock people. We could catch the nation off-guard if we chose a primetime
moment to do it – a sharp contrast to the murkier online world – and spark them
into action.
Our rallying cry was simple. Galvanise others who value
diversity to work alongside us. Take a collective stand in bringing this
behaviour out from the shadows. If it’s not OK to say it face-to-face, why is
it ok to say it online? #TogetherAgainstHate was born.
Strategy
#TogetherAgainstHate had to shock and create awareness – in
a place and moment when people weren’t expecting it but have the most impact to
instigate change. Primetime TV was the answer. Channel 4’s ‘born risky’ attitude
and commitment to diversity made them the perfect partner. We joined forces
alongside some of the UK’s highest profile advertisers, MARS (Maltesers) and
McCain, who share similar values and had seen similar online abuse aimed at the
real people in their advertising. Together, we would create a unique broadcast
moment to shine a light on this darkest of issues. This moment had to
capitalise on the public’s shock. We designed a supporting communications plan
to bring the issue into everyday life across a broad demographic spectrum. We
worked with partners who supported our cause, and chose channels and platforms
that would drive frequency of message and spark conversations using the
TogetherAgainstHate hashtag.
Execution
#TogetherAgainstHate was a unique ad-break takeover in the hit
Channel 4 show, “Gogglebox”. “Gogglebox” shows real families and friends of all
shapes, sizes and creeds, reacting to and discussing what they see on
television – exactly what we wanted to provoke with our message. Each advertiser’s
TVC was treated with a powerful overlay showing the real abuse it had
generated. The Nationwide ad showed racial slurs; Maltesers highlighted disability
abuse whilst McCain’s ad appeared with homophobic comments. As the ad-break
aired, we launched content from 50 micro-influencers, sharing their online hate
experiences to further conversation. We ran a special report week on Global
Radio’s LBC (the UK’s premier talk radio station) discussing the issue with a
Member of Parliament, The Cybersmile Foundation, psychologists and Nationwide,
reaching 7.3 million listeners. Outdoor vendors (Clear Channel, Outdoor Plus
and Primesight) also pledged support, offering free digital media inventory,
delivering 2 million impacts.
Results
#TogetherAgainstHate prompted an outpouring of public
support. We reached 42% of UK adults in a week – for just £350,000 media
investment. We trended No.1 on Twitter as our ad-break aired, generating significant
PR from national news outlets, radio stations and industry publications.
Nationwide’s brand health tracking saw significant uplifts and the activity
contributed to highest-ever scores (year-on-year since tracking began in 2014)
in the key measures of “Brand I can Trust” and “Care More about Meeting
Customer Needs Than Maximising Profit”, as at December 20181. It also created
an overwhelming response from Nationwide’s own workforce, who praised their
marketing colleagues for demonstrating Nationwide’s values so bravely. Channel
4’s research ranked the campaign as their most impactful ever – with
highest-ever scores for “stand out”, “shock” and “instigating a positive
change”. Finally, #TogetherAgainstHate won trade publication Marketing Week’s
Campaign of the Year, winning 70% of the public vote.
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