Publicis Worldwide Teams with the Lady Musgrave Trust to Fight Back against Coercive Control

Queensland’s oldest charity, The Lady Musgrave Trust has teamed up with not-for-profit, Small Steps 4 Hannah to improve community awareness of coercive control.

In a pro bono campaign brought to life by Publicis agencies, Publicis Worldwide and Starcom – the ‘Red Flag Effect’ campaign aims to highlight the often hard-to-spot signs of non-physical abuse, which can include emotional, psychological and financial control. 

The campaign’s interactive creative film leads viewers to consider whether they would have spotted the red flags, encouraging them to learn more and access support online, through the recently launched website: thehandyguide.com.au. This is the Trust’s online resource linking the public with information and support around domestic violence and homelessness. The red flag behaviours featured in the campaign are informed by lived experiences of coercive control from community submissions to Queensland’s Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce. 

The Lady Musgrave Trust CEO, Victoria Parker said that this was the organisation’s first major advertising and awareness campaign that was developed completely pro bono.

“For more than 137 years, we have been supporting women and children to find safer home environments. We know that domestic violence is one of the leading causes of homelessness for women, and that controlling behaviours are some of the earliest and most insidious signs of domestic violence, but the signs can often be difficult to spot,” Parker said.

“To produce this incredible work, we had Publicis engage its network of creatives, and they all provided their skills and talents free of charge. Starcom rallied media players to get this important message out there. This work has come at a very pivotal time for our community, with the introduction of Queensland’s coercive control legislation and increasing conversation around domestic and family violence and what makes a healthy relationship.”

Publicis Worldwide’s managing director, Simone Waugh said it was without question that the agency would offer its support to raise awareness around this vitally important issue.

“We put the call out to the industry for their support and the time and resource devoted to this cause was unquestionable. From world class directors, to producers, sound engineers, editors and photographers – they all went out of their way to truly understand the issue to craft the campaign” Waugh said.

Ash Kennedy, associate creative director at Publicis Worldwide, said: “We all know what physical violence looks like, but when it comes to coercive control, it’s far less obvious.The red flags are nuanced in real life, so our campaign features them in the same subtle ways. Being able to spot them early can help prevent dangerous relationships and ultimately save lives.” 

Sue and Lloyd Clarke, co-founders of Small Steps 4 Hannah said: “This is a powerful campaign which obviously hits very close to home for us… but this is an issue that we didn’t know about until it happened to us. Our community and people of all ages need more education about coercive control and what a healthy relationship is. We can all learn more about these red flags to help spot the signs of domestic violence, whether it’s for ourselves or for our family and friends. A campaign like this can save lives,” the Clarkes said.

Kelly Burnham, business director at Starcom said the agency is proud to work with The Lady Musgrave Trust on such a valuable cause, as part of Starcom’s ESG core initiative. 

“We are so grateful to all our media partners who with zero hesitation, jumped on board to support us in delivering exceptional free of charge media value. The Red Flag project, in collaboration with The Handy Guide will have monumental impacts, possibly life-saving for women and children in crisis – and we are honoured to play a small part in this important work,” Burnham said.

The ‘Red Flag Effect campaign includes TV, Cinema, OOH, Radio and Digital.