GCS Campaign of the Month winner May 2021

10 Jun 2021 01:10 PM

Congratulations to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Design 102, winner of May’s GCS Campaign of the Month competition for their “It Still Matters” campaign.

Campaign image for 'It Still Matters'

The campaign’s main objectives was to raise awareness among sexual violence victims that support is available and empower them to reach out to those support services. 

This is a highly sensitive subject so the creative team needed to go an extra mile in showing genuine empathy, acknowledging how hard it is to speak out about sexual abuse, and reassuring survivors it’s never too late to reach out. They used insight at every stage of the creative development and tested with partners and survivors to co-create the campaign.

This paid-for campaign has been heavily supported by no-cost channels due to a relatively small budget and achieved some fantastic results. In the first weeks of the campaign key partners supplied data showing significant increases in web visits, this included The Survivors Trust (70% increase) Safeline (75% increase) and Rape Crisis (30% increase in online web chats). Overall visits to key partner websites were 62% higher than the benchmark.

The judges said:

“The team created compelling content that spoke directly to survivors of abuse in a way that was evocative yet sensitive. The use of dates and familiar domestic settings from a range of eras was insightful and innovative, helping to deliver the key message that survivors can seek support whenever abuse occurred.”

They added:

“We were also impressed by the use and impact of unpaid partnerships in amplifying the messages, both with groups and advocates working in this space and with national media.”

Luke Robinson, Deputy Director and Head of Strategic Communications, Campaigns and Digital at Ministry of Justice, said:

“Recently the CEO of Safeline [charity helping anyone affected by sexual abuse or rape] contacted our team about a victim of sexual violence, who for more than 30 years had suffered in silence, never talking about the abuse he had suffered as a child. That was until he saw our campaign content – which gave him the courage to talk and reach out to support services for help. Stories such as these are why we work in government communications – working with a wide range of partners across the third sector and media to deliver positive social change.”

A representative from Design 102 highlighted: 

“Support can be a lifesaver to those struggling through the aftermath of sexual abuse so it was extremely important to get our message right. We were led by survivor voices every step of the way and it’s been incredible to see the spike in calls to charity partners as a result of our campaign.”

Once again congratulations to the team:

Find out more about the ‘It Still Matters‘ campaign.