Context

We are facing the biggest refugee crisis in history. Worldwide displacement has hit an all-time high of 65 million people as war and persecution tragically increase. The problem is so big the UN’s Refugee Agency has a USD 7 billion global funding gap. UNHCR needs all of us to contribute so it can provide basic food, water, and shelter to the millions of vulnerable refugees.

Challenge

The complexity and distance of the refugee issue create the unfortunate reality of indifference throughout Hong Kong. Most feel it is irrelevant or that they can’t do anything about it. Led by an insight that the best way to change the conversation was with a peer-to-peer approach.

Approach

Edelman created content featuring voices of everyday Hong Kongers who told emotional stories of why they care about the refugee issue and how they were doing their part to make a difference and create change. It starts with us. The campaign’s success came from combining insight-led storytelling, powerful creative, and analytics-based targeting to create an integrated ecosystem to engage a carefully selected audience.

Execution

The #itstartswithus ecosystem started with targeted social media segmentation and was supported with a microsite, PR, email marketing, direct mail marketing, an out-of-home digital billboard, and a film screening.

Results

With just two months to execute the campaign leading up to World Refugee Day the campaign generated over 14+M impressions and garnered 35 pieces of earned media coverage. 300,000 Hong Kongers joined the Facebook conversation, 2,000 people signed an online petition calling on governments to do more, and most importantly, the campaign helped Hong Kongers realize that the refugee crisis needs their help, and that they can create change through simple acts – it starts now, #itstartswithus.