Charities, Public Health & Safety, Public Awareness Messages
Idea Creation
TBWA\ISTANBUL, TURKEY
Production
JAGUAR PROJECTS Istanbul, TURKEY
The Campaign
In memory of thousands of refugees who died trying to cross the Mediterranean, we decided to create a sea cemetery. The cemetery was constructed in the Mediterranean exactly where many refugees lost their lives. In order to enhance the effect of our storytelling, we searched and contacted actual refugees who have lost their loved ones in midst of their journey to freedom. In our work, we told the story through their individual stories.
Creative Execution
In memory of thousands of refugees who died trying to cross the Mediterranean, we created The Sea Cemetery installation, which consists of hundreds of tombstones. The cemetery was constructed in the Mediterranean exactly where the refugees lost their lives. The Sea Cemetery installation and various interviews with refugees was filmed. The video was aired on TV and spread on the Internet to reach as many people as possible. Simultaneously, theseacemetery.com, where people can learn more about the refugee crises and take action, has been launched to get the attention of millions.
The work was successful in drawing public attention back to the Syrian refugee issue as it began to disappear. The increase in awareness was not merely about the social issue. Through the work, Support To Life managed to increase its brand awareness among the socially concerned audience. More importantly, this awareness showed a tendency to turn into action. Traffic to Support To Life website increased which led to a further increase in donations. In just a week, we had 450% increase in supporttolife.org's traffic, 180% increase in donations and 225 new contributors.
We turned the Mediterranean Sea into a medium. Specifically, we used the exact location where hundreds lost their lives.
Insights, Strategy and the Idea
Our goal was to get the attention of everyone around the world as the global discussions around refugees was starting to cool down and lose its relevance. So we had a wide target audience. In order to spread the word we used the Internet to create a viral effect. We went to opinion leaders and various NGOs to spread our message for us.