2022 Winners & Shortlists

REACT FOR REAL

Short List
BrandICRC
Product/ServiceCHARITY
EntrantWUNDERMAN THOMPSON Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryReal-time Response
Idea Creation WUNDERMAN THOMPSON Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Why is this work relevant for Social & Influencer?

The crisis in Afghanistan was getting immense reactions on social media platforms. But this wasn’t demonstrated in real life donations. The heart of our campaign was to tell people that a dollar can impact more than an emoji or a like. Through our emotional data-led film ‘React for Real’, and by targeting an audience that was already interacting with the Afghan suffering, we reached people where they were reacting, on the internet. By using the power of social media, we reminded people of their power beyond the online world.

Background

In August 2021, as terrorist group Taliban took over Kabul, newsfeeds were flooded with horrific images and videos of Afghans hanging from airplanes and handing out their children to foreign soldiers in hope their little ones would get to safer lands. And the world reacted, through hashtags and emojis. Only. But we all knew Afghanistan needed more than that. And the ICRC knew that better than anyone. With its mission to protect and provide help to victims of armed conflicts, it has been serving the people of Afghanistan for over 30 years, providing crucial help to a nation that has been suffering for decades. And even in Afghanistan’s darkest hours, the ICRC remained true to its mission. However, they needed urgent donations to keep their teams operational in Afghanistan and provide aid to a population in peril.

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

The heart of the idea is that if people put their money where their like is, greater change can happen. While online support is important, it is not enough. People in crisis need more. We wanted to remind people of this hard-hitting truth – real people need real support. Using an algorithm, we converted their online reactions into monetary value, and then used them to calculate how many real-life needs this money could’ve resolved. These results were shown in an emotional data-led film, that we launched right where people were supporting Afghanistan the most – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & YouTube. Based on previous findings, we targeted those who had engaged with Afghan content online, as they were more prone to act. We went a step further and created shorter edits targeting people who reacted with specific emojis to show them the value of their reactions.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Initial data we gathered revealed that 55% of people who engage with NGOs on social media take some action, and a further 59% go onto donating money. But that wasn’t our reality here yet. While we knew there are people willing to help, we also knew that in such unprecedented hard times globally, reaching and engaging a general audience won’t be an easy task. And we needed people to act fast. So, we took a different approach. We didn’t want to engage with just anyone and send general help messages. Building on our initial findings, we used data to target those who were already familiar with the situation in Afghanistan. They were already engaging with the topic online, overwhelming the internet with heartbroken emojis and statements. Our strategy became to target these people and push them to give more than a like, by showing them the impact they could have.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

Afghanistan and the ICRC needed donations urgently. Building on data that showed that 55% of people who engage with NGOs on social media take some action, we decided to target those who have supported Afghanistan online. Our campaign message was simple, and hard-hitting – a dollar goes much farther than a like. We crafted an emotional data-led film: React for Real. Building on insights and data, and inspired by the popular expression ‘If I had a dollar for every time […]’, the film demonstrates the life changing effects had online reactions been monetary donations. Launched on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, the film displayed the hashtags with their millions of reactions they garnered, followed by their monetary value and the real life-saving changes that they could have led to.The film was also cut into shorter edits targeting people who reacted with specific emojis to show the value of their reactions.

List the results (30% of vote)

The campaign spread wide across the different platforms and countries. It reached +5,000,000, achieved a total of +2,614,251 impressions and 422,383 people engaged with the video. This led to + 200% increase on donations to help Afghanistan.

Credits

Name Company Role
Bas Korsten Wunderman Thompson Global Global CCO
Mona Hassanie Wunderman Thompson Head Of Strategy
Ghida Sater Wunderman Thompson Strategist
Daniel Bonner Wunderman Thompson Global Global CCO
Chafic Haddad Wunderman Thompson MENA Chief Creative Officer
João Braga Wunderman Thompson Sydney Chief Creative Officer
Jason Carmel Wunderman Thompson Seattle Chief Data Officer Seattle
Pablo Maldonado Wunderman Thompson Dubai Executive Creative Director
Hassan Bilgrami Wunderman Thompson Dubai Creative Director
Jericho Dizon Wunderman Thompson Dubai Senior Art Director
Valerie Pinto Wunderman Thompson Dubai Editor & Animator
Sanaz Khodabandeh Wunderman Thompson Dubai Project Manager
Irmak Aktas Wunderman Thompson Dubai Business Director
Irmak Aktas Wunderman Thompson Dubai Business Director
Haya i Jaoun Wunderman Thompson Dubai Senior Account Executive
Ghaleb Cabbabé International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Senior Campaigns Manager
Moritz Hansen International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Digital Marketing Officer
Melanie Heffinger International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Communication Officer
Josephine Lawaan Wunderman Thomspon Dubai Traffic
Nora Livet International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Social Media & Influencer Strategy Lead
Miles Raguin International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Strategy & Social Media
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