Title	BRUTAL CUT
Brand	ACTIONAID UK
Product/Service	TBC
Category	C02. Use of Social in a PR campaign
Entrant	WEBER SHANDWICK London, UNITED KINGDOM
Idea Creation	WEBER SHANDWICK London, UNITED KINGDOM
Media Placement	WEBER SHANDWICK London, UNITED KINGDOM
PR	WEBER SHANDWICK London, UNITED KINGDOM
Production	WEBER SHANDWICK London, UNITED KINGDOM

Name	Company	Position
James Nester	Weber Shandwick	Executive Creative Director
Luke Walker	Weber Shandwick	Creative Head, UK
Suraj Bhanot	Weber Shandwick	Account Manager
Sophie Waterfield	Weber Shandwick	Senior Account Executive
Asad Dhunna	Weber Shandwick	Associate Director
David Parkes	Weber Shandwick	Account Executive, Consumer
Ben Taylor	Weber Shandwick	Content Producer
Owen LaBeck	Weber Shandwick	Creative Director, Manchester
Paul Minns	Weber Shandwick	UX Designer
Philippa Dillon	ActionAid UK	Brand Engagement Manager
Cora Bauer	ActionAid UK	Senior Media Officer
Himaya Quasem	ActionAid UK	Editorial and Stories Officer
Jessica Holland	ActionAid UK	Head of Brand Marketing and PR
Susan Alderson	ActionAid UK	Celebrity Co-ordinator
Leslie Sinoway	ActionAid UK	Senior PR Officer
Stuart Wilkes	ActionAid UK	Senior Web Developer
Natalia Fricker	ActionAid UK	Digital Content Editor
Manus Fraser	ActionAid UK	Video editor

The Campaign

We needed a disruptive idea that would generate conversation: one that was bold enough to break free of channels and become news and social currency. The local shorthand in Kenya – referring to FGM as “the cut” – inspired the idea. We’d communicate this most brutal of cuts with a “brutal cut” of our own: a short video message from a Kenyan girl who faces FGM that could be cut into any video content our audience might be watching. The message would come without explanation or warning. Just like the FGM cut, its use would be sudden, unforgiving, and brutal. #BrutalCut was kicked off through social influencers, but it was an idea that could live on any channel and enable anyone to join in by making the cut to their own content in solidarity for the cause, sparking conversation and further social sharing.

Execution

We visited a school in Kenya to film the 10-second #BrutalCut video clip. Without warning on 28 July, the message interrupted vlogger videos, content from digital publishers, celebrity posts, cinema ads, festival screens and outdoor digital ads to deliver the message: “This cut might be irritating, but some cuts are life-destroying”. The video linked to brutalcut.org where visitors could use a web app to edit a brutal cut into their own selfies and share on social media. The website also features a short documentary explaining the broader context and why ActionAid is building safe centres for girls fleeing FGM in Kenya. At noon on launch day, 132 digital screens across the UK were cut, including London’s iconic One Piccadilly, in the first-ever synchronised disruption of outdoor media. #BrutalCut also interrupted two screens at the Latitude festival in July, and cinema trailers at the London Rooftop Film Clubs.

Millions of people saw and talked about #BrutalCut, with a reach of over 152 million via social, digital and outdoor media. The campaign inspired 24 celebrities and high-profile vloggers along with major online publishers such as LadBible and Pretty 52 to cut their social content, share the campaign video or post support. Most importantly, the campaign provoked thousands of conversations (over 1,000 conversations on Twitter alone). Despite the minimal budget, what started life as a 10-second video shared by social influencers exploded to become social and news currency, covered by the Independent, Teen Vogue, BBC Asian Network and Mashable. •Media coverage reach: 51,273,205 •132 Clear Channel screens: 26,409 impacts •Latitude Festival and Outdoor Cinema screens: 41,000 total reach •12.8 million Twitter impressions from 1,001 specific mentions of #BrutalCut sparking 1,148 conversations about the need to “end cutting” •Influencer/celebrity/publisher content: 9,204,218 views •Facebook reach: 465,888; engagement: 16,506 •Webpage: 11,507 visits.

The Situation

ActionAid challenged us to get more people talking about the uncomfortable subject of female genital mutilation (FGM). To highlight this most brutal of cuts, we created a #BrutalCut of our own: video messages from Kenyan girls facing FGM, unexpectedly cut into content by vloggers, influencers and publishers. Millions of people saw and talked about #BrutalCut: the campaign had a total reach of over 152 million. On a minimal budget, this innovative use of influencers and media sparked thousands of conversations in solidarity with young girls at risk of FGM and calling for an end to the practice.

The Strategy

With a media budget of under £15,000, we initially focused the campaign on millennial communities online. This is the generation that can help end FGM – an audience of active sharers who can spread the issue to a wide audience. While FGM is not a subject this audience readily confronts, they do spend plenty of time watching social videos and vlogger content. So to get the ball rolling, we approached influential video creators and publishers to edit the #BrutalCut clip into their video content, without explanation to their fans. We interviewed FGM survivors and women’s rights workers from ActionAid Kenya to ensure we communicated this issue with cultural sensitivity. Timing and geographical focus was vital, too. Our campaign ran at the end of July, as “cutting season” was starting in one of the worst-affected areas of Kenya, Kongelai, where 75% of girls will face the cut.