| Title | REALITY XMAS |
| Brand | DOCTORS OF THE WORLD |
| Product/Service | INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CHARITY |
| Category |
B01. Flat Mailing |
|
Entrant
|
McCANN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
|
|
Idea Creation
|
McCANN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
|
|
Media Placement
|
UM MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM
|
|
PR
|
PERSUASION COMMUNICATIONS London, UNITED KINGDOM
|
|
Production
|
CRAFT WORLDWIDE London, UNITED KINGDOM
|
Credits
| Rob Doubal |
McCann London |
Chief Creative Officer |
| Laurence Thomson |
McCann London |
Chief Creative Officer |
| Mike Oughton |
McCann London |
Creative Director |
| Olly Wood |
McCann London |
Creative |
| Matt Searle |
McCann London |
Creative |
| Rob McDonald |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Retoucher |
| Pam Oskam |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Art Buyer |
| Jon Marshall |
McCann London |
Project Manager |
| Dan Howarth |
McCann London |
Head of Art |
| Sergio Lopez |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Head of Integrated Production |
| Sophie Chapman-Andrews |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Executive Producer |
| Ellis Faint |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Studio Manager |
| Liam White |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Print Producer |
| Muhammad Qasim |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Artworker |
| Francois d'Espagnac |
McCann London |
Account Director |
| AJ Coyne |
McCann London |
Business Director |
| Tom Baines |
McCann London |
Account Manager |
| Charlotte Walters |
McCann London |
Planner |
| Nick O'Quinn |
McCann London |
Planner |
| Louise Ringrose |
McCann London |
Director of Communications |
| Rami Noumaan |
McCann London |
Marketing Executive |
| Molly Deaville |
UM Manchester |
Media Account Manager |
| Sanjiv Mistry |
McCann London |
EMEA Creative Director |
| Jamie Mietz |
McCann London |
EMEA Creative Director |
| Dan Good |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Editor |
| Blake Dixon |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Editor |
| Romina Contepomi |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Agency Producer |
| Chris Gilbert |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Sound Engineer |
| Michelle Prinsloo |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Agency Producer |
The Campaign
Every Christmas, we see romanticised images of the ‘Holy Land’. Everything looks calm and peaceful. Yet today, the Middle East is ravaged by war. For charity Doctors of the World, we brought this inconvenient irony to the fore with #RealityXmas - a set of Christmas cards designed to spark debate, provoke outrage, get petition signatures and increase donations.
Combining traditional nativity scenes, synonymous with the festive season, with genuine 2016 editorial war images, they become a set of unique, and powerful visuals went global, gaining an unprecedented response.
Creative Execution
We put the cards for sale online – so people could purchase them, and spread the message themselves. And upon purchase people could opt to sign the petition and apply pressure to government in light of the ongoing Aleppo crisis.
We also used the cards to write hundreds of personal messages to influences in media (Christiane Amanpur, Jon Snow), as well as politicians (Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn) high-profile humanitarians (Kofi Annan, António Guterres) and religious leaders (The Archbishop of Canterbury).
Over the course of the build up to Christmas and advent, we had a tight window of opportunity to create maximum impact. To drive signatures and raise funds.
With a budget of just £3,101 we began with a small run of 2120 cards. But these sold out within 48 hours. We re-invested to produce an additional 2 runs to meet demand, to keep momentum going for the duration of advent.
Results
Overall the cards had 1.78 billion online impressions, causing a 1853% increase in site traffic, acting as a catalyst for 152,468 ‘Free Aleppo’ petition signatures (7,623% above our objective), a key KPI, along with donations that soared at 336% above our initial target, enabling DOTW volunteers to continue to provide critical medical aid across the Middle East.
Despite DOTW being UK based, it was an international success. Coverage on CNN news, BBC Online, Time magazine and International Business Times, spurred huge interest worldwide. Further publications covered the campaign globally, including the US, Australia, Israel, Indonesia, Netherlands, Korea, Brazil, Germany, Malaysia, and South Africa to name but a few. And it was even embraced by religious leaders. Subsequently, orders for Christmas cards rolled in, and we successfully delivered the concerns of the world to the UK government.
The value of people engaging with the brand on this scale was unprecedented.
We feel this work is relevant for the Direct category as it utilised the media of direct, as an innovative focal point for a life-saving cause. We began this project with the objective of gaining 2,000 petition signatures to pressure the UK government into opening a medical air corridor over Aleppo. We ended the project with a staggering 152,468. With donations 336% above our initial target, and coverage on CNN Worldwide and BBC Online amongst others. All this from a humble set of 4, visually arresting Christmas cards – on a shoe-string budget of just £3,101.
Our strategy was to achieve maximum impact within a small seasonal window: advent. Focusing on our provocative Christmas Cards as our core campaign element, surrounded by print, radio, social media and OOH.
Our target audience – to ensure the message spread, and people signed the petition – were international, professionals and retirees, those interested in humanitarian issues, as well as the mid-market and encouraging action from beyond the usual third sector supporters in media. But most significantly, we targeted politicians through this coverage, and the cards themselves, to apply pressure at this critical time.
The call to action was simple: purchase the cards and by doing so spread the word, and sign the petition – to bring the Aleppo crises to the fore.