Title	SHEBOARD – RAISED BY WORDS
Brand	PLAN INTERNATIONAL FINLAND
Product/Service	PLAN INTERNATIONAL FINLAND
Category	B03. Social for Mobile
Entrant	HASAN & PARTNERS Helsinki, FINLAND
Idea Creation	HASAN & PARTNERS Helsinki, FINLAND
PR	THE HONEY PARTNERSHIP London, UNITED KINGDOM
PR 2	OSG COMMUNICATIONS Turku, FINLAND
Production	HASAN & PARTNERS Helsinki, FINLAND
Production 2	INTO DIGITAL Helsinki, FINLAND
Production 3	B-REEL Stockholm, SWEDEN
Additional Company	PLAN INTERNATIONAL FINLAND Helsinki, FINLAND
Additional Company 2	SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS NORDIC Stockholm, SWEDEN

Name	Company	Position
Tobias Wacker	hasan & partners Oy	Creative director
Katariina Harteela	hasan & partners Oy	Creative
Marc Stevenson	hasan & partners Oy	Executive producer
Joseph Bayne	hasan & partners Oy	Design director
Dean Clatworthy	hasan & partners Oy	Developer
Luca Rossi	hasan & partners Oy	Web designer
Sonya Isupova	hasan & partners Oy	Graphic designer
Mika Onnela	hasan & partners Oy	Editor/ animator
Laura Andersson	hasan & partners Oy	Junior creative
Riikka Rechardt	hasan & partners Oy	Junior creative
Antti Rasi	Into-Digital	CEO
Mikko Hytönen	Into-Digital	Head developer
Freshteh Piltan	B-reel	Director
Lia Eliasson	B-Reel	Producer
Shoot Hayley	Shoot Hayley	Photographer
Eva Anttila	Plan International Finland	Director of Fundraising, Marketing & Loyalty
Mika Välitalo	Plan International Finland	Senior Specialist - Technology, Innovation and Transparency
Nora Lindström	Plan International Finland	Global Coordinator for digital development
Niina Mikolanniemi	Plan International Finland	Senior Corporate Partnerships Manager
Kirsi Mettälä	Plan International Finland	Director, Development
Inka Kovanen	Plan International Finland	Press officer
Elin Wallberg	Samsung Electronics Nordic AB	Corporate Citizenship & Partnerships Manager
Pia Fri	hasan & partners Oy	Account manager
Sarah Sheehan	The Honey Partnership	Project Director
Harriet Butterfield	The Honey Partnership	PR Manager
Luke Bristow	The Honey Partnership	Client Director
Guy Peters	The Honey Partnership	Community Manager
Cecilia Ho	The Honey Partnership	PR Executive
Toni Perez	OSG Communications	Managing Director

Background

Plan International is a humanitarian organisation that works for girls’ rights. They’ve been more known for their work in developing countries, but they work globally for lasting impact on norms, attitudes and behaviours towards girls. We needed to make people see Plan as a global, modern organisation that advances equality for girls everywhere. Research shows that we talk differently to children depending on their gender. We talk to boys about their abilities, skills and potential and to girls about their bodies and feelings. Little by little, this starts to influence how they see themselves. A study shows that by the age of six, girls are more likely to think that boys are the smarter gender; many girls believe that men will do better in fields associated with brilliance – such as physics and mathematics.

Describe the creative idea

Sheboard is a virtual keyboard for boosting girls’ confidence. With predictive text input, it suggests gender-neutral language. It helps everyone reflect on – and possibly change – the ways we talk to and about girls. Sheboard also reminds girls about the abilities they have that people don’t always think to mention. The amount of communication that happens on our mobiles keeps growing. That’s why the keyboard is an ideal place for tapping into people’s language. But the idea is bigger than that; typing messages is something everyone can relate to, and just hearing about the keyboard makes people think how they choose their words when talking with or about girls.

Describe the strategy

We wanted to make people see that Plan International does not only work in developing countries, but also advances equality for girls globally. Sheboard is relevant in any country, any language –and it also gained media attention all over the world, from rather equal Finland to more problematic Turkey. In a way, the keyboard itself became our media channel. We tell the message of gender-biased language through a keyboard – through messaging. But that’s not enough. We needed to make people stop and think about their own language. With strong supporting PR material such as emotional spots and spokespeople’s power sentences, we made it from an innovation to an initiative. It was predictable Sheboard would raise also negative feelings and spark hateful comments – as equality discussions often do.That’s why we had a strong focus also on the scientific side; the gender-biased language and its effects are a proven fact.

Describe the execution

We collected words for the keyboard from girls: how should people talk about them? Also, we had spokespeople donate their “power sentences” for the keyboard. Based on these words – and research regarding gender-biased language – we created a custom dictionary of more than 2 500 words. The dictionary was then widened by creating algorithms from female-empowering blogs and publications. The app was then created and made available in Google Play store. It was designed to look and work just like any keyboard; only the predictive text input is different. We launched Sheboard in Slush, the world’s leading startup event. On social media, we promoted it with emotional spots showing how it works and why it’s needed – directed by an up-and-coming female talent. We also used the spokespeople to share the cause via social media and blogs. All this, we did with a strong focus on PR. August 2018, Sheboard was published in Finnish. In Finland, Plan also created educational packages related to the keyboard; volunteers keep workshops about gender-neutrality in schools, with help of Sheboard.

List the results

Sheboard got media attention all over the world, both in advanced, relatively equal countries and in those where girls’ rights are neglected; from Finland to India. The editorial reach was over 712 Million. Sheboard was covered e.g. by UK national press, international business press, top tier tech press, social publishers; and chosen as innovation of the day by Trendwatching. But it’s not enough that we reached people. We needed to make them think about gender-neutral talk on their own behalf. And we did. People felt strongly, for and against. Gender-neutral language is not a given but something we need to work towards. And with Sheboard, we’ve made a change in the minds of many. A dad from Newport tweeted: “Just reading about #sheboard virtual keyboard has made me rethink how I talk to my daughter - even if she is just 3 months old”.