IMPERFECT

TitleIMPERFECT
BrandLÄNSFÖRSÄKRINGAR
Product/ServicePREVENTIVE HEALTH, SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
Category C02. Use of Social in a PR campaign
Entrant STENDAHLS ADVERTISING AGENCY Gothenburg, SWEDEN
Idea Creation STENDAHLS ADVERTISING AGENCY Gothenburg, SWEDEN
Credits
Name Company Position
Martin Cedergren Stendahls Chief Creative Officer
Eva Råberg Stendahls Copywriter
Ylva Nestmark Stendahls Creative Director
Magnus Swedenstam Stendahls Copywriter
Sara Josefsson Stendahls Film Director
Peter Ohlsson Stendahls Account Director
Karin Hedberg Stendahls Project Manager
Annie Lundgren Stendahls PR
Linda Fernell Stendahls PR
Mariell Ehlin Stendahls Graphic Designer
Ida Nilsson Gilla Kommunikation PR

Why is this work relevant for PR?

One of the fastest growing digital mental health issues of our time is low self-esteem and depression. Through PR, #ImPerfect became a protest against today’s unattainable ideals created by social media. It raised the issue of digital illness amongst today’s youth and started a debate. It also disrupted the perfect social feeds of those influencing our kids. The movement resulted in young people driving their own cause, making digital health part of the school agenda. #Imperfect (#MissLyckad in Swedish) is raising a relevant topical issue, using social media to improve itself - and create significant change.

Background

Today, we see the backlash of social media platforms. Mental illness amongst teenagers due to social media’s warped ideals is the fastest growing health issue of our time. We carried out a survey revealing that one third of all girls feel like failures, and half of teenagers are unhappy with their bodies. This can have devastating consequences - both for the individuals and for society as a whole. As an insurance company with a focus on youngsters’ health and wellbeing, we wanted to change this and help teens see beyond the fake façades of social media. To do this, we had to shatter the myth of perfectionism once and for all and make individuality the new perfect. We would then introduce where it matters most – the classroom.

Describe the creative idea

We disrupted the source of the problem - the perfect feeds of social media influencers - with an imperfect object: a white asymmetrical t-shirt, which was unfinished and back-to-front. Influencers were intrigued and started to share a new trend in their feeds - imperfection. They became the voice making a statement against themselves – to alter the norm. A message that went straight into the feeds of their followers. We then launched the #ImPerfect web series which, because of the wishes of the teenagers involved, became part of the school agenda and established social media as a new subject in Swedish schools.

Describe the strategy

The challenge was to reach kids and teenagers and drive the subject all the way into the classrooms. But why would they listen to an insurance company? To initiate the movement we needed to borrow someone else’s voice - the role models on Instagram. The item we used to carry our message was the exact opposite of fashion and perfection - a basic, imperfect t-shirt. We released the t-shirt during Stockholm Fashion Week to implement a new fashion trend - imperfection. The influencers were hooked on the idea of not having to be perfect for once, and joined the movement against their own established image. In order to engage teenagers in the debate we initiated a web series, created and led by the youngsters themselves. Being able to drive their own cause increased their engagement in the issue.

Describe the execution

We began by carrying out a survey, which revealed the seriousness and scale of the of problem of depression and bad self-esteem amongst teens. To fuel the movement we worked together with the Swedish musicians and fashion icons Icona Pop, and the progressive fashion designer Ida Klamborn – all of whom were eager to make a statement on the issue. We released the t-shirt during Stockholm Fashion Week and at the Elle Fashion Gala, where Icona Pop were the hosts and the centre of attention. The #ImPerfect initiative quickly escalated into a grass-roots movement that engaged teens in the idea of imperfection as the new norm. They shared pictures, wore the tee, created their own films and even organised a charity gala. In 2 weeks we had launched a new trend based around imperfection that eventually made it all the way to into the classrooms as a new school subject.

List the results

Reach: Media reach: 33 million, with numerous TV-shows, radio-stations, and articles debating the topic. Social organic reach: 12 million Total reach: 45 million Campaign film views: 1,9 million Engagement: Social engagement: 3.1 million impressions The project initiated a movement where imperfection took over Instagram feeds resulting in healthier ideals on social media. The ImPerfect t-shirt was worn voluntarily by hundreds of influencers, artists and fashionistas, e.g. major stars such as Swedish artists Tove Styrkke and Miss Li, who shared the message in their feeds as a statement against their own perfectionism. Swedish pop star Eric Saade wore the t-shirt at the Swedish Grammy awards where he was awarded best dressed person by Aftonbladet – one of the biggest newspapers in the Nordic countries. Teens started to drive the issue further. They requested the web series be part of the school agenda, where it was used as a tool to discuss the issue. The web series had over 3000 downloads to schools all over Sweden. According to interviews conducted with teens they want the subject to be a bigger part of the school agenda. Corporate goals: After the project, the company was rated as the no.1 sustainable insurance company in Sweden. The county council have agreed that psychiatrists can now use the material to help combat mental illness amongst teens. The initiative is solid proof of how social PR can be used to drive social issues and create real change.