THE REAL-LIFE ESCAPE ROOM

TitleTHE REAL-LIFE ESCAPE ROOM
BrandUNICEF SLOVENIA
Product/Service/
Category B11. Brand Voice & Strategic Storytelling
Entrant AGENCIJA 101 Ljubljana, SLOVENIA
Idea Creation AGENCIJA 101 Ljubljana, SLOVENIA
Media Placement AGENCIJA 101 Ljubljana, SLOVENIA
PR AGENCIJA 101 Ljubljana, SLOVENIA
Production AGENCIJA 101 Ljubljana, SLOVENIA
Credits
Name Company Position
Sašo Petek Agencija 101 Creative Director
Jure Korenč Agencija 101 Senior Copywriter
Dino Zupančič Agencija 101 Strategy Director
Peter Vidmar Agencija 101 Communication Director
Anja Šeme Todorović Agencija 101 Account Director
Primož Kos Agencija 101 Art Director
Eva Gradišar Agencija 101 Project Manager
Damijan Penič Agencija 101 Web Designer
Leon Škrilec Agencija 101 Head Developer
Žiga Goltes Agencija 101 Head of Back Office
Gregor Golob Agencija 101 Event Planner
Uroš Svenšek Agencija 101 Digital Expert
Matjaž Marin Agencija 101 Digital Media Planner
Nina Plantan Agencija 101 Social Media Manager
Tjaša Kožar Agencija 101 Project Manager Assistant
Irena Stamenkovič Unicef Slovenia Client Representative
Maša Gorjup Unicef Slovenia Public Relations
Tjaša Jazbinšek Unicef Slovenia Social Media Manager
Katja Bašič Unicef Slovenia Expert in the Field
Amadea Ris / Face of Campaign
Gregor Novak PERFO Production Producer
Luka Štigl PERFO Production Film Director
Andraž Fijaž Bačovnik / Photographer
Matjaž Moraus Zdešar Matjaž Moraus Zdešar Sound Designer
Matjaž Okretič Emrocon Developer

Why is this work relevant for PR?

UNICEF's campaign addresses one of the biggest social issues in Slovenia – child sexual abuse. Besides raising awareness, campaign actively encourages reporting of child sexual abuse to protect children and make positive change. Seeing that this is a taboo topic, about which practically no public discourse took place, the campaign avoided this taboo and significantly contributed to the public discourse and successfully promoted positive change – reporting child sexual abuses – mainly with the help of earned media. It immediately led to the increase in the number of reports and with that, protected at least a couple of children. #endviolence

Background

Research shows that in Slovenia every fifth girl and every seventh boy are victims of sexual abuse, with as much as 85 % of all sexual abuse taking place within immediate and extended family. In EU, less than a third of all child sexual abuse incidents are reported, while the number of reported child sexual abuse crimes has even decreased in Slovenia over the past few years. This issue is additionally amplified by the low level of awareness of the general public and the lack of knowledge of the facts, as well as this being a taboo topic. Stigma, shame, feelings of guilt and fear are driving families and others in the know away from solution. To make a step forward we need to face the wider Slovenian public with harsh reality of child sexual abuses in Slovenia and than encourage and mobilize them to take responsible actions.

Describe the creative idea

To avoid the taboo we used the analogy of the escape room. Sexually abused children are held captive behind the four walls of an abusive environment, from where they cannot escape. Only adults can help them escape. This led to setting up The Real-Life Escape Room at a real-life crime scene, where Amadea suffered sexual abuse as a child, for many years from her grandfather. With Amadea as an escape room guide it was based on her real story and on the only one clue. After Amadea’s revelation the only clue led visitors to report abuse to the local organisation. The purpose of the event was to get an authentic emotional video for raising awareness and encouraging reports. The video premiered at the largest media event in Slovenia, where key influencers and others watched it one by one in the company of Amadea, without them knowing who she was.

Describe the strategy

Since child sexual abuses are common and present everywhere in Slovenia we had to address wider public. Besides we focused on parents and target groups that are in daily contact with children (pediatricians; kindergarten and primary school teachers; coaches for kids etc.). Relevant institutions as well. We planned all of mass media to reach wider audiences, and specialised media, such as magazines and web portals for parents, teachers, educators, coaches and pediatricians, to reach specific target groups with deeper contents. Campaign was based on earned media tactics, so leveraging key influencers was crucial. To keep the impact of PR stunt at maximum, we had to reach as much key influencers at the same place and time as possible. Campaign was based on truth, so every phase must have followed only truth. A lot of special care and preparations must have been taken because of the “real-life” execution.

Describe the execution

Casting and preparations (7 months): search for young and strong victim with a strong intrinsic motivation; real location of crime left practicaly intact; real story; coaching by professional actor etc. Teasing (1 week): stereotypical materials – posters, FB ads and FB page, google adwords, webpage with entry form; only truth, just out of the context; Event (2 days): 6 groups of visitors (1 h each); min. number of groups to ensure enough material for the video; 2 branded cars for transportation of groups (location was never communicated) Launch (1 day): PR stunt at the biggest media event in Slovenia; press kits and link to online video and website for all visitors; online video and website launch After launch: press kits and other materials for all planned media and institutions; crisis communication plan if needed; arrangement of the interviews on TV’s and in press; communication on UNICEF Slovenia’s owned media etc.

List the results

All results (except the last one about UNICEF Slovenija awareness and top of mind) are based on first 10 days of the campaign. Population of Slovenia: 2 million people. The number of child sexual abuse reports has increased by 20 %, hopefully helped at least some children. The campaign addressed 66.4% of adults (15-70 yrs old), who can help save children. All the most prominent media companies in Slovenia, as well as local media from all Slovenian regions reported about the campaign. All the bigger TV-channels ensured a 37.22-minute-long primetime high quality coverage on the issue of sexual abuse. More than 80 % of all media publications were deep and quality: reporting the extent of the issue in Slovenia, statistics and called for reporting abuses by including a phone number. UNICEF's FB post with the video reached more than 50 % of all Slovenian Facebook users. It was shared by the most prominent Slovenian politicians, musicians, the most followed influencers, bloggers and other public figures, and got some reactions videos. Google Trends shows that the search for the keyword UNICEF Slovenia since the beginning of the campaign increased by 110 % and search for the keyword child sexual abuse by 90 %. After the start of the Real-Life Escape Room campaign the organic reach of the average FB post by UNICEF Slovenia increased by over 260-times. A significant increase in UNICEF top of mind and spontaneous awareness scores in Slovenia.