| Title | THE POLITE TYPE |
| Brand | TIETOEVRY |
| Product/Service | IT SERVICES |
| Category |
A01. Data-enhanced Creativity |
|
Entrant
|
TBWA\HELSINKI, FINLAND
|
|
Idea Creation
|
TBWA\HELSINKI, FINLAND
|
|
PR
|
TBWA\HELSINKI, FINLAND
|
|
Production
|
TBWA\HELSINKI, FINLAND
|
|
Production 2
|
GREAT APES Helsinki, FINLAND
|
|
Production 3
|
TMI MELVAS TYPE DESIGN Vantaa, FINLAND
|
|
Additional Company
|
THE CHILDREN AND YOUTH FOUNDATION Helsinki, FINLAND
|
Credits
| Jyrki Poutanen |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Chief Creative Officer |
| Mikko Pietilä |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Executive Creative Director |
| Virpi Grönlund |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Client Service Director |
| Markus Nieminen |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Creative Director |
| Juhana Hokkanen |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Innovation Director |
| Joona Stedt |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Account Manager |
| Simone Bocedi |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Senior Content Strategist |
| Fredrik Stürmer |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Art Director |
| Maria Kuorikoski |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Senior Creative |
| Antti Halme |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Senior Creative |
| Iida Sarpaniemi |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Graphic Designer |
| Atso Wilén |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Graphic Designer |
| Henrik Storsjö |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Video Editor |
| Paula Sonne |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Communications Strategist |
| Saana Simander |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Junior Communications Specialist |
| Sara Pitzén |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Junior Communications Specialist |
| Katariina Ollari |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Content Producer |
| Eemeli Tani |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Performance & Analytics Manager |
| Juho Ojala |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Planner |
| Lisa Myllymäki |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Director |
| Tuukka Tikkanen |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Producer |
| Anton Tevajärvi |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Director Of Photography |
| Aki Karppinen |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Gaffer |
| Mikko Kuoppasalmi |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Editor |
| Anssi Mahlamäki |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Motion Designer |
| Ville-Matti Koskiniemi |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Sound Design |
| Petri Falkenberg |
Grade One |
Post Production |
| Aino Heiniö |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Costume Design |
| Donna Maimon |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Casting |
| Fanny Haga |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Photographer |
| Jonna Yletyinen |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Still Producer |
| Mika Melvas |
TMI Melvas Type Design |
Typeface Designer |
| Jonna Louvrier |
External Consultant |
Diversity and Inclusion Advisor |
| Michaela Moua |
External Consultant |
Diversity and Inclusion Advisor |
| Sara Salmani |
External Consultant, Inklusiiv |
Diversity and Inclusion Advisor |
| Anaka Kobzev |
TBWA Worldwide |
Global Head of Corporate Communications |
| Melissa Gotleib |
TBWA Worldwide |
Global Communications Associate |
| Doug Melville |
TBWA Worldwide |
Chief Diversity Officer, North America |
| Kia Haring |
TietoEVRY |
Head of Communications and Sustainablity |
| Hanne Haapoja |
TietoEVRY |
Head of Group Customer Insight |
| Mari Tuokko |
TietoEVRY |
Communications Lead, Finland |
| Reija Sihlman |
TietoEVRY |
Head of PR and Issues Management |
| Nelli Melin |
TietoEVRY |
Digital Content Manager |
| Annika Uusikari |
TietoEVRY |
Content Creator |
Why is this work relevant for Creative Data?
In the project an extensive data bank on the vocabulary of cyberbullying was gathered through linguistic analysis and interviews of focus groups representing different cultures. The data was put to use by hacking into the ligature function of an Open Type font, and bringing the vocabulary into the code of the font file. This makes utilizing the data easy for end users, as all they have to do is download the font.
Background
A third of all bullying now takes place online. As an IT company driven by Nordic values, TietoEVRY wanted to enter the public discussion on the downsides and possibilities of technology by proposing a solution for addressing cyberbullying.
Drawing from the company’s purpose of enabling a brighter future and an existing partnership with The Children and Youth Foundation, we created The Polite Type: an open-source font that promotes better online language use and empathy.
The project aimed to create a platform for public dialogue on digital responsibility with key decision-makers and public sector customers, while bringing in young people as active participants in tackling discriminatory language before it happens, through a positive change in attitudes.
The main KPIs outlined by the client were media coverage, reach and awareness, audience growth, engagement, conversion rate and referral traffic.
Describe the Creative idea / data solution (20% of vote)
The Polite Type is a font that recognises and rewrites hate speech. By launching a self-moderating font, TietoEVRY wanted to create discussion about toxic online culture and cyberbullying and innovative ways tech can be used to foster empathy online.
A third of all bullying takes place online. Together with The Children and Youth Foundation and diversity and inclusion experts, we identified offensive language related to online bullying and created a word library where each word was given a more inclusive alternative or blocked altogether. This word library was then coded into an Open Type font file, creating a custom font that gives its users direct feedback on their language use.
The Polite Type is a font that can be used on any platform. All the functionalities are incorporated inside the font itself, so no applications, keyboards or such have to be installed.
Describe the data driven strategy (30% of vote)
An extensive data bank on the vocabulary of cyberbullying was gathered through linguistic analysis and interviews of focus groups representing different cultures. The results were validated by focus groups in Europe and the US. This ensured relevance and topicality, which was essential in a project that relied on earned media visibility.
Supported by researchers at the University of Helsinki, we ran corpus linguistic analyses of online data to create word clouds of vocabulary connected to cyberbullying-related themes identified by those affected by cyberbullying and diversity and inclusion experts. Among others, these themes included gender identity, sexuality, race and ethnicity, body image and socio-economic background.
These results were augmented and validated in focus groups representing different backgrounds and minorities. Together with these focus groups, we identified alternative expressions for some of the words and identified some that should be blocked altogether as offensive. These will appear as a blur when typed.
Describe the creative use of data, or how the data enhanced the creative output (30% of vote)
The data was used to build a word library that provides contextual understanding of cyberbullying and discriminatory language related to it. Currently, the data bank consists of around 2,000 terms and expressions identified in the data gathering process and their suggested alternatives.
The data was put to use by hacking into the ligature function of an Open Type font, and bringing the vocabulary into the code of the font file. This makes utilizing the data easy for end users, as all they have to do is download the font. The font then recognises and corrects hate speech and discriminatory expressions based on the data gathered.
The font’s source code is accessible to anyone who downloads the font, so they can make use of the data and develop the font’s functionalities further.
List the data driven results (20% of vote)
The campaign’s launch generated 637 earned media impressions, 221 of which were news articles. The campaign’s overall reach was 900,598,598, corresponding to an EAV of 8,497,769.31€, indicative of high quality media hits.
Since August 2020, the font has been tested on the website 27,467 times and installed by 3,367 users in over 100 countries.
90,5% of all website traffic and 94,2% font downloads resulted from earned media content. 51% of site visitors tested the font. 6% of all site visitors and 12% of those who tested the font installed it. Potential developers and global vendor partners have expressed interest towards The Polite Type.
An international school network now uses the font in its schools. There has been interest from new governmental and NGO partners in creating new language versions of the font, with a German language version confirmed.