A SCREEN FOR HELP

Short List
TitleA SCREEN FOR HELP
BrandAWEL
Product/ServicePOINT OF CONTACT FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WITH QUESTIONS, PROBLEMS,...
Category G06. Breakthrough on a Budget
Entrant WUNDERMAN THOMPSON Antwerp, BELGIUM
Idea Creation WUNDERMAN THOMPSON Antwerp, BELGIUM
Credits
Name Company Position
Manuel Ostyn Wunderman Thompson Antwerp Creative Director
Tomas Van Loon Wunderman Thompson Copywriter
Patrick Vermeylen Wunderman Thompson Antwerp Art Director
Charlotte Feremans Wunderman Thompson Account Manager
Carole Steger Wunderman Thompson Antwerp Account Manager
Hanne Jacobs Awel Communications Manager

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

Vulnerable children are a difficult group to reach. But with A Screen for Help, we found a way to talk to them in a non-intrusive, unforced and direct way. Our wallpaper was sent to the organization that collected laptops for vulnerable children and made them ready to use. Simply by installing our background as default wallpaper, every single laptop that was distributed reached a vulnerable child.

Background

When corona hit Belgium, the country went in lockdown. A dfficult time for everyone, but even more for vulnerable children as domestic abuse increased massively by a staggering 53%. On top of that, many kids didn’t have a computer to attend their online classes. This is why organizations started collecting laptops and distributed them to children in need.

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

A Screen for Help is a very simple redesign of the Windows wallpaper where we subtly added a message and the phone number of Awel, a helpline for vulnerable children. We sent this wallpaper to the organization that refurbished these laptops. All they had to do, was install the background as default wallpaper during setup.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

During the lockdown, vulnerable children's need for help was high, but our budgets weren't. So, when we heard about the organizations that were collecting laptops for vulnerable children, we saw an opportunity. Because these laptops are a very good solution for vulnerable children's problems in school, but they could also be a great solution to help them with their problems at home.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

We made a wallpaper that looks exactly the same like the default Windows wallpaper but subtly added our message. Subtle enough not to be noticed by passers-by, but directly reaching the vulnerable child sitting in front of the screen.

List the results (30% of vote)

This small change in a simple computer setting had a massive impact. More than 10.000 laptops were distributed with every single one directly reaching a vulnerable child. This generated an impressive increase in calls to the Awel helpline of 44%.