Title	PARALLEL REALITY - HARSH ACTUALITY
Brand	NGO - ASTRA
Product/Service	SOCIAL RESPONSIBLE ISSUE
Category	G06. Breakthrough on a Budget
Entrant	NGO ASTRA Belgrade, SERBIA
Idea Creation	M2COMMUNICATIONS Belgrade, SERBIA

Name	Company	Position
Miro Antic	M2Communications	Strategic Planner
Milena Banovic	M2Communications	Project Leader
Peđa Markovic	M2Communications	Creative director
Daniel Girizd	New Entertainment Office	Art Director

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

Integrated campaign Parallel Reality - Harsh Actuality was inspired by direct or indirect victims of human trafficking. It was primarily addressed to empower them to report their problem and to know that they have support, and the second goal is also to inform the public about ways to report and raise awareness about this social issue. We used the data and stories of victims and employees as insight, and our creative concept emerged from it. Above this, this campaign was implemented with a limited budget for this kind of project.

Background

Human trafficking is a problem that is present everywhere in the world and maybe it is closer to us than we think and that is why the need for such a campaign arose. The client brief was to create an awareness-raising and communication campaign to inform on specific democracy / human rights issues within the project. Their objective was to report as many victims as possible for help and to stand in the way of this dangerous phenomenon.

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

Situations that we encounter almost every day, sometimes without any reaction, and sometimes with condemnation or pity, are often in fact human trafficking situations. The problem of human trafficking acts as a parallel reality, as if it is invisible and happens far away from us, however, it is a problem in which phenomena only seem one way, while the reality is different and even harsher. That is our harsh actuality. We wanted to present this social problem in a specific way, through the symbolism of imaginary chains. The imaginary chain strongly symbolizes everything with which a human trafficker binds his victim: blackmail, coercion, punishment, threat, fear, which is not visible at first glance. The PARALLEL REALITY – HARSH ACTUALITY campaign points to the three most common forms of human trafficking: sexual exploitation, child exploitation and labour exploitation (forced labour).

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

An integrated campaign was conducted on the following communication channels: TVC, OOH, a digital campaign on social networks, and PR. NGO Astra did a brilliant job delivering the data and information from their house, they helped us to create a general picture of this issue, and deliver a creative concept. Then primary target audience is victims of human trafficking, we wanted to encourage and support them, and above all, we helped the public to be informed and aware of this major social problem. As Call to action, on all media was visible the phone number of the Astra call center.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

This campaign lasted 6 months. An integrated campaign was conducted on the following communication channels: TVC, OOH, digital campaign on social networks and PR. From September 2020 to February 2021 we changed the direction of the campaign following the results. First, a digital campaign was launched on social networks, then OOH, and finally print and TV guest appearances. With an integrated campaign we wanted to connect all media so that the message of support and empowerment reaches as many people as possible.

List the results (30% of vote)

Achieved results: 1. Media: • 12 TV guest appearances • 106 posts on the web and social media channels • 32 publications in print editions 2. Social networks: • Total reach 645,000 users • Total view 201,500 views • Total engagement 22,200 reactions The Parallel Reality - Harsh Actuality campaign sparked public reactions. Words of support and a lot of positive comments were sent to the NGO Astra and its team. The number of calls to the call center via SOS hotline increased by 120% compared to the same period last year.