How can we use digital to activate action against stereotypes?

Background

The Unstereotype Alliance is a thought and action platform that seeks to collectively use theadvertising industry as a force for good to drive positive change all over the world. Convened byUN Women, the United Nations entity for Gender Equality, the Alliance contributes toempowering people in all their diversity (gender, race, class, age, ability, ethnicity, religion,sexuality, language, education, etc.) and addressing harmful stereotypes in advertising to help
create a more equal world.
To date, the work of the Unstereotype Alliance has been focussed on eradicating harmfulstereotypes within the global advertising industry. In 2022, the Alliance will be launching its very
first global Business to Consumer campaign to highlight the harmful nature of stereotypes andthe detrimental impact they have on people’s lives and on society. The ambition is for thecampaign to be a catalyst to launch a movement, to raise awareness about the harmful natureof stereotypes, inspire action, and facilitate an ongoing dialogue with consumers.

The Challenge

How can we use digital to activate action against stereotypes?
The campaign, named ‘Say nothing, change nothing’, is centered around a core objective tocreate behavioural change and encourage people to act when they see somebody perpetuatingor reinforcing a harmful stereotype. We want to shift people from being bystanders to becoming
upstanders against stereotypes by educating and equipping people with information and tools
to safely challenge perpetrators.

Target Audience

This will be an entirely social campaign and for launch, the key target markets are Brazil, SouthAfrica, Turkey, UK and the U.S, but the campaign will be global (including India, Japan, Kenya,Mexico, Nigeria, UAE)
The target consumer for the campaign are 18-30 year olds in the aforementioned countries.

Insight

Stereotypes are pervasive, powerful, and have a destructive impact on people’s lives. They are a
key barrier to progress that stand between society and all forms of equality – particularly genderequality.
According to OHCHR - Harmful gender stereotypes and wrongful gender stereotyping are one of
the root causes for discrimination, abuse and violence in manifold areas and can lead toviolations of a wide array of human rights.
Stereotypes are all around us and often go unnoticed. When they appear in advertising andmedia, they perpetuate bias and discrimination – and disempower whole parts of society. They
matter because they do not represent the wonderfully diverse societies we live in. Advertisingand media play a crucial role in influencing behaviours, forming social attitudes, and shaping
beliefs. With this comes an immense potential for progressive portrayals of all people to drive
positive change.
It is time for people to understand the harmful nature of stereotypes and help change theirpresence and role in our societies.
Strategy

A movement requires taking people on a journey from awareness through to affiliation and thenaction. As such, the campaign will roll out in three phases. At each stage of participation within
the movement, it is essential that our audiences encounter content which provides them withthe tools they need to continue along the journey.

Phase 1: Awareness●●Showing our audience the impact of stereotypes on inequality and progress, and whythings need to change.
Tactical aim: Education

Phase 2: Affiliation●●Enabling our audience to make the issue their own by lending their personal stories,and joining us in our mission.
Tactical aim: Belonging

Phase 3: Action●●Equipping our audience to take action in the real world, and showing how their individualaction has a wider impact on our vision.
Tactical aim: Advocacy

Key Message

We want to inspire long-lasting action against stereotypes. ‘Say nothing, change nothing’ is thekey message that should be weaved throughout all phases to encourage people to become
upstanders to stereotypes, and not bystanders.

Personality

The Unstereotype Alliance seeks to eradicate harmful stereotypes from advertising and media
to help create a more equal world. Convened by UN Women, the Alliance collectively acts toempower people in all their diversity (including gender, race, class, age, ability, ethnicity, religion,and sexuality) by using advertising as a force for good to drive positive change all over theworld.
We are an action-oriented collective of 217 members that challenges ALL harmful stereotypes
and drives more progressive portrayals of all people in advertising - throughout the content
itself, the people that produce it and throughout the entire creative process.

Campaign Do’s and Don’ts

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Whilst we can have a conversational tone of voice - appropriate to a social media
environment - the content of the message we are conveying is serious, so be wary ofusing humour and please do not use swear words
Be cautious of implicit bias and please do not showcase stereotypes in any form - theUnstereotype Alliance’s 3Ps framework could be utilised by competitors to sense checktheir response
We cannot endorse any commercial entity so please ensure there are no references toBrands/organisations in your response
Consider the globality of this campaign and the cultural nuances that exist - thiscampaign must be applicable to both global North and global South countries
The response must be inclusive of all people

Specific Deliverables

Teams are asked to create a digital-led campaign. The objective is to show how the power ofdigital technology can answer the Competition Partner’s brief and provide a creative solutionaligned with the digital revolution (online and/or mobile).
Each team will be submitting an A3 format entry that showcases their digital campaign. This
must include:
Three digital strategies that define your campaign. These may include the use of social media,
or any other digital led execution.
A four-part written submission●●●●

Campaign summary (150 words)
Creative insight - How can digital be utilised to activate the three phases of awareness,affiliation and action to meet the overall objective? Please consider the varying target
markets as part of this. (150 words)
Solution - What are the platforms, technologies, and tools you have chosen and why?
Social media platform recommendations and rationale per phase considering thevarying target markets. (150 words)
How does it work? - How does your digital solution answer the brief and solve theproblem faced by the client? Description of the assets, formats and messaging that
could be created across each phase for social media and any other digital components
recommended. (150 words)