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Category
Innovation & Transformation / Innovation in Lockdown
Annual ID
OS_MO21_036M
About the Work
The Canadian Women’s Foundation was bracing for a surge of gender-based violence as lockdown made it more difficult for those at risk of abuse to safely reach out for help. To respond, we invented Signal for Help: a silent, covert one-handed signal someone can use on a video call to communicate that they need help. It was intentionally designed as a one-handed sign that a person at risk can make while holding a mobile phone with their other hand. Research was done prior to its release to make sure that it was not in conflict with any other hand signals and didn’t mean anything specific in international sign languages.
On April 14th, 2020, we launched with an unbranded instructional social post and toolkit in English, French, and Spanish so anyone could own, and everyone could amplify. Three months after launch, an independent survey commissioned by the Canadian Women’s Foundation and conducted by Maru/Blue found that 33% of Canadians said they have seen info about the signal and 96 out of 1,509 people surveyed said they had used or seen it used directly.
Inspiring activism and action on a global scale Signal for Help has been adopted by 200+ women’s organizations, across 40+ countries in 20+ languages, and garnered 1 billion+ impressions. It has been endorsed by emergency services, governments, law enforcement, and health professionals around the globe, including being mentioned in the peer-reviewed Canadian Medical Association Journal as a tool to help.
On April 14th, 2020, we launched with an unbranded instructional social post and toolkit in English, French, and Spanish so anyone could own, and everyone could amplify. Three months after launch, an independent survey commissioned by the Canadian Women’s Foundation and conducted by Maru/Blue found that 33% of Canadians said they have seen info about the signal and 96 out of 1,509 people surveyed said they had used or seen it used directly.
Inspiring activism and action on a global scale Signal for Help has been adopted by 200+ women’s organizations, across 40+ countries in 20+ languages, and garnered 1 billion+ impressions. It has been endorsed by emergency services, governments, law enforcement, and health professionals around the globe, including being mentioned in the peer-reviewed Canadian Medical Association Journal as a tool to help.
2021 Awards
Total Points: 3
Merit
Credits
Agency
TBWA\ Juniper Park / Toronto
Client / Brand
Canadian Women's Foundation
Production Company
Bolt Content / Toronto
Chief Creative Officer
Graham Lang
Executive Creative Director
Jenny Glover
Illustrator
Sam Bullis
Agency Producer
Nina Buis
Communications Manager
Josh Burleton
Community Manager
Megan O'Malley
Developer
Kevin Ko
Steve Van Gelder
Director of Integrated Production
Nancy Rak-Swales
Manager, Public Relations & Online Engagement
Kate Hawkins
President
David Toto
Senior Director, Public Engagement
Sarah Ruddle
Studio Artist
Rubene De Sousa
Vice President, Public Engagement
Andrea Gunraj
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