OMD UK is working with ChildLine and the youth specialist agency Livity to help the charity support the launch of their debut mobile app, Zipit, with cleverly targeted media used to direct ChildLine’s audience towards the app and wider information on sexting or bullying.
Zipit, ChildLine’s first app, is an empowering tool for young people who feel peer pressure to engage in unwanted and explicit conversations. Conceived to deal with the recent surge in so-called ‘sexting’ – with around a quarter of surveyed 13-18 year olds reportedly sending explicit images or video of themselves to somebody else, and 60% being asked to do so – the app serves as a means to defuse awkward or worrying conversations with humour. Using image macro memes with a witty message, anyone who feels uncomfortable in a conversation can forward a harmless response to an explicit request, in order to keep flirty chat on safe tracks.
Having launched Zipit at the end of October, ChildLine has enjoyed some fantastic success in uptake, with 18,000 downloads in three weeks. However, at OMD UK we hope to take this great performance even further. Using a combination of TV, OOH, and Digital media, we will be targeting ChildLine’s key audiences across a variety of channels and also broadcasting the campaign message to a wider national audience.
The launch of a first app is a big milestone for any brand, and Peter Liver, NSPCC’s Director of ChildLine, agrees that the campaign is a standout event: “This campaign is one of ChildLine’s biggest and most ambitious in a number of years, and we’re pleased and proud to be working with OMD UK and Livity to create and distribute this important message. It’s ChildLine’s first app, and OMD UK’s expert insight has been invaluable in ensuring we can place it exactly where it needs to be in order to reach our target audience and hopefully empower them against the pressures of sexting.”
Accordingly, we have launched ChildLine’s first TV advertising campaign in 3 years, introducing the app alongside a series of Hollyoaks episodes that focus on themes of sexting and bullying. Positioning the app in this context will illustrate the real value of ChildLine’s message, and Zipit specifically, in true-to-life scenarios to an audience who stand to benefit from it the most. This aspect of the campaign will be combined with creatively targeted online activity that pinpoints secondary schools’ Wi-Fi networks and social gaming, placing Zipit at the heart of its audience’s online experience.
To top off all of this highly targeted activity, there is a nation-wide OOH campaign conducted in partnership with our good friends at Talon. ChildLine’s message will appear across cinemas and Underground stations to spread the word amongst a broader audience and inspire new conversations on the topic of sexting.
We’re looking forward to helping ChildLine’s great work reach even more of those who need it, and we’re very glad to be a part of the drive to tackle a serious and difficult issue amongst a young audience. To download Zipit or read more about ChildLine’s work, please visit: http://www.childline.org.uk/play/getinvolved/pages/sexting-zipit-app.aspx
Livity, the youth specialist agency: http://livity.co.uk/
