Prioritizing the fight against domestic violence
During the second wave of the pandemic, Radio-Canada reported a 60% increase in calls to helplines for women victims of domestic violence. Wanting to invest in a cause that is close to its heart, Fonds de solidarité FTQ donated $400,000 to 16 shelters across Quebec. Our team was mobilized to highlight this commitment, but above all, to ensure that domestic violence against women was discussed in a sensitive way.
A focus on resources
Our challenge was to find a memorable concept that would allow Fonds de solidarité FTQ to stand out without seeming opportunistic. This was all the more vital since campaigns on the subject so often rely on the shock value surrounding domestic violence and its consequences. Our focal point had to be the solution—namely the resources offered by shelters. We wanted to portray hope through a platform presenting real testimonials from survivors. We also had to conceive of a way to completely anonymize the testimonials to ensure the participants’ safety.
Finding support to find a way out
Knowing that many victims hesitate to leave a violent home for fear of losing everything, Fonds de solidarité FTQ and our team focused on highlighting resources rather than obstacles. We wanted the campaign to show that domestic violence takes various forms, whether physical, verbal, psychological, financial, or sexual, and that shelters can be a way out for everyone. We saw the combination of immediate financial assistance with greater awareness as a powerful way to make shelters more accessible.
Creating a visual universe that truly serves survivors
As part of this campaign, our team wanted to highlight real and authentic experiences. The stories shared shed light on the different roles a shelter can play for survivors. Describing shelter workers by turns as friends, angels, a second family, or even a small army, the campaign’s three heroines explain how they were able to “rebuild the right to exist”, “relearn what joy is” and “regain some confidence”. In a soothing universe, stand-ins make slow, gentle, subtle gestures meant to honour the complexity of the emotions being shared. In the videos, as the story moves from distress to hope, light transitions from dark blue to light pink. This visual universe was also used through various assets for the campaign, and posted on Fonds de solidarité FTQ’s social media networks. The posts redirected people to a website run by a regional association of shelters for women victims of domestic violence (the Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victims de violence conjugale) where more resources are available.
In a deeply sensitive campaign, Fonds de solidarité FTQ offers a platform to three survivors of domestic violence who show that shelters are a way to find support and find a way out.
“It was only natural for our team to collaborate with Republik on this campaign, considering their experience with social projects and their involvement in various causes. The agency always manages to highlight these matters in a human and sensitive way. It should also be noted that Republik already has excellent knowledge of the Fonds, which helped a lot for this mandate.”
-Ariane Cloutier, Marketing Strategy Advisor, Marketing and Brand Strategy
"Wow, I'm deeply touched! I love it! Thank you for this experience. It wasn't easy but I'm so proud."
"This is beautiful. Thank you for allowing me to take part in this great project!"
-Messages received from participants
A ray of hope
"Finding support to find a way out" has generated many positive comments on social media and from the employees of Fonds de solidarité FTQ. It's however difficult to measure the impact of the campaign. Since several factors at once can lead a victim of domestic violence to go to a shelter, it's impossible to directly attribute this decision to the viewing of the campaign.
Collaborators on the project
― Production : ALT
― Réalisatrice : Vanessa Gauvin-Brodeur
― Productrice : Katia Pellerin
― Producteur de plateau : David Tomassini
― Média : Dentsu
― Directeur de groupe : Sébastien Labelle
― Superviseure média : Sophie Marcotte