The Dignity Institute - an international association located in Denmark with 30 years’ experience across 20 countries - wanted to raise awareness of what these victims had suffered and raise funds for them.

Client ■ The Dignity Institute
Industry ■ Travel and transportation
Media used ■ Direct mail, web
Target audience ■ Key influencers
Date ■ 2016
Country ■ France
Agency ■ Grey Paris

BACKGROUND

More than 125,000 victims of political violence and torture live in France, but the government has not implemented a health and social security policy to help or assist these people. The Dignity Institute - an international association located in Denmark with 30 years’ experience across 20 countries - wanted to raise awareness of what these victims had suffered and raise funds for them.

IDEA

The creative leap was to show torture to key influencers in a way that they had never seen before. Torture victims recorded their stories and these were then embedded within their own medical x-rays. When the x-ray was placed on a turntable, it could be played like a vinyl record. As well as hearing about what the victims had had to endure, the influencers could see the injuries suffered by these people.  The journalists and opinion formers were shockingly reminded that torture and political violence is not a distant issue but a reality today at home in France. They were encouraged to start a debate about the issues.

RESULTS

250 articles were written in response to the mailings, generating 9.5m media impressions and 200,000 mentions on Twitter and Instagram. Traffic to the website increased 170% and one ex-minister decided to actively lobby the government.

Mail proves time after time that it’s an interactive medium. This admail campaign got people to look at an x-ray, place it on a turntable, place a needle on it and then listen and take action. Precise targeting combined with an engaging creative idea were behind its success.

Media

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