Client: The Autonomous Women's Center, Belgrade
Prior to the campaign, only 2% of women suffering domestic abuse were aware there was a free helpline they could call and get free legal and psychological support crucial to finding a way out of the situation of violence. But how do you get the helpline in front of the eyes of women of diverse ages, places, and ways of living and keep it there, so they can use it if they ever need it? And all that with no media budget?
We found a solution in the one thing most women have in common: their menstrual cycle. The helpline number was printed on a small paper that holds the sanitary napkins’ wings together. The paper became the perfect medium: the first thing a woman sees when she opens a sanitary pad, yet completely invisible from the outside.
Innovative media
Impact
"To this day, 5 years after the initiative, the Autonomous Women's Centre receives calls from women who found out about the helpline from the pads."
Sanja Pavlović
Autonomous Womens' Centre, Belgrade
The non-government Autonomous Women’s Center Belgrade was founded in 1993 with the mission to empower women in overcoming trauma caused by domestic and/or sexual violence. Their helpline has been providing free psychological and professional legal support and helping the victims of domestic violence find a way out and rebuild their lives for over 25 years.
Only 2% of women experiencing domestic abuse were aware there was a free helpline they could call and get the crucial and, often, life saving support.
Previous traditional media campaigns that promoted the helpline had a very limited reach, as there is no “typical victim” of domestic violence: women of all ages, professions, educational levels and places of residence were equally at risk. After a series of femicides committed in Serbia over a short period of time, it has become clear that an urgent action was needed. The number had to be made known and accessible to as many women as possible, as quickly as possible.
From the start, it was clear that another advertising campaign was not going to solve the problem, as the number needed to reach, basically, all grown women in Serbia, in big cities and in isolated villages alike. Additionally, The Autonomous Women’s Center had zero media budget to spend.
So, we set to find one thing that all, or at least most of these otherwise extremely diverse women had in common. And we found it - in their menstrual cycle. We focused our attention on a small piece of paper that holds the wings inside every sanitary pad together. This paper is the first thing a woman sees when she opens a pad, while being completely invisible from the outside. We realized that this paper was the perfect media to carry the SOS number.
We contacted the biggest Serbian producer of sanitary pads, Drenik ND and they agreed to become a partner on the project.
The helpline number, along with the message ”There is a way out”, was printed inside all sanitary pad brands produced by Drenik ND Company: Boni, Feel Fine and Yup.
Just two days after the sanitary pads with the number hidden inside them hit the shelves, the first women who had learned about the number from a sanitary pad contacted the helpline. Ever since then, without any additional PR or campaign, the number has been reaching millions of women every month. It is in purses, in bathrooms, shared among friends and colleagues and, every now and then, shared on social media by women touched and thrilled by the discovery inside their sanitary pads.
Who knows what we can
come up with for you!
Let's find out:
contact us
here
