The Challenge
Happy Child International is a Brazilian charity which exists to help Street Children in Brazilian cities.
The World Cup will be held in Brazil during June and July 2014. The Met Police and CEOP (the Child Exploitation and Online Protection agency) are concerned that young girls in Brazilian cities will be trafficked and girls as young as 11 or 12 will be groomed for prostitution to take advantage of the huge influx of football fans.
Section 72 of the Sexual Offences Act stipulates that anyone found guilty of sexual offences abroad can be prosecuted in the UK. The view of the Met Police is that if men are aware that paid-for sex with a girl aged 17 and under is a criminal offence, then the problem could be reduced by as much as 95 per cent.
Quick Thinking was appointed to provide partnerships and create marketing initiatives to help Happy Child address this issue.
The Solution
Clearly the urgent issue was one of awareness. The problem is not just UK based, but global. So any solution had to be equally global-based with an initial focus on the UK.
Quick Thinking created a campaign called ‘It’s a Penalty’. The aim was to put something physically in the hands of fans travelling to Brazil, to create awareness of the issue on social media and to reinforce the message on flights to Brazil before and during the World Cup.
The company set about creating a film which highlighted the issues. It felt it important to have the campaign endorsed by people with whom the fans related. So we approached world class footballing ambassadors with caring reputations. The first film featured David Luiz, captain of Brazil, Oscar and Ramires, also of Brazil, and England player Frank Lampard. The film was premiered on the FA website in advance of the Brazil v England match on June 2nd 2013.
Approaching the database of England fans that would be travelling to the World Cup was key. Quick Thinking decided to create a partnership with the Football Association. The FA agreed to mail the message to all accredited ticket holders travelling with the England Supporters Club. They are also sending regular e-mails.
Quick Thinking also felt it important that fans travelling to the World Cup should have a physical reminder of the issue. A T-shirt was designed which is worn by all the ambassadors in the films. The plan is to send every fan a T-shirt with details of the campaign. Quick Thinking has been asked to help find a company to create and sponsor these T shirts. Discussions are currently ongoing with Nike and Adidas about production, and Visa Europe regarding sponsorship.
Fans will be invited to visit the ‘It’s a penalty’ website (created and programmed by Quick Thinking) where they can claim their T-shirt. The T-shirt will then be mailed with their ticket.
A final link in the chain is awareness on flights going out to Brazil. Quick Thinking approached British Airways who have agreed to show the films pro bono on all flights to Brazil during June and July. Quick Thinking is also approaching other national airlines in the hope that they will follow suit.
Credibility at the highest level is key. The charity is an official partner of CEOP and Jubilee International, the human rights charity responsible for bringing human rights activist Chen Guangcheng to the Houses of Parliament in the UK.
Quick Thinking has also been involved in several meetings with Sir Paul Beresford MP, Baroness Anne Gibson, Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords and Lord Alton. As a result, the official launch of the campaign will be held at the Members’ Dining Room in January.
The campaign will be featured on social media with links to the video on Twitter, Facebook and other social media. Quick Thinking will be partnering with worldwide agency We Are Social to implement the social media strategy.
Results
The campaign has had a ‘soft’ launch. The best result so far is that it is happening at all. The campaign has achieved all of the above without spending a single penny. With no marketing at all, and purely by word of mouth, the film has been viewed well over 1000 times in two weeks. Views have come from all over the world, predominantly in the UK and Brazil, but also in France, Sweden, Spain and as far afield as Japan, Zambia and Nepal.
Those supporters of the campaign who have indicated their willingness to tweet about the campaign after the launch have followers who number well over 1,000,000.
Client testimonial
Sarah de Carvahlo, CEO of Happy Child International commented: ‘We chose Quick Thinking because of their deep commitment to this cause. They have been invaluable in creating partnerships with not just the sporting community but also major brands’.
