Propel Change. Drive Action. Increase Calls. Change Lives.
It’s a harsh reality. Human trafficking is thriving in Canada, and sex trafficking, in particular, is now prevalent in every community across the land. This isn’t something that happens somewhere else to someone else. Anyone can be a victim; it’s affecting our families, our friends, and our neighbours.
By definition, human trafficking involves the recruitment, transportation, harbouring and/or exercising control, direction or influence over the movements of a person to exploit that person – typically through sexual exploitation or forced labour.
While most Canadians express concern about human trafficking, the shocking reality is that many of us don’t really understand the issue. To bridge this gap, Strategic Objectives partnered with The Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking (The Centre), a national, charitable organization dedicated to ending human trafficking, to raise awareness and promote its Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline, Canada’s only national hotline dedicated to the issue.
The challenge
Human trafficking is a complex issue. Our integrated marketing program aimed to simplify and clarify the topic to connect and motivate Canadians to action.
Equip the media and public with information on the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline to encourage engagement and empower action
Increase awareness of, and confidence in, the Hotline among victims and survivors of trafficking
Drive calls and reports to the Hotline
The solution
A Multi-Phase Campaign Centred on Love & Healthy Relationships
Our strategy began with comprehensive research, including deep-dive sessions, a national survey, focus groups, and briefings with Hotline team members. Findings showed most Hotline calls involve sex trafficking, leading us to target everyday Canadians and victims/survivors to raise awareness and promote Hotline use.
Wave One:
We launched a national media campaign highlighting Canadians’ lack of awareness about human trafficking, revealing that 77% can’t recognize the signs, nearly 60% don’t believe it’s happening locally, and 52% don’t know victims are often lured by someone they know. This resulted in 163 media placements, 14 interviews, 17.5 million impressions, and a spike in Hotline calls.
Wave Two:
Timed for National Human Trafficking Awareness Day and Valentine’s Day, our integrated campaign promoted The World’s Most Understanding Campaign, addressing the toxic side of relationships. The empathetic ad campaign targeted survivors and victims, emphasizing the caring nature of the Hotline and featuring messaging across streets, stores, transit, and social media to reach them where they might have a moment alone.
On May 25, 2022, the Globe and Mail reported that the PWHPA is one step closer to achieving its goal of one single, viable professional women’s hockey league thanks to an alliance between Bill Jean King and LA Dodgers Chair, Mark Walter .
The results
Scoring big
- 353 Million Impressions
- “Best of the Best” Award 2023
- More than 300,000 Video Views
Results
Does your brand need help cutting through the clutter? Are you looking for fresh thinking and modern storytelling that gets results?
Please contact us to collaborate on award-winning campaigns. We can’t wait to get started!
