2013 highly commended: Women's Aid, marketing on a shoestring - case study

Domestic abuse is incredibly prevalent, but most people turn a blind eye to it. Our task was to force the issue onto the national agenda: a huge objective, magnified further by the tiny £30,000 budget.

Innovatively deploying 3D technology in a manner no film maker, never mind advertiser, had done before allowed us to make every single penny count. In 3D cinema screens, the technology allowed us to play out two different scenarios simultaneously. By switching between their left and right eyes, the viewer is able to control which scenario they will see, forcing them to choose whether or not to turn a blind eye to domestic abuse. Through one eye the viewer sees a normal story of a woman preparing dinner. Through the other, exactly the same scene but with one difference: the harrowing presence of an abusive husband.

The idea’s pioneering nature was the key factor: not just in creating an extraordinarily powerful and original advertisement, but also for marketing on a shoestring. The campaign’s innovative nature meant that people wanted to be a part of this ‘world first’ – meaning we were able to produce the advert, air it, and generate PR for only £30,000.

Money well spent

To put this into context, £30,000 represents a fifth of what the advert should have cost in production, and 170 times less than the value of the cinema airtime and PR coverage it generated. And this is just what the £30,000 secured in 2012, not what it will continue to generate in 2013 (which is expected to be plentiful).

It is obviously difficult to see the absolute end result of this campaign and isolate its effect. But even if we only save one woman from a life of domestic abuse, this has been £30,000 well spent.

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