Situation: 1 in 4 people will be a victim of domestic abuse in their lifetime. But if it’s not affecting them personally, they feel like it’s not their problem to address or prevent. As a pro-bono project (and labor of love), I reached out to the Partnership for Domestic Violence (PADV), and led an initiative to help them raise awareness and inspire action—beyond the typically closed circle of victims and their families who are often too afraid to reach out.
Approach: In our research with PADV, we found something deeply troubling: domestic violence reports hardly ever make headlines in local or national media. Yet many of the worst mass shootings or terrorist acts in the US—acts of violence that DO make headlines—can be traced back to people with a history of domestic abuse. We couldn't help but wonder: if more people had known about the intimate violence taking place behind closed doors, if a news story had been written, if laws had been enforced, if offenders had been prosecuted, could we have stopped the mass violence from taking place in front of our eyes?
To get people to understand the real impact of domestic violence on all of our lives, we needed to connect with them through something (unfortunately) more familiar: the acts of mass violence that came after. Working with news archives, police bureaus, and public records departments across the country, my team tracked down the incident reports from three cases of domestic violence that were never publicized, and matched them up with the actual 911 calls from the horrific public shootings that followed. As we stitched the pieces together, the stories became haunting to hear. But the eye-opening impact was real.
Even though we were working on a shoestring budget, we rolled up our sleeves—and called in some favors—to bring the campaign to life with paid radio, video, and social, got PR pickup across several Atlanta news outlets, and even earned a mention on AdAge.com. The valuation of our pro-bono work across 8 months was over $120,000 (including 600 man hours), and brought countless new donors, supporters, and advocates into PADV's circle.
After the campaign's launch, we received an outpouring of appreciation and gratitude from PADV's staff and board members.
"As a board member of PADV, I wanted to express my sincere gratitude for the extensive creative work VML has done with the It’s Everyone’s Problem campaign. It makes such a difference to receive in kind donations, and yours is ‘over the top’. Efforts like yours help us to make people safer and to save lives everyday."
"I just wanted to take a moment to say “thank you” to you and the entire VML team for your work on PADV’s “Everyone’s Problem” campaign. We are already seeing responses to it. Thank you for making the investment to help eradicate domestic violence."
"I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of meeting, but I’m a board member for Partnership against Domestic Violence. I want to thank you and your organization for the tremendous value you’ve given us with the It’s Everyone's Problem campaign. It’s truly appreciated!"