The Big Conversation

We were asked to devise a three-week digital advocacy campaign for Simon Communities. With almost 10,000 people homeless or living in real fear of losing their homes, the campaign had two clear objectives: (1) to gather at least 10,000 signatures for a petition calling for the Irish Government to engage in a big conversation about homelessness and the housing crisis; (2) to remind people that homelessness isn’t normal or acceptable.

The campaign took a Facebook-led approach, whereby we targeted individuals who had previously expressed an interest in homelessness and social issues.

We worked with filmmaker Nick Kelly to create a film featuring two well-known personalities (Panti Bliss and Jennifer Zamparelli) chatting informally over a scene that shifts from seemingly innocuous conversation to a surprising conclusion that reminds viewers we’re in danger of accepting homelessness as normal.

The film ended with a call to action to sign the petition. Once signed, users were brought on an email journey whereby they were encouraged to share the campaign message.

By the end of the three weeks the film had generated 13,242 unique signatures for the petition, exceeding the original target by 32%.