Brand design agency, Uniform reveals the strategy and creative for a campaign commissioned by Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP), which hopes to prompt people in Sefton to think about who might be at risk of being exploited by drug gangs in their area and to share that information to help keep vulnerable neighbours safe.
‘You KnowWho’ is a pilot to find out whether the VRP can generate useful information from residents of Sefton to identify vulnerable people who are having – or who are at risk of having – their homes invaded by drug gangs, known as ‘cuckooing’.
The campaign explains what cuckooing is, who might be vulnerable and provides residents with a number of ways of safely reporting it – by filling in a leaflet or reporting it online via the website, hyper-local posters, direct mailers, digital and urban artwork designed by Uniform, should give communities the confidence to identify and seek help for people vulnerable to, or victims of, cuckooing. The messaging and visuals have been developed to empower people to trust their gut and act to keep their community safe.
Uniform’s Creative Strategist Erika Anderson said: “The driving insight for this campaign was very simple, and very human. People in these communities know who is at risk. Certain faces and names come to mind when they hear the word ‘vulnerable’. They have a gut feeling that’s right, but it was staying in their gut. Our strategy for this campaign worked hard to give them the ability, opportunity and motivation to act. Empowering them to trust their intuition wasn’t the best way – it was the only way.” Uniform’s Creative Lead, Michael Walsh, said: “We started work on this campaign in the peak of the pandemic; a time when all communication coming from the NHS and the government looked and felt pretty scary.
On the flip side of that, we saw people across the country creating rainbows in their windows, and chalking messages on pavements in support of the NHS, key workers and their communities. We realised the campaign could adopt a similar tone to ensure it was clearly about community and looking out for each other.” Tori Hywel-Davies, communications lead, Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership said: “Uniform has created a powerful hyperlocal campaign that looks and feels right for our target audience.
The emotional approach and appeal to residents to understand ‘cuckooing’ and to trust their gut to ‘know who’ is at risk, and then feel they can safely report it anonymously, has been carefully considered and very well crafted As this is a pilot campaign, we hope its success will see it rolled out in other relevant Merseyside boroughs.”
