There are many conventional ways of campaigning to help people facing homelessness and/or to end homelessness. Here are 4 unconventional approaches.
Made by HSBC in conjunction with Shelter, exposing the vicious circle of “no home – no address – no bank account – no job – no home”. The ad doesn’t just show the relentlessness of the vicious circle, but makes you feel it.
Sleeping Flags: The Bags We Never Wanted to Make
This Irish veterans charity uses the taboo about the flag touching the ground to highlight the much greater sin of having former soldiers sleeping on the ground. Powerfully bitter.
St Mungo’s: Wake Up to Homelessness
This is a smart idea to capture the idea that homelessness doesn’t just apply to “them” but, with just a sharp change of fortune, could easily apply to “us”.
Situation Stockholm is a Swedish street newspaper, much like the UK’s Big Issue. It is sold by people trying to escape homelessness, but faces the problem (as does the Big Issue), of people seeing the sellers as beggars rather than as entrepreneurs. By adopting whole-heartedly the visual and verbal grammar of the business magazine profile, this campaign challenges those preconceptions.
(Note – Di is Sweden’s equivalent of the FT)
The Ideas Lab examines what makes effective (or ineffective) communications in the fields of causes, charities and social-impact businesses.
Cause & Effect: Terence Lovell
Terence Lovell is Chief Engagement and Marketing Officer at the blood cancer charity Anthony... Read more
Cause & Effect: Kath Abrahams
Kath Abrahams is Director of Engagement and Fundraising at Diabetes UK. After starting her... Read more
Joltin’ Joe has left and gone away
One of the most extraordinary books I’ve ever read is Joe DiMaggio, by Richard... Read more