Client
UNESCO

Category
Campaign

Deliverables
Social Media

A digital campaign to elicit engagement around UNESCO’s Internet for Trust conference

Background

In February, 2023, UNESCO hosted the Internet for Trust conference to discuss a set of draft global guidelines for regulating digital platforms, to safeguarding freedom of expression and access to information. 

Rooftop was tasked with bringing the conference to the attention of the broader public through a digital marketing and awareness campaign.

Challenge

Creating a successful digital campaign around Internet regulation.

Rooftop had just two weeks to conceptualise and deliver an engaging, evocative digital campaign for UNESCO to promote the Internet for Trust conference. The campaign included the design and promotion of social media posts, digital banner ads and a social media activation strategy.

One of the major challenges for this project was the short timeline and the complex, potentially divisive topic.

The internet has opened up incredible opportunities for communication, commerce, socialisation, education and knowledge sharing around the world. And while it has the potential to help uplift communities, and society as a whole, the internet it can also be used for destruction.

Online violence is a major issue, and children face extreme bullying on a daily basis. ‘Trolls’ hide behind pseudonyms and spread fake news and provoke violence. Left unregulated, the internet has the potential to become useless as a tool for public good.

UNESCO is currently working on developing Guidelines to help ensure “users have a safer and more critical interaction with online content” while still supporting freedom of expression and the availability of accurate and reliable data. The Internet for Trust conference was conceived as a way to gain further insights from various stakeholders to help inform the Guidelines.

Solution

Collaborating with strategic partners to amplify the campaign and boost audience engagement.

With very little time at our disposal, Rooftop focussed on developing a concept that showcased the topic and ultimate goals of the conference.

We used the digital environment to promote awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the internet. We encouraged conversations about the topic and this engagement helped raise awareness about the Internet for Trust conference.

Because we had such a short timeline for the project, we knew that the launch and activation would have to make an immediate impact that got people talking. We enlisted UNESCO and their participating partners as well as selected influencers for the activation. Each party shared ‘blank’ posts on their social media accounts for the day along with the hashtag #RebootTheNet. The blank posts created a stir, and at the same time raised awareness about how ‘useless’ the internet would be if left unregulated.

This was a strategy that UNESCO had never used before, but it was highly effective. After the day of ‘blank’ posts, the parties released a series of follow-up posts and messaging that promoted the Internet for Trust conference.

These posts included eye-catching, recognisable digital elements like screenshots, mouse cursors, glitches and trolls, and the social media copy called on users to challenge their own perceptions and ideas around what the internet should be.

The Result

Ultimately, Rooftop’s team helped create an effective campaign that raised awareness about the conference as well as initiated a global conversation around internet regulation.

Instagram Poll

Social Media posts

Social media mentions

Global impressions

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