New Yorkers Against Gun Violence/ NYAGV: Sign Their Yearbook, 2 [image]

Credits & Description:

Agency: Volt Stockholm, Sweden
Client: New Yorkers Against Gun Violence
Product: Gun Violence Awareness
Entrant: Volt Stockholm, Sweden
Title: Sign Their Yearbook
Product/Service: Gun Violence Awareness
Idea Creation: Volt Stockholm, Sweden
Pr: Volt Stockholm, Sweden
Production: Volt Stockholm, Sweden
Art Director: Oskar Pernefeldt (Volt Stockholm)
Art Director: Linus Bronge (Volt Stockholm)
Creative Director: Daniel Vaccino (Volt Stockholm)
Account Director: Maria Sandberg (Volt Stockholm)
Account Manager: Gabriela Brandén (Volt Stockholm)
Visualizer: Staffan Kjellvestad (Volt Stockholm)
Digital Designer: Per Sturesson (Volt Stockholm)
Photographer: Jan Landfeldt (United Frog Studios)
Photographer: Ulf Nilsson (United Frog Studios)
Music: Mårten Sahlin (SingSing)
Website URL: http://www.signtheiryearbook.c...
The Campaign
Every year millions of students get their yearbook signed by their friends, but not everyone gets the chance to experience this fine tradition. In the last 15 years alone, over 30 000 Americans have died in gun-violence before graduating high school. We created a posthumous yearbook for the students who never got the chance to be in one. By signing at the campaign-site you could leave your condolences, but also demand change, since the yearbook itself doubled as an official petition to strengthen gun-laws. On September 8th the yearbook, now filled with signatures, was handed over to Congress. The parents and relatives of the victims in the book, received copies as well. “Sign Their Yearbook” tapped into a deeply rooted American tradition that is all about hopes and plans for the future, and turned it upside down by focusing on the personal tragedies that America has suffered due to gun-violence.
Creative Execution
We created a posthumous yearbook for all the students who never got the chance to be in one. The book was designed just like a regular yearbook, but contained pictures of victims of gun-violence. With a digital signature at signtheiryearbook.com you could leave your condolences, but also demand change for the future, since the book itself doubled as an official petition to legislate universal background checks on gun-purchases. The site was a simple call-to-action, and the signatures were then packaged in a physical yearbook and moreover petition. On the 8th of September the yearbook was handed over to congress, bringing a close to a 6-week campaign period consisting solely of the website, PR and earned media. The book itself was created in close collaboration with the parents and relatives of the victims featured in the yearbook.
Results
“Sign Their Yearbook” was signed by thousands, seen by millions and covered by some of world’s most influential media; creating a platform for New Yorkers Against Gun Violence to make their case in the public eyes of America. The petition was handed over to Congress, urging them to legislate background checks on gun-purchases. In a debate that has become very political, our yearbook offered a powerfully personal perspective on the gun-issue. Also and equally important, it perhaps offered some sort of closure for the parents and relatives of the victims. “Sign Their Yearbook” was featured in The New York Times, Huffington Post, Business Insider, Fast CO Create, Metro NY, National Swedish News, Mic and many others. The campaigns potential reach was over 169 millions according to Meltwater Group, with an estimated Advertising value of 1 727 850 USD.
We created a posthumous yearbook for all the students who never got the chance to be in one. The book was designed just like regular yearbook, but contained pictures of victims of gun-violence. By signing at the campaign website you could leave your condolences, but also demand change, since the book itself doubled as an official petition to strengthen gun laws. "Sign Their Yearbook" is relevant for Direct since we: 1. Asked people to sign the yearbook online. 2. Then re-packaged these signatures in an actual physical yearbook that was handed over as an official petition to Congress.
Our strategy was to put emotional emphasis on an issue that all to often is reduced to statistics, politics and numbers. The right to bare arms is deeply funded in the American soul and cultural heritage. To make people think and re-think, we used an equally American and equally powerful tradition in order to disarm pro-gun-advocates. A posthumous yearbook for the students who never got the chance, to be in one. The idea was in essence a powerfully personal perspective on the gun-issue. The yearbook was a remembrance, an honoring, and also a call for chance; since the book doubled as an official petition that was handed over to Congress.