State Street Global Advisors: Fearless Girl, 2

Credits & Description:

Title: Fearless Girl
Agency: Mccann New York
Brand: State Street Global Advisors
Country: USA
Entrant Company: Mccann New York
Advertising Agency: Mccann New York
Pr Agency: State Street Global Advisors Communications, Boston
Production Company: Stuart Weissman Productions, New York / Craft Worldwide, New York / Copilot Strategic Music + Sound, New York
Additional Company: Visbal Fine Bronze Sculpture, Lewes
Global Creative Chairman: Rob Reilly (Mccann New York)
Co-Chief Creative Officer: Sean Bryan (Mccann New York)
Co-Chief Creative Officer: Tom Murphy (Mccann New York)
North American Chief Creative Officer: Eric Silver (Mccann New York)
Chief Production Officer: Nathy Aviram (Mccann New York)
Executive Music Producer: Eric Johnson (Mccann New York)
Senior Project Manager: Steven Marchione (Mccann New York)
Svp Executive Producer: Christine Lane (Mccann New York)
Music Producer: Dan Gross (Mccann New York)
Chief Creative Officer: Joyce King Thomas (Mccann New York)
Managing Director: Devika Bulchandani (Mccann New York)
Sr. Art Director: Lizzie Wilson (Mccann New York)
Sr. Copywriter: Tali Gumbiner (Mccann New York)
Creative Director: Dov Zmood (Mccann New York)
Creative Director: Vince Lim (Mccann New York)
Senior Integrated Producer: Deb Archambault (Mccann New York)
Regional Director: Rich Oleary (Mccann New York)
Chief Communications Officer: Jeremy Miller (Mccann New York)
Design Director: George Katz (Mccann New York)
Senior Editor: Nathan Troester (Mccann New York)
Junior Producer: Doug Harrison (Mccann New York)
Director Of Social And Mobile: Gemma Craven (Mccann New York)
Head Of Communications Strategy: David Broad (Mccann New York)
Executive Account Director: Peter Bracegirdle (Mccann New York)
Account Supervisor: Molly Vossler (Mccann New York)
Content Creator: Brett Berman (Mccann New York)
Content Creator: Eric Perini (Mccann New York)
Artist: Kristen Visbal (Visbal Fine Bronze Sculpture, Inc.)
Owner: Bryan Roberts (Traction Creative)
President/Creative Director: Joel Simon (Jsm Music)
Execution:
The “Fearless Girl” bronze statue was placed on the eve of International Women’s Day directly in front of —and staring down—the iconic Charging Bull of Wall Street. We kicked off the installation with The Wall Street Journal prior to launch, and the agency and SSGA recruited women in positions of power to discuss the “Fearless Girl” on their own social channels. Representatives of SSGA openly showcased their investment in companies where women held positions of power. The creative women behind the idea, and the female artist who created the sculpture, discussed their ambitions with the press. #FearlessGirl was launched to curate and build the conversation.
Synopsis:
Women make up half the population, yet the share of women in corporate leadership positions remains disproportionately low. However, research from MSCI Global reveals that companies with higher percentages of women in leadership roles outperform those that don’t. To allow investors to leverage this truth, investment firm, State Street Global Advisors, developed the SHE Fund, the first ETF comprised only of corporations with the highest percentages of women in leadership positions.Next they needed a campaign that would spread the word across the financial community.
Outcome:
The conversation spilled into popular culture globally, reaching over one billion Twitter impressions in the first 12 hours; 3.3 billion in five weeks (Source: Spredfast). 405 million Instagram impressions in six weeks (Source: Spredfast). Fearless Girl was featured in 4,122 broadcast news segments in the US alone, reaching 184.8M people (March 7th-31st Source: TVeyes). – more than half of the US population. Estimated publicity value of these news segments was over $12.2M ( Source: TVeyes). Fearless Girl reached 128 countries, with the majority of conversation in financial, leadership, innovation and social justice communities - exactly the audience we sought to engage. State Street/State Street Global Advisors’ share of voice jumped 379% (3/7-3/31 vs. the previous 90 day period. Source: Radian6). Six days after the Fearless Girl campaign launch, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, joined State Street Global Advisors’ call for greater diversity on corporate boards. SSGA’s SHE Fund saw a 384% increase in its average daily trading volume in the three days following the Fearless Girl launch. Fearless Girl inspired Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney to re-introduce her Gender Diversity in Corporate Leadership act. ? Online petitions demanding Fearless Girl remain in place garnered over 40,000 signatures, leading NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio to admit her as city public art, letting her stay through at least 2018. De Blasio said: "The Fearless Girl has fueled powerful conversations about women in leadership and inspired so many.”
Campaign Description:
On the eve of International Women’s Day, we challenged the symbol of corporate America—Wall Street's Charging Bull—with a bronze statue of a young girl, appropriately named “Fearless Girl.” Fearless Girl was designed to represent the power of women today and tomorrow. Hands on hips, chin high, she stands strong in a place the business community—and the world—couldn't ignore.Along with the statue, we created #FearlessGirl and invited people across the world to use it in joining our fight for women in leadership, lending their voice and sharing images of the statue. With this social media campaign, we created the opportunity for Fearless Girl to be more than a single statue, but a unifying message that transcended her place on Wall Street.
Strategy:
SSGA wanted to make a statement: they had proven that companies with strong female leadership performed better than their male-led counterparts. Launching the SHE Fund was one strong action from the brand, but it only spoke to financial insiders.To get broader awareness, the PR strategy was simple: choose the right moment (the eve of the first International Women’s Day of the Trump era), the right place (opposite Wall Street’s Charging Bull), and the right figure (a proudly defiant and expertly sculpted bronze girl). The strategy was all about context— cultural as well as physical.
Relevancy:
Just a few years ago, a bronze statue of a little girl dropped in the darkness on Wall Street would have generated minimal news coverage in NY and in financial circles. Today the right object, in the right place, at the right time—driven by the right idea—can become an international sensation overnight. In today’s world of PR, taking a stand that people can believe in, and take part in, is the ultimate conversation driver.