CHARITABLE FOUNDATION CHANGE ONE LIFE/ CHANGE ONE LIFE: Read to Me

Credits & Description:

Category: Public Interest, NGO
Media: Film
Brand: Change One Life
Original Title: Почитай мне
Original Client Name: Фонд «Измени одну жизнь»
Agency: Y&R
Geo: Russia
Advertising Agency: Y&R, Moscow, Russia
Executive Creative Director: Federico Fanti
Creative Group Head: Sergey Balabonin
Senior Art Directors: Kirill Novikov, Tatiana Vasilieva, Margarita Zagoskina
Senior Copywriter: Tatiana Bazhan
Account Director: Anastasia Koroleva
Senior Account Manager: Natalya Emelyanova
Designer: Irina Averina
DOP / Designer: Roman Borisov
Producers: Inna Alperovich-Chikhladze, Yana Seredenko / AdService
Director: Kirill Novikov
Directors of Photographer: Yan Yasinsky, Anastasiy Mikhailov
Composer: Konstantin Maltsev
Editor: Ilya Malov / AdService
Sound Engineer: Valentin Borisevich / AdService
Published: May 2017
Description: When we read to our children together we experience something interesting, important, and unforgettable. Unfortunately, thousands of orphans across Russia don't have this luxury; they don’t always have someone near who can read them and give care and attention they need so much.
With Change One Life Charitable Foundation, we created 'Read to Me', the channel on Youtube and OK where we upload orphans’ videos with their requests to read to them and where celebrities read them in return. Through these channels we will also gather funds for the foundation with the help of pre-rolls monetization, this technology was used for the first time in Russia for a charitable campaign.
Now everyone can help orphans by joining the Read to Me project, watching the readings, and not skipping ads while watching, a part of money paid by advertisers is transferred to the Foundation account.
Outcome:
The Read to Me channels with more than 1100 minutes of content have more than 20 000 subscribers with very strong engagement. Around 60 Russian and international celebrities already donated their time, and the fairy tales they read have been watched in 126 countries so far. One third of the children who participated in the project found new families.
Strategy:
It is crucial for the Foundation to raise massive awareness about its activities and attract potential adopting parents to their website.The strategy was to show the orphans’ problem from a different, familiar to everyone angle, to reach wider audience and to explain people that even by watching the videos they already help. To reach wider audience we decided to use two biggest social platforms in Russia – YouTube for its ability to attract and engage younger crowds and OK, Russia’s second biggest social network, with the biggest number of members who are parents of pre-school and school kids. We also used the pre-roll monetization technology on both channels which allowed all viewers to help the Foundation and orphans.
Synopsis:
Every kid loves listening to nighttime stories read by parents. Through this activity children and parents together experience something important, interesting and unforgettable. Unfortunately, thousands of orphans across Russia don't have this luxury. The problem goes beyond the mere lack of reading, it is about attention, love and care.So we set several goals. First, we wanted to raise awareness about the ‘Change One Life’ charitable foundation activities and attract attention to the Russian orphans’ problems in general. The more potential parents visit the Foundation site and watch orphans video profiles, the more chances children get to find a family. Second, through personalized readings we wanted to make orphans feel needed and important. And, finally, we aimed to create something of a great human value to outlast the initiative and become a source of positive experiences for all children, parents and general public in an out of Russia.
Campaign Description:
We asked orphans who they would like to read them their favorite stories. They came up with names of sports stars, actors, singers and other famous celebrities. Then we created two online-channels where we regularly upload videos of orphans’ requests and celebrities’ answers inviting all people to subscribe, watch and turn orphans lives into a fairy tale! The reading videos (along with the requests and other materials) gradually form an online video library of children books – freely available to everyone and ever growing.
Execution:
With the help of the ‘Change One Life’ charitable foundation we asked orphans all over Russia who they would like to read them a story. Children came up with the names of different celebrities. Then we shot the requested celebrities reading. We launched two online-channels of the Project – on YouTube and Odnoklassniki, the biggest social network in Russia, where we regularly publish the orphans’ requests and the reading videos. We also started the process of monetization on both channels to raise funds.
Relevancy:
This work is particularly relevant for Entertainment Lions because we found a way to connect to our target (potential adopting parents) in an innovative and emotional way. In fact, potential parents can only view orphan kids on the online State archive. Here, they are presented just with a sloppy picture and a one-line cold description. By creating videos where the kids not only listen to their favorite stories but they see their favorite celebrities reading them, we showcased them in the most candid, spontaneous and emotional way. As a result, one third of the participating orphans have already been adopted.