THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists!

Special Project

Special Project
From the 8th Annual Shorty Impact Awards

Justice for Some

Winner in Pro Bono Campaign

Finalist in Integrated Campaign

Silver Honor in Social Justice

Objectives

If you’re wealthy and white in St. Louis, your pursuit of life, liberty and happiness is seamless. However, if you’re poor and Black, your experience looks drastically different. People of color are consistently held back by the systems that should be protecting them.

ArchCity Defenders (ACD), a regional holistic legal advocacy organization that combats the criminalization of poverty — especially in communities of color — needed to create further awareness of judicial and economic inequities in St. Louis and invite people to join the cause as allies, advocates or patrons to help ACD champion change.

Our goal was to grab the attention of socially conscious St. Louisans who would be sympathetic to the cause once they were exposed to, or were reminded of, the realities and truths people of color face every day.

We wanted to increase engagement, donations and participation in finding a solution as well as boost overall awareness of ACD and its mission to create equitable justice and outcomes for people throughout the St. Louis region.

Strategy and Execution

Primary and secondary research revealed many St. Louisans have a disconnect between what they believe is possible and reality. The idea of the American dream is hardwired into our DNA. Most people, especially the privileged, aren’t aware that not only is the playing field not level but the game is also actively rigged against poor communities of color. 

If the American dream is to be realized, people need to be free to pursue their life’s goals without interference from a system designed to hold them back. People say, “The system is broken.” In reality, it’s racist. 

We targeted the general population of the St. Louis metropolitan area who, based on their values and beliefs, would be receptive to our message. Their levels of engagement or activism may vary, but once a cause they care about is put on their radar, their eyes become opened. These are the people who want to make a difference but don’t know where to start. We therefore needed to shine a light on the problem, ignite people’s compassion to address the issue and ask for their support in combating it.

With ArchCity Defenders being a pro bono client, our paid media investment needed to stay very low, so we relied on a mix of integrated communication tactics that were more guerilla in nature. 

Utilizing the above, we exposed the uncomfortable truths behind age-old American ideals and St. Louis beliefs in a way that forced people to stop and consider that the reality being covered up is that the color of your skin and economic status dictate your experience. 

Campaign executions received different type treatments that gave a nod to something purely patriotic, Americana or St. Louis. To reveal the underlying truths, we called back to another era of social justice by using a typeface based on the 1968 “I Am a Man” Memphis sanitation worker protests. 

Bold, thought-provoking and simple, our messaging forced people to face the inequities across St. Louis. It’s not liberty and justice for all — it’s liberty and justice for some.

Results

Because we couldn’t rely solely on paid media, our work had to shout. Our grassroots approach boldly disrupted and opened eyes across the region. In doing so, we successfully raised awareness, facilitated education, and elevated the important work ArchCity Defenders does to combat justice system inequities and create a safer, more equitable St. Louis. 

Our campaign landing page, beer launch event and amplified social not only helped us convey our message but also reach an even larger audience, producing valuable interactions with the brand throughout their website. 

Overall, ArchCity Defenders has seen an uptick in awareness, donations and traffic since the start of the campaign. Our landing page and amplified social helped reach an even larger audience and produced valuable interactions with the brand. Other results include:

 

Media

Video for Justice for Some

Entrant Company / Organization Name

HLK, ArchCity Defenders

Links

Entry Credits