CARE and acclaimed photographer Nigel Barker’s 2024 International Women’s Day campaign, #SheLeadsTheWorld, was a multi-day, multi-platform engagement activation sponsored by P&G that drove action for women’s equality around the world. The campaign celebrated the incredible leadership of women through stunning portraits and videos of women leaders.
The campaign featured online activations, traditional media features, and in-person events. Highlights included a vibrant social media campaign, Nigel featured on ABC’s Good Morning America, eye-catching OOH advertising across NYC, print features in TIME Magazine and Vanity Fair, a gallery exhibit in NYC, and a day of advocacy in Washington DC.
CARE designed #SheLeadsTheWorld to increase awareness of International Women’s Day by calling on diverse communities around the world – from celebrities and influencers to high school kids – to share powerful images and stories women who inspire them. Our goals were to garner impressions from audiences across the US and beyond and engage individuals in sharing examples of uplifting and inspiring women’s leadership.
When CARE began the brainstorm for our IWD campaign, the goal was to develop a theme that would ring true to women’s leadership throughout the year, not just in March. CARE tapped into the universal sentiment that women must work harder to get the recognition and respect they deserve and championing them for their leadership and determination. By brainstorming as a team, iterating ideas, and having people from diverse backgrounds at the table from the start, we developed our 2024 campaign. We had the “what.”
A big differentiator this year was that the team in CARE Sierra Leone led the story of “who.” That team identified local women leaders we could feature as the cornerstone of the campaign. We recruited Nigel Barker to lead this effort as its photographer and interviewer, and, together, we traveled to Sierra Leone to meet the women in their own communities and to understand what drives them to care for their neighbors.
The women we met and interviewed all had their own stories, but they also all had specific points of pride in their work. A 19-year-old keke driver who also sold condoms to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. A head nurse who, in a country with one of the world’s highest rates of maternal deaths, had not lost a single mother or newborn. An entrepreneur who was successful enough that she was serving as a volunteer teacher – the first woman teacher (but not the last, thanks to her example) at the school -- educating the next generation of leaders. An entrepreneur who built her own house and had taken in children whose parents had either died or abandoned them.
We interviewed seven leaders in total and featured four as part of the campaign. While a success, it was not a campaign for its own sake. The true success was in sharing these success stories and the role that CARE programming played in enabling the women to achieve for themselves, and who, in turn, were passing their gifts along to others. That was at the heart of what we tried to illustrate because they were the ones overcoming significant challenges and making positive, long-lasting change happen. The emphasis on local leadership and the power of resilience were the “why” and the “how.”
CARE’s #SheLeadstheWorld campaign made a significant impact, generating 184 million media impressions, support from nearly 30 celebrities, and 35 media placements, securing the #1 share of voice during International Women’s Day.
Major media outlets, including ABC’s GMA3 What You Need to Know, FOX5’s GoodDay NY, NY1, and Forbes, amplified our message, featuring Nigel Barker in interviews across these channels. Pro-bono partnerships, such as the World Trade Center Lighting Ceremony featuring Barker’s photography, and paid media, like our out-of-home advertising in NYC, were essential in creating high-impact, cost-effective activations. In total, 50 pro-bono partners drove 19.2 million impressions. A Brand Lift Study by pro-bono partner Upworthy revealed that donation intent doubled among those exposed to our ads. Our paid social advertising saw a video completion rate of 7.9%, surpassing previous campaign benchmarks.
Our in-person and virtual events—including the NYC gallery event, CARE on Capitol Hill, and the Fresh Perspectives webinar series—engaged nearly 3,000 individuals, celebrating women’s leadership globally and creating new celebrity partnerships for CARE.
These results demonstrate the campaign’s success in raising awareness, inspiring action, and promoting women’s leadership. By weaving together diverse and locally representative storytelling, strategic corporate and celebrity partnerships, and leveraging media placements, our 2024 IWD campaign had a lasting impact, strengthened brand visibility, and fostered meaningful connections that support in advancing women’s leadership globally.
