Women around the world have shown great courage standing up for each other during the #metoo movement. Even in Sweden, which is ranked as one of the most gender equal countries in the world and where gender equality has been an important topic of conversation for many years, the #metoo movement and the current political climate indicate that the country still has a long way to go when it comes to equality of all people.

At the same time, there is a distinct group of people in Sweden who are very conscious of all the problematic issues in the world. For these people, subjects such as white feminism, ableism and white saviorism are part of daily conversations. It is a difficult target group that often questions campaigns using charitable causes.

Women in film, music and advertising are often overlooked by men, which has become a vicious circle of favoritism, promoting men. As a result, women in Sweden rarely get the chance to get into the industry.

We wanted to realize the aim of The Swedish Red Cross solution, and show that by unifying women, change can happen. We also wanted to take a stand and set an example which once and for all proves that women are just as able as men. Therefore, an all-female crew was a must-have. Likewise, including women of all colors, religion and sexual orientation.

The creative idea was to let women in music, film, dance, art, fashion, and advertising collaborate and interpret the words sisterhood, humanity, and bring it all together in a music video. And most importantly – never to compromise on the “all women” concept.

A great effort was made to make sure the spokespeople and influencers were credible to carry the message, but also that they are known for fighting for equality and the equal value of all.

The biggest challenge was to create a campaign that could appeal both to the conscientious target group, as well as everyone else, to really make an impact. Another challenge was to get the message across with a tight budget of 45,000 SEK, especially on a day like International Women’s Day, known for big campaign releases targeted towards women.

Therefore, the project needed the right voices. We found it in Janice, AMWIN, LASH and Sabina Ddumba, some of Sweden’s up-and-coming female singers and rappers – five passionate, independent women, with a strong relationship to their audiences. Together they would do their version of the song “Queen” by Janice.

To give the project more depth and PR, important female influencers were invited to participate. As a result, the music video was supported by great role models in fields such as anti-racism, body positivism, female and LGBTQ rights and functional disability.

Over 100 volunteers identified as women put their heart and soul into the project. According to the participants, the project was not only empowering, but filled with warmth and togetherness – all captured in a moving behind-the-scenes video.

The song and music video were released on March 8, International Women’s Day, and was celebrated with an event in Stockholm, where the song was performed live for the first time.

The music video quickly spread through paid and earned social media, influencers and PR, helping surpass every goal in this campaign. The content made to support the music video was used to drive traffic to the landing page and for re-targeting.

The project relied on word-of-mouth marketing, using web, social, event, PR and influencers. 21 influencers spread the content via their own channels. The song and music video continue to gain strength on Spotify and YouTube.

The behind-the-scenes and music video reached more than 1,1 million views (Sweden has 10 million population,) the song was played 318,000 times on Spotify and multiple times in Sweden’s most popular radio channel (P3). The song was performed live on national television during the national film awards ceremony “Guldbaggen.”

The project had a tremendous impact in media, featuring over 64 times in Swedish and international press, along with an interview on the biggest morning show (Nyhetsmorgon).

The campaign generated 7,028 link clicks to the website, indicating that the target group felt inclined to learn more. These people can now be reached through re-targeting.

A positive side effect was that the campaign also fundraised more than 80,000SEK.

Women shared how the video moved them and gave them strength to keep on fighting. Several women from the project have now worked together on other productions and helped each other find job opportunities.