The Body Shop is a trusted global brand with a 30-year history of fighting for a fairer world.

Every Christmas, The Body Shop Australia partners with a women’s charity as part of a long-term bid to promote gender equality and maintain their position as an ethical, activist brand.

In 2020 they partnered with Launch Housing, who provide services for women experiencing homelessness.

Brief: To develop an earned media idea that drives awareness of The Body Shop as an activist brand and promotes the Launch Housing partnership.

Objectives:

1. Position The Body Shop as an activist brand with young Australians (18-34yrs)

2. Stimulate the conversation with young people

- Discussing the issue and engaging on social media

- Increasing enquiries to Launch Housing by 30%

3. Get people to take action

- Increase donations for Launch Housing by 30%

- Drive awareness of Christmas donation ($0.03 per purchase to Launch Housing)

So how do we get young Australians talking about this issue? By combining their love of social media and the power of music.

We took an iconic 90s dance track about homelessness and gave it to Siala, a young hip hop artist, to produce her version.

The song, Crystal Waters’ anthem, She’s Homeless, tells the story of a real woman who becomes homeless after losing her job. The iconic line, “She’s like you and me, but she’s homeless”, encapsulates how homelessness can happen to anyone, to any woman.

A relevant, relatable and recognisable talent, Siala rose to fame on The Voice Australia in 2020 when she was living in a women’s shelter with her mum and five siblings, after escaping family violence.

We released the song on streaming services used by our target audience, via the publications they consumed, and created a TikTok challenge to encourage awareness, conversation and participation.

Government data told us women and children are most at risk of homelessness.

What we didn’t know was the perceptions that Australians had about the issue of female homelessness.

We conducted third party research to understand more. We found:

-82% of Aussies believe the majority of homeless people sleep on the streets when they account for only 7% of cases.

- 50% believe men over 45 are most at risk of homelessness.

- 2/3 women say that homelessness will never happen to them.

Insight: A stigma exists; young Australians don’t think female homelessness is an issue in Australia or one that faces them or their peers.

Our task was to show people that #sheslikeyouandme.

We engaged Siala to record her cover of the song, which became our unique, earned media asset. We filmed a supporting music clip to further explain the campaign, and a Q&A with Siala, telling her story.

Phase 1 – Starting the conversation by sharing the problem

Launched with a panel event of Siala and key opinion leaders in homelessness and domestic violence. The panel discussed the issues, our research, and revealed the song. The event was attended by 40 key media & influencers who shared 216 social posts on female homelessness.

Phase 2 – Launching the track #shesjustlikeyouandme

Siala performed live at the event, giving media & influencers a preview of the track. We then released the track on streaming sites like Spotify, uploaded onto TikTok, and pitched the track, research and video assets to news, music, consumer lifestyle, and beauty media.

Phase 3 – Driving participation

Consumers joined the conversation via a TikTok hashtag challenge, the first of its kind. The Body Shop donated $5 to Launch Housing for every person that took part. We engaged ten established Creators to kick start the challenge.

Tier 1:

- 331 pieces of coverage

- 38,128,573 OTS

- 91.7% key message & asset inclusion

- 100% positive – neutral messaging (93.4% positive / 6.6% neutral)

Tier 2:

- 91% say it’s time to do more to end homelessness

- 84% want the government to do more for domestic violence prevention

- #4 on TikTok’s viral songs

- First of its kind - The first donation-led TikTok hashtag challenge in Australia

- One of the most successful TikTok hashtag challenges in 2020

Tier 3: Post campaign brand uplift study

- 30% increase in engagement on Launch Housing digital channels

- $50k+ funds raised

- 3/10 recall seeing promotion content from The Body Shop

- 1/4 are likely to tell a friend about The Body Shop

- 1/3 have a favourable opinion of the brand

- 3/4 rate The Body Shop as an activist brand that gives back to people and the planet