BRIEF: UNESCO is a UN agency that advocates for peace, freedom, justice, democracy, and human rights. As part of this mission, UNESCO would be addressing Holocaust Remembrance Day on its 2023 calendar.

CHALLENGE: While the Holocaust is a central subject in campaigns worldwide, even making it challenging to offer a new approach, the topic offers little appeal to the Brazilian public due to a local, cultural, and temporal disconnection.

FINDINGS: Over the last years, Brazil has been witnessing the rise of Nazi groups, hate crimes and fascist attacks on schools. Meanwhile the lessons of the Holocaust are in danger of being forgotten as the last remaining survivors pass away.

OBJECTIVE: The campaign's objective was to promote awareness and understanding of the Holocaust Remembrance Day while connecting with current violence rise in Brazil – never comparing, but borrowing lessons from past to present days.

NEW USE FOR OLD STORIES: Holocaust survivors have once again helped raise awareness on the dangers of hate, but this time in a new and innovative way. Additionally, current victims of intolerance highlighted the importance of remembering the Holocaust.

FILMS WITH A FRESH PERSPECTIVE: Each film features a Holocaust survivor sharing a story of hate violence, which is later revealed to be from individuals in minority groups in Brazil. Unlike the first part of the film implies, these attacks did not occur in Europe during the 1940s, but in Brazil today. We drew lessons from the past to inform current events without making direct comparisons.

AN ADOPTION CENTER AS HUB FOR ACTION: A platform where these stories of survival from past and present were available for adoption – by sharing, retelling and creating new content based on the stories - as a commitment to preserve history and fight against hate.

DATA: In recent years, Brazil witnessed a 270% surge in Nazi groups and a 70% increase in online hate crimes. The number of Nazi attacks on schools in 2022 and 2023 has surpassed those recorded in the past two decades. Meanwhile, last living Holocaust survivors are passing away, leaving space for denialism - 49% of Telegram posts about Holocaust distort or deny facts.

MOBILIZATION: By uniting past and present survivors and calling society to adopt their stories, we presented a unique perspective that captured public attention. Utilizing a range of PR tools, including partnerships, press coverage, and influential figures, we engaged Brazilian society in the fight against hate, achieving organic results with tangible impact.

ENDORSEMENT FROM AUTHORITIES: We garnered support from respected authorities, such as the Holocaust Museum in Curitiba, the Israelite Confederation of Brazil, and award-winning Jewish director Cao Hamburguer, enhancing our credibility and expanding media coverage.

RESPONSE-DRIVEN CREATIVITY: The adoption center and materials were designed to be approachable and easy to participate while our films and influencers issued a strong call to action that led to 60,000+ story adoptions. We built relationships with press, partners, and important figures, including influencers, celebrities, opinion leaders, soccer clubs, corporate leaders, and politicians, as well as the Museum, CONIB, and film director Cao Hamburger. They were instrumental in engaging all segments of society with the campaign.

PLACEMENT & SCALE: The campaign was launched on January 27th with a whole day event at the Museum, where ambassadors, press and important people were present. It was primarily focused on social media and had 523 free-of-charge placements on three major TV channels until mid-February. Over 100 top influencers and partners helped amplify the message by adopting the stories, and the campaign received coverage in major news outlets throughout the country.

COVERAGE: +1,3K Media coverage including social channels, open TV, newspapers and radio, reaching 200M people (Covering 91,9% of the population). 

ALL-DAY MEDIA COVERAGE: Globo, the largest TV network, provided comprehensive coverage of the campaign for a whole day from the Holocaust Museum in Curitiba. 

PRIMETIME: The three largest open TV networks in the country acknowledged the campaign's importance and granted 523 free insertions during prime-time slots, including programs like Fantástico and Big Brother Brasil. From January 27th to February 11th, these insertions achieved a frequency of 4+ in a short period. 

ENGAGEMENT: The campaign received over 60,000 shares, including 100 story adoptions from important figures with unmeasurable shares on WhatsApp and Instagram. 

CHANGING BEHAVIOR: An increase of 56% on searches for 'Holocausto' compared to previous year in Brazil (Google). 

COMMITMENT: The Secretary of Education expressed a commitment to include the campaign material to the curriculum of public schools.