Violence, drugs and other kind of social problems have intensified during the past eight years of economic depression in Puerto Rico. While more young people are at risk, resources for community organizations are decreasing.

Jovenes en Riesgo (Youth at Risk), a non-profit organization that helps young people in social risk, needed the commitment of mentors to guide kids into the right direction.

Since we needed to motivate real deeds, not just awareness, we clearly separated our approach from the ever growing “slacktivism”, where people feel their job is done by endorsing a cause on social media without taking real action outside the digital world.

We took three real cases involving teenage violence that had shocked the country’s public opinion recently and re-enacted them in online videos. Just right before the violent action was going to take place; an overlay invited the viewer to click “Like” to stop it. The overlay was inactive and the action continued, dramatizing that “Likes” are not the way to stop violence among youth. Testimonials from the organization’s participants strengthened the message.

News media were reached through a launching press conference and media materials. Interviews with the young participants and mentors were coordinated in television and radio.

The campaign immediately moved the country, ignited media coverage and translated into action.

A 303% increase in mentor enrolments was registered during the three months campaign, which means 25,000 hours of volunteers mentoring our youth towards a better life.

We took three real cases involving teenage violence that had shocked the country’s public opinion recently and re-enacted them in online videos. Just right before the violent action was going to take place; an overlay invited the viewer to click “Like” to stop it. The overlay was inactive and the action continued, dramatizing that “Likes” are not the way to stop violence among youth. The videos were spread through social media influencers and Jovenes en riesgo channel and page.

The concept was also expressed through some of the organizations participant’s testimonials about how a mentor has changed their lives as opposed to a useless “Like”. The testimonials executions were placed as public service announcements in television, print, radio and billboards.

News media were reached through a launching press conference and media materials. Interviews with the young participants and mentors were coordinated in television and radio.

The campaign immediately moved the country, ignited conversations and translated into action.

• Earned media was estimated in 1,613,393 impressions

• Video views in youtube reached almost 80,000

The most important result - we inspired action:

A 303% increase in mentor enrollments was registered during the three months campaign.

That means 25,000 hours of volunteers mentoring our youth towards a better life.