The #CaseForChange was a physical case filled with everything people needed to tell their stories of what some of the 800 mobile operators globally are doing to tackle the 17 goals – from a GoPro to a 360° camera.It wasn’t just something that enabled the telling of stories, though. It was a device that allowed us to paint a picture of the scale of change that the industry is making.The stories ranged from the incredible impact of a simple mobile birth registration service in Pakistan, to how an innovative robot is transforming the lives of isolated children in Norway. And the storytellers were local influencers who were relevant to each project or cause, with a predominantly millennial following.There were of course campaign consistencies and requirements – a long edit, a short edit, and accompanying stills – but we encouraged each influencer to tell their story in their own unique way.

Over 6 months, we filmed 19 stories in 17 countries across 5 continents.Long before the production phase, though, over 500 stories were shortlisted – and through a decision matrix that took into account location, SDG, and impact, we selected the stories that we felt would resonate most with our audience.

In each country we sourced a local production crew who could understand the cultural sensitivities and the area better than we ever could, and shortlisted hundreds of influencers who matched our criteria.

It meant that nearly every film had a different production crew, influencer, and story to tell – and while we had to ensure a consistent message, there was nothing more important to us than authentic storytelling.

With a film in production at least every two weeks, we were able to engage our audience – and empower our audience – on a consistent basis for over half a year.

Through our targeted approach and our influencers’ channels, we achieved over 120 million impressions, and gained over 50,000 shares and comments. Quite simply, we achieved our goal of mobilising a crucial conversation with millions of millennials around the world.

This is just the beginning though – because real change will happen when we make the voice of a generation heard by those in power. And with the results we achieved, we believe that it’ll be impossible for them to ignore.

Our creative vision was backed by a simple yet powerful strategy: ensure we showed the scale of difference that operators are making, while doing justice to each story.We were going to do it by not just working with influencers who millennials could relate to, but who could tell each story in their own way, from their own perspective – rather than from the perspective of a brand.We knew that followers of each influencer would be engaged with the content because of their love for the storyteller; but organically, we also took a geo-targeted approach – showing people within the region of each story that mobile was doing good in their area.Ultimately, our goal was –and still is– to get millennials talking about the good that the industry is doing, and demanding more of it – and the results to date show that #CaseForChange has the power to make that happen.

When the UN set out their 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, GSMA –a trade body that unites nearly 800 telecom operators and organisations globally– knew that the industry could make a huge impact.In fact, they already were, with hundreds of operators – from Vodafone to Airtel – involved in a diverse array of initiatives that are transforming lives through innovative technology and connectivity.

The problem?

No one knew the difference that the industry was making.And the action they could take was limited by government red tape and regulation.While the drive of an entire industry is powerful, governments couldn’t ignore the voice of the most powerful generation ever – millennials.By showing key-decision makers that millennials supported the work of the industry and demanded more change, then we knew we could play an even bigger role in achieving all 17 goals – and positively change the perception of the mobile industry.