SC Johnson needed to get the attention of key politicians, policymakers, NGOs and charities to galvanize further support in their fight against malaria.

Rather than present them with the same stats, charts, facts and figures, they decided instead to create a short documentary. An emotionally engaging story, highlighting an incredible innovation with the power to prevent a significant number of deaths. This affecting film was used to energize partners to help fund the development and distribution of these life saving interventions: SC Johnson Guardian™ & Mosquito Shield™.

Malaria is an entirely preventable disease. Yet, if you live in affected regions of the world, it is part of life and one of the leading causes of death, particularly in Africa. In rural communities most people will be infected several times a year, if they are lucky they will get treatment and survive. Many, despite the best efforts of local doctors, will not.

Malaria has been killing people in Africa for hundreds of years. The disease needs an affordable, effective intervention solution to be made universally available and distributed to rural populations where infection is rife.

Without this, people are still plagued by malaria. Without this, people are still dying.

Guardian™ is a highly innovative, incredibly effective solution, yet it needs a formal WHO policy recommendation as a public health intervention to reach the millions of people who are most vulnerable and who need it most.

This film was created to show a select audience with the power to affect policy change, or deliver the funding necessary to help distribute Guardian™ as widely as possible, in the interim between now and full WHO approval.

Malaria is one of the world’s deadliest diseases. It kills a child under 5 every minute, and over 600,000 people every year. This is a reality that SC Johnson is working hard to change, and has been through their continuous involvement and pioneering work in the fight against malaria for over 60 years.

SC Johnson needed to raise awareness of the creation of Guardian™ - a low cost, fit and forget mosquito spatial repellent - a huge step towards the eradication of malaria. A single sheet provides an entire household protection from mosquitoes for 12 months, with a 60% reduction in infection based on initial trials.

Guardian™ is awaiting WHO approval - but this takes time. Time people in malaria-stricken communities don’t have. Until this happens, our objective is simple: to get as many Guardians™ into the communities that need them as quickly as possible, saving lives in the process.

STRATEGY

Target those politicians, policymakers, individuals in power and local partners who can help SC Johnson through funding, in-country testing and the immediate distribution of Guardian™ among the communities most at risk from malaria, saving thousands of lives by doing so. Energize them to help get Guardian™ into as many homes as possible until the WHO makes the policy recommendation for public health intervention.

INSIGHT

Malaria is a story many have heard before. They’ve read the official reports, seen stats, facts and familiar figures. Yet few of them have seen anything that feels like a viable long-term solution or genuine advancement in malaria prevention for decades.

Create a film to galvanize policymakers, politicians, members of Congress, NGOs, charities and local government organizations to rally around Guardian™: a simple, low-cost, highly effective and long-lasting spatial repellent. Requiring no power or ongoing maintenance, one Guardian™ protects a whole household from mosquito-borne disease for an entire year.

SC Johnson has committed over $50 million to generate evidence to inform this WHO policy recommendation as a public health intervention. Until that policy is approved, we need a family of partners to get Guardian™ distributed via schools, hospitals, and health clinics in vulnerable communities around the world.

Showcasing and celebrating the effectiveness of Guardian™ and the dramatic reduction of infection rates in communities gives hope that the eradication of malaria is possible, creating a groundswell of energy and, most importantly, support for Guardian™.

The film was created by a small team, shooting in four different countries. They embedded themselves in rural communities for 2 months so they could accurately capture first-hand the stories of the people most affected by and at risk from malaria.

They also worked closely with SC Johnson scientists and their partners in academia, local charities on the ground and members of the SC Johnson family to ensure total authenticity in telling the story using the most compelling voices.

The film was predominately shared via individually in 1-1 screenings, hand-delivered by SCJ’s CEO and CCO to a small, select audience of policymakers, partners, and public health leaders and SC Johnson’s private company family shareholders. A highly targeted paid social campaign on Meta and LinkedIn shared the film with people working in senior leadership positions in public health and policy located in DC, New York, Brussels, Nairobi, London, and Geneva.

The film was designed to get the attention, support and collaboration of key policymakers and fund gatekeepers to build a family of partners to ensure the immediate widespread distribution of Guardian™ ahead of WHO approval and unlock increased investment from shareholders, while boosting awareness of Guardian™’s effectiveness and SCJ’s malaria work amongst senior officials in the public health and policymaker space.

• 1M+ people protected by Guardian™ & Mosquito Shield™ to date

• $30 Million committed funding (USD) by SC Johnson for spatial repellent production in Kenya

• 147 Congressional offices visited

• 3.7 pt increase in brand lift percent (compared to 1.1 benchmark) from key public health and policymaker audience

• 119k new individual Meta users, from key public health and policy maker audience, with a favorable view of SCJ