Problem
Human Rights Watch partnered with Amnesty International on a joint report (June 2021) recommending that Canada gradually abolish immigration detention, and jointly launched the #WelcomeToCanada campaign (October 2021) to call for an immediate end to the use of provincial jails for immigration detention in Canada.
Solution
As part of the public engagement team at Human Rights Watch, we worked with Amnesty International to develop a campaign strategy that juxtaposed Canada's welcoming image with shocking truths about its immigration detention practices. Specifically developing and deploying the use of a spoof #WelcomeToCanada tourism theme. I developed the branding, designed all corresponding assets to be used across the campaign including assets for the campaign video, social media rollout, and digital advertising assets. I also designed the website for the campaign.
A selection of corresponding social media rollout assets
First row: A selection of the launch graphicsSecond Row: One of the featured survivor stories
Corresponding prop for campaign hero video
Impact so far
#SecureOurSocials reached over 5.5M+ people across Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn within 3 months.
Air Anya garnered over 260K+ views on Instagram alone, bolstered by an exclusive partnership with #1 social media news outlet NowThis.
165K+ unique site views, with over 100K from the Arabic page.
Over 45 million impressions with a cost per click of just $0.05
Innovative email marketing series opened by 245,000 HRW subscribers with an Open and Click Through Rates well above organizational benchmarks.
Dozens of prominent rights groups uplifted campaign content in MENA and globally, thanks in large part to our campaign partners.
10K+ email sent through our site to top Meta executives calling for increased transparency and investment on user safety
Top Meta staff including Human Rights and MENA Policy Directors engaged in correspondence and a series of meetings with HRW on how to help keep LGBT people safe on their platforms.
Campaign was selected as an Official Honoree in the Webby Awards