Infodemic

ads Advertising campaign graphic design ILLUSTRATION Logotype media post print social typography

Overview

Can you have all the correct answers in times of falsity?

Are you hygienic when consuming information?

How do you know whom you can trust?

FRGI, an NGO that helps smaller communities develop and reach their full potential through funding, has started an annual campaign that allows professionals and students to meet and discuss various topics closely related to journalism. Named "Journalists at school", the activation starts an open conversation about the hygiene of receiving information. The main goal of this project is to share with scholars the importance of fact-checking and avoiding fake news. This year's focus is on disinformation on COVID-19, the pandemic, and the vaccines, and it went under the name "Infodemic during a pandemic".

Objective

We faced the challenge of making the topic engaging for pre-teens and teenagers that are busy with far more exciting trends. Acting professional and scholarly was an approach that did not fit with the nature of the target audience. Instead, we went hunting for ideas and phrases, which symbolize the importance of critical thinking through fun and easy-going lenses.

Strategy

The traditional communication channels for this generation are digital, but we strategized a concept that allows the idea to spread both online and IRL. Being present in the real world is an approach that allows us to win over more attention, for which everyone on the internet fights relentlessly. Through a blend of various formats, the campaign assists the students on the way to understanding misinformation and its impact on society. All materials end with a call-to-action phrase: "Look up the COVID-19 facts."

Execution

The key message was altered into four different illustrations, supported by headlines. Printed stickers are a crucial format. They have a front (the illustrations) and back on which the beholder can see the 5 fundamental rules of judging information critically.

Pins

With the help of students and teachers, all print materials like stickers and pins were distributed amongst the target audience.

Stickers

Being able to place stickers on any of your belongings, and also on some prohibited surfaces (such as school desks and doors), our goal was to encourage the word-of-mouth buzz. We also put a hashtag #чистатаистина (#baretruth) that is to be used in social media and a QR code that leads to a landing page with detailed information on how to spot fake news and avoid ignorance.

Social Media post

The tools chosen for social media are simple – an animated short video that shares vital information in just a few seconds. Partnering with teens, they played the role of “influencers” amongst their peers and therefore became leaders of credible opinion.

Landing page

Checking out the landing page is our end goal for this campaign. With a user-friendly interface and confirmed sources related to COVID-19 information, it gives clear directions on how to take responsibility for your own decisions, statements, and actions so that misinformation is no longer spread lightheartedly.

That is how a whole campaign was “packaged” under the title "Infodemic during a pandemic" and with the help of stakeholders, it helps the prevention of fake news.