What if this was your child?

encouraging parents to support their children and to educate themselves on the warning signs of suicide.

The Trevor Project: Creative BriefThe goal of this campaign is to encourage parents to support their children and to educate themselves on the warning signs of suicide.

Target MarketThe Trevor Project currently reaches out to at risk LGBTQ youth to encourage them to get help. We wanted to reach a target that wasn’t being reached in The Trevor Project’s existing campaigns. That gap is the parents of youth who may be at risk. Specifically, we aim to reach parents age 35-54 with children between the ages of 12 and 17. Some parents may be supportive of their LGBTQ child, but will need resources that enable them to recognize the signs that their child needs help. Other parents may not be as LGBTQ friendly, but need resources to help them understand and support what their child is going through. We want our ads to have a shock factor that will make parents feel concerned. Our ads shouldn’t be comfortable to read because we want to encourage parents to be diligent. We would like all parents to feel as if they have the resources and community to guide them through whatever difficult situations they encounter with their child. We want them to feel well prepared to handle whatever may be thrown at them, in a well educated and supportive manner.

Problems and Opportunities:

The Message:Suicide among LGBT youth is a huge issue. We want to make parents aware of this and connect them with the resources that could help in saving their child’s life.

The Strategic Idea:

Support:There are many shocking statistics that support the idea that these are the experiences that LGBT youth are going through. Specifically, 1 in 4 transgender youth report having attempted suicide. Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) youth are 4 times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers. LGB youth from families who reject them are 8 times more likely to attempt suicide than LGB youth who report coming from accepting families.

Creative Considerations:

The Deliverables:

We must be sensitive to this touchy issue of teen suicide without sugar-coating the harsh reality.

This isn’t just some far-off problem. This could be your child who is considering suicide so you need to be aware of the warning signs.

Talking to a volunteer from the Trevor Project, it became clear that many of the youth he worked with didn’t have parents that they confided in about the problems they were going through. One reason for this may simply be because parents are unaware of the struggles their children are going through. This provides us with an opportunity to reach out to parents and to encourage them to become informed and to support their child.

The most important thing that this campaign must accomplish is to prompt parents to take action. It must make parents think about what they would do if their child came out to them or seemed to be depressed.

The Mandatories:

There will be 3 full, 8.5 by 11, page ads with no bleed. These messages will run in magazines read by parents of children age 12-17, specifically People, Better Homes and Gardens and Time. These magazines are also frequently found in doctors office waiting rooms. The fourth execution in this study combines the reach of direct mail with the word-of-mouth benefits provided by guerilla marketing methods. There will be an envelope sent to households with middle school and high school aged children that contains a blank Trevor Project greeting card. The card will begin by saying “Dear Child, I love and support you.” It will then have a blank space for parents to write a message to their child. This can be used as a conversation starter for parents who may not know how to bring up their concerns otherwise. We hope that the shareability and lifespan of a greeting card will help The Trevor Project to spread its message.

Did you know that lesbian, gay and bisexual youth are 4 times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers? Your support could save your child’s life. Visit TheTrevorProject.org for resources to help you learn the warning signs and get advice on how to best support your child.

What if this was your child?

“I feel like a walking stereotype.”

“None of them will

ever be able to

hurt me again”

“Dying will make my life better.”

Lesbian, gay and bisexual youth (LGB) who come from families who reject them are over 8 times more likely to attempt suicide than LGB peers who reported their families were openly accepting.Your acceptance could make the difference. Visit TheTrevorProject.org for resources to help you learn the warning signs and get advice on how to best support your child.

What if this was your child?

“The world will

be better off

when I’m dead.”

“I can’t change that I’m gay.”

“Please forgive me.”

Did you know that 1 in 4 transgender youth report having attempted suicide? The more you know, the better you can help your child. Visit TheTrevorProject.org for resources to help you learn the warning signs and get advice on how to best support your child.

What if this was your child?

“By the time

you read this

I’ll be dead.”

“I will never besafe as myself.”

“I just wish I was ‘normal.’”

Placement of Magazine Ads These messages will run in magazines read by parents of children age 12-17, specifically People, Better Homes and Gardens and Time. These magazines are also frequently found in doctors office waiting rooms.

Wild Card

Our wild card execution will be a greeting card that is sent to parents in the U.S. They will each receive a greeting card and stamp (either one of the two different versions below which will be distributed randomly) in an envelope with the following note:

Please send this greeting card to your child, or a child you know, to let them know that you love and accept them for who they are. A parent or loved one’s support can make a significant impact on a child’s life. Please join us in the fight for acceptance, and let your child know that they can be themselves, whoever that may be. Thank you for helping our cause. Sincerely, The Trevor Project * The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people ages 13-24. We are currently heading a campaign to help parents learn the importance of acceptance, and to educate parents on how to help. We encourage you to write this greeting card to any child, regardless of how they identify themselves, to let them know that you are there for them.

Front of Greeting Card: 2 Versions

“Be who you are

and say what you

feel, because those

who mind don’t

matter and those who

matter don’t mind.”

-Dr. Seuss

“The greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance.” -Brian Tracy

Inside Top of Greeting Card: 2 Versions

“Happiness can exist only in acceptance.” -George Orwell

“Dare to be yourself” - André Gide

Inside Bottom and Back of Greeting Card

Dear ____________ ,

I love and support you .

Please visit www.thetrevorproject.org for more information.

Process Work: Brainstorms/Thumbnails

Process Work: Brainstorms/Thumbnails

Process Work: Trendboard

Process Work: Rejected Comps

Process Work: Rejected Comps

Process Work: Rejected Comps

Process Work: Rejected Comps

Process Work: Rejected Comps

Dear ____________ ,

I love and support you .

Front:

Back:

“Happiness can

exist only in

acceptance.”

-George Orwell

“Be who you are and

say what you feel,

because those who

mind don’t matter

and those who

matter don’t mind.”

-Dr. Seuss

“The greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance.” -Brian Tracy

“Dare to be yourself”

- André Gide

Wild Card: Post Card

Process Work: Rejected Comps

Process Work: Rejected Comps

Process Work: Rejected Comps

Critique Notes

• It’s upsetting to read them, which is hitting the mark • Good that we included trans letter, so important • “Don’t let this be your child.” is liked • Liked the variation in colors between executions

What Worked: What Didn’t Work:

Questions: Suggestions:

• First sentence in #1 is too stereotypical.• Make beginning more choppy. Make it sound rambling • Write out “4x” • “Don’t let this be your child.” sounds like “don’t let your child be gay” • Watermark makes it seems like the letter is written on Trevor Project stationery • Wild card may get bad image among families who don’t support these beliefs • Text on bottom and text of copy are competing with one another

• Would the Trevor Project actually afford to send direct mail to all parents in the US? • Would someone write something that personal on a postcard?

• Actually handwrite rather than typing • Or try a font that looks more handwritten • Add in “walking stereotype” • “What if this was your child?”• Play around with different fonts and papers• Idea to send postcards back to Trevor and then they could send it to kids in crisis? • Maybe add darker outlines on the wildcard word bubbles • Make bottom copy much smaller• Add “pull quote” from letter of alarming or drawing line

1 in 4 transgenderyouth report having attempted suicide

LGB Youth are

4x more likely to

attempt suicide

LGB youth from rejecting familiesare 8x more likelyto attempt suicidethan those from accepting families

Leading national organization for LGBTQ youth support and suicide prevention services

Provides materials for parents on its website, BUTdoes not specifically target parents to create awareness and encourage support

“Be who you are

and say what you

feel, because those

who mind don’t

matter and those who

matter don’t m

ind.”

-Dr. Seuss

“The greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of

unconditional love and acceptance.”

-Brian Tracy

Did you know that lesbian, gay and bisexual youth are 4 times more likely

to attempt suicide than their straight peers? Your support could save your

child’s life. Visit TheTrevorProject.org for resources to help you learn the

warning signs and get advice on how to best support your child. What if this was your child?

“I feel like a walking

stereotype.”

“None of them will

ever be able to

hurt me again”

“Dying will make my life better.”

Lesbian, gay and bisexual youth (LGB) who come from families who reject them

are over 8 times more likely to attempt suicide than LGB peers who reported

their families were openly accepting.Your acceptance could make the difference.

Visit TheTrevorProject.org for resources to help you learn the warning signs

and get advice on how to best support your child.

What if this was your child?

“The world will be better off when I’m dead.”

“I can’t change that I’m gay.”

“Please forgive me.”

Did you know that 1 in 4 transgender youth report having attempted

suicide? The more you know, the better you can help your child.

Visit TheTrevorProject.org for resources to help you learn the

warning signs and get advice on how to best support your child.

What if this was your child?

“By the time

you read this

I’ll be dead.”

“I will never be

safe as myself.”

“I just wish

I was ‘normal.’”

Dear ____________ ,

I love and support you .