Digital Marketers triumph in domestic abuse campaign

The internet has changed not only the way people shop but also how they access services, support and sometimes life-saving help.

Yes, Digital Marketing is often about selling things but it can also be used to give vital visibility to charities and helplines like the Merseyside male domestic abuse charity, the Paul Lavelle Foundation.

Paul, 50, who was killed by his abusive partner in 2017, left behind a string of friends and family determined that such a tragedy never happen again.

The Foundation has been working with lecturer Kat Geer at Liverpool Business School and her students on the MSc Digital Marketing programme to create a high-impact digital advertising campaign for the cause. Students have gained practical digital skills by contributing to each stage of the campaign, from content and advert creation, through to monitoring performance analytics and adjusting the live campaign as needed.

At the heart of the advertising push is a poignant docu-video telling Paul’s story through the voices of his friends who, after his death, felt compelled to establish the Foundation to prevent similar tragedies.

The professionally-made video was storyboarded and directed by the students and has already prompted a huge increase in self-referrals and awareness of the charity.

Kat Geer said: “The campaign itself has been really successful in raising awareness of the charity and support on offer, and has hopefully helped to reduce stigmas associated with male domestic abuse.

“It has been incredibly rewarding for all of us involved to see the impact of the campaign, in terms of the increase in men coming forward for support in the five weeks that it ran. We can see from the data that a minimum of 31 referrals were directly attributed to the campaign, though there is likely significantly more that could be attributed who came via phone calls or can’t be tracked. In the same time period prior to the campaign going live, only 11 men sought support."

The students used digital performance indicators to monitor the impact of the campaign, including clicks, impressions, views and more. Outcomes demonstrated a 388% increase in new website users, 47% increase in charity app downloads and 363,274 advert impressions served across the Merseyside and Cheshire area.

"An incredible 100% of students were satisfied with the module, showing that a positive learning experience can go hand in hand with supporting the local community," added Kat.