Brief
Racist attacks on Asian Americans are now occurring daily, with nearly 3,800 hate incidents reported from March 2020 through March 2021. In an urgent response to the sharp increase in violence against the Asian American community, Intertrend developed a #MakeNoiseToday to #StopAsianHate campaign with one objective, to spread awareness and spotlight these heinous acts to create empathy and allyship.
Our message needed to be ubiquitous but targeted — direct and relevant. A series of wild postings were developed as our platform, supported by newspaper ads and social media. Each poster of this series for Make Noise Today refers to specific Asian-hate incidents that occurred throughout 2020 and particularly highlights the recent violence in early 2021. The messages of empathy and call-to-action ran in the top Asian American markets in the country: New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco bringing awareness to the crimes while showing support in our largest communities.
Execution
We created a series of striking posters based on simple bold statements to showcase the impact and importance that words matter. Make Noise Today combats racism by creating empathy and awareness through Asian American storytelling. Our response to the uptick in violence against Asians was to use our own words to raise awareness, garner empathy, and create allyship.
The series of 6 wild posters could standalone, but also work together as a group. “How Many?” visually shows the 100 stitches it took to close a man’s face after he was brutally attacked. “I am 84” refers to the attacks on the elderly, and “Just Like Yours” showcases that we care, nurture, uplift, and deserve to live our lives like everyone else. “Once Upon a Time” tells the story of a man who loves his family, works hard and dies for being the wrong race.
Most of our families came to the United States in pursuit of the ‘American Dream’, and what they end up learning is that “Racism Kills Dreams”. Silence and ignorance are part of complicity and it’s our responsibility to raise awareness, to educate, to stand up and stand out in the face of racism, and #MakeNoiseToday to #StopAsianHate.
Results
The campaign garnered significant reach while driving awareness of the Make Noise Today platform.
Wild postings
- Over 80.4 million estimated wild posting impressions during the campaign flight of March 15, 2021, to April 11, 2021. (Source: Alchemy Media)
Additionally, the wild posting campaign contributed to the overwhelming jump in awareness of the Make Noise Today website (www.makenoisetoday.org) as well as the views and buzz on the Make Noise Today Instagram page. (www.instagram.com/makenoisetoday/)