We were honored to partner with the IRC not only to empower refugee voices but to inspire a change in the refugee conversation on World Refugee Day and beyond. Our campaign was rooted in a cultural truth, that the refugee story is often told in the past tense - what refugees are forced to leave behind - and that story is often told by others. We aimed to change that.

Though they may not carry much, what refugees bring is a wealth of intangibles: skills, stories, experience, hopes, and dreams. Our approach was to let their collective voices, unique stories, and candid personal footage shift the focus instead to a collective conversation about just how much they bring instead. 

AGENCY

BigSpaceship, NYC

RESPONSIBILITIES

Concept Development / Creative & Art Direction

RECOGNITION

🏆 ANTHEM AWARDS / 2x Bronze Winner
Humanitarian Action & Services, Non-Profit Campaign
Humanitarian Action & Services, Social Media Content, Campaign or Channel

🏆 PR AWARDS / 2x Finalist
Best in Nonprofit, Best in Social Media

ANTHEM FILM :60

“We Bring More Than We Carry”

Concept: Told by the collective voices of the refugees themselves, we wanted to let their unique stories and candid personal footage shift the conversation to just how much they bring.

Art Direction: Since we were working with a dynamic mix of film, stills, and user-generated found footage, our goal for the art direction was to marry everything through a scrapbook style approach that felt nostalgic and imperfect, yet highly personal, intimate, and cherished.

Ampification on Social

We brought the campaign to life through a variety of channel-specific social activations to inspire conversation, empower refugee voices, and share new perspectives.

CAMPAIGN POSTER

TEXT-ONLY TWEETS

TIKTOK & REELS

We partnered with influencers on TikTok to share their own refugee story and inspire others to do the same.

Through the TikTok stitch mechanism, refugees shared their own stories of the impact that a warm welcome had on their lives.

Refugees interviewing one another shared a new perspective on TikTok and Reels.

EXTENDED CONTENT ON YOUTUBE

Many refugees carry the next generation in their arms.
This intimate interview series called “We Carried A Generation” shared a new perspective on the refugee experience between refugee parents and their children.

 
 
 

CELEBRITY AMPLIFICATION

We also leveraged our roster of celebrity partners to share our message.

WEBSITE

Our website became a learning hub of refugee stories, connecting refugees with supporters and educating the audience on how to share, support, and welcome refugees.

DIGITAL OOH

Our film and messaging played at a weeklong activation in Times Square to shine a light on World Refugee Day and inspire others to welcome refugees and their stories.