Amnesty International Australia

Overview

After a successful and fast-paced collaboration in 2019, Amnesty International Australia (AIA) approached Marlin to develop an overarching concept for a three-wave tax appeal that could be flexible enough to tell three key stories of the injustices faced by the Uyghur people in China.  The appeal needed to raise awareness and compel donors to act in support of the Uyghur people in China and around the world.

AIA had done two past appeals about Uyghur people in 2019, and this campaign needed to be fresh, while maintaining a sense of urgency and continuity of message. Importantly, the Tax Appeal needed to effectively integrate AIA’s new brand messaging – “Challenge Injustice”.  

Additionally, the appeal coincided with the pandemic so it was critical the campaign was sensitive to the unfolding global narrative. 

Considering the circumstances, the results were incredible with actual income exceeding target.

Problem

AIA needed a fresh new 2020 Tax Appeal that integrated their new brand message and was sensitive to the unfolding global narrative.

Solution

We sourced new case study stories and delivered an on-brand and fresh Tax Appeal that stood out amongst the COVID-19 messages.

Results

Considering the circumstances, the results were incredible with actual income exceeding target by 7%+

The Challenge

Three big challenges faced the launch of AIA’s Tax Appeal.

1. The launch coincided with a worsening pandemic around Australia and the world. 
2. AIA had just launched a Crisis Appeal asking for donations for communities especially vulnerable to COVID-19. 
3. The information black-out in Xinjiang posed a significant challenge to get information on case studies and photography that would successfully draw attention to the plight of the Uyghur people. Although this appeal was planned in advance, we had to work with AIA to adapt our content strategy based on changing content that was available.

The Solution

Despite these challenges, we worked with the AIA team to launch all three waves of their tax appeal.

We sourced new case study stories and imagery that would emotionally connect and motivate donors to stand against the injustice of Uyghur persecution. 

We had to consider their current crisis appeal in the market, whilst developing the narrative for the Uyghur stories. In particular, the narrative had to stand out amongst the COVID-19 messages. 

We presented two effective campaign frameworks which allowed AIA the opportunity to present their stance, share powerful stories, and pivot effectively when information needed to shift based on new research or changing world events.

The successful concept, entitled The Truth, tells the story of the abuse of the Uyghur people through the lens of truth telling. The campaign is based on the fundamental values of AIA donors – they want Amnesty to fight the lies that keep people enslaved, abused and violated, and they want that fight to start with the truth.

This was an engaging way to build Amnesty’s ‘justice vs injustice’ narrative, and introduce compelling, multi-phases stories, without engaging in race or culture baiting at a very sensitive time.

The Results

Despite the significant challenges to producing and launching this appeal, actual income exceeded target by 7%+.

The end results showed that with the right messaging, narrative and case study, you can cut through and motivate donors to give by showing them how their generosity will make an impact again.