MISSOURI DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES COUNCIL

Raising Awareness of Abuse among Adults with Disabilities

Adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) are being verbally, physically, and sexually abused. The abuse is prevalent and pervasive, it happens in many ways, and it happens repeatedly to victims with all types of disabilities.

We were hired to create and market a statewide public awareness campaign that would not only raise awareness of this type of abuse, but also increase reporting. With this charge, we developed the “It’s Happening” campaign—a narrative-driven, integrated marketing campaign that leveraged the power of story to stir the human spirit, raise awareness and inspire action. Campaign elements included the development of campaign logo, slogan, website, brochure, print/digital ads, billboards, social media, radio/TV ads as well as a short film series spotlighting real stories of abuse.

To date, we’ve reached well over a million Missourians with our campaign message resulting in a dramatic increase in reporting.