Height Chart

Background

One in five children in Liberia dies before their fifth birthday, often from an easily treatable problem such as measles or diarrhoea. It would be unthinkable for a child here in the UK to die under these circumstances, but in Africa it is commonplace. The aim of this campaign - part of a broader commitment to providing free healthcare in Liberia - was to convey the true horror of this fact to raise cash donations from warm Save the Children supporters.

Idea

With so many horrendous stories coming out of Africa it's sometimes difficult to get through to consumers who have become used to the awful images and terrible statistics. It's even worse when you're dealing with a subject like healthcare fees - something that falls within governmental control. The cynical may feel that it's not their place to help; others may feel that their support is futile against such a flawed backdrop. The challenge was to make the message feel personal, to play upon the mothering instinct of the target audience so they might engage with the tragedy as if it was happening much closer to home.

Proximity London's idea was to use something that reminded people of their own children or grandchildren, something that was associated with all the wonderful things about being around children. A growth chart was the natural choice. Prospects were taken on a journey to see how little Samuel was developing: here he was aged one, then two, then three and four years old - his height marked out in scribbles on a beautiful sunflower stem. But at the final reveal of the chart there is no Samuel aged five, just the dead, withered head of the sunflower and the terrible fact that many Liberian children won't live to that age. An illustrator was commissioned to draw the design on the growth chart to make it feel just like something you'd see in a typical kitchen. It was art directed to have a real sense of optimism and hope, until the final reveal. Then the dead, lifeless head provided an extreme and tragic contrast.

Results

The mailer achieved a response rate of 5.58% from a volume of 70,000 packs.

Target Audience

Existing Save the Children supporters - cash donors and committed supporters (who had been asked to make a cash donation less than eight times previously) from the Save the Children database.

Size

70,000 packs

Our Thoughts

I’ve got kids and Baby Bio in their cornflakes every morning seems to be working. They are growing like beanstalks. So, if a mailing like this was to arrive at our house, we would almost certainly unfold it to get the whole story. And we would almost certainly be shocked by the story it tells. While not a lavish production, this isn’t a cheapskate mailing either and that tiny bit of extra budget has been put to good use.