World Children's Day is UNICEF’s flagship global moment celebrated annually on 20 November to raise awareness and accelerate progress toward realizing children’s rights. This year, the campaign theme was "Listen to the Future," focusing on amplifying children's voices and their vision for a better future.
Children’s lives are at a crossroads, facing rapid changes influenced by climate change, disruptive technology, and demographic shifts. The most vulnerable children face conflicts and rights violations, undercutting the principle that children must have care and protection in all circumstances. Children have a right to a safe, livable future and planet. Their thoughts and ideas must be taken seriously, and they have a right to be included in decisions that will impact their future. Through all upheaval, children’s rights must always be non-negotiable. Upholding children’s rights is the compass to realizing the future we want.
Our objectives were to position children as distinct rights holders, empower them to express their ideas, position UNICEF as the leading advocate for child rights, and educate the global audience about child rights and World Children's Day. This year's campaign aimed to highlight the essential role of child rights in creating a better future and the transformative power of children’s participation.
The "Listen to the Future" campaign was designed to leverage digital and social media platforms to maximize reach and engagement. We developed a multi-faceted strategy that included:
- Content Creation:
- Hero Videos:
- "A Letter from the World's Children": This video featured heartfelt messages from children around the world, including those in conflict regions, calling for peace, safety, and a healthy environment. Watch the video here.
- "Listen to the Future – Teens and Their Parents Talk About the Future": Using the popular YouTube format of deep conversations, this video featured Youth Advocates and their parents discussing big questions about the future. Watch the video here.
- Social Media Graphics and GIFs: Collaborations with GIPHY and the creation of engaging social media graphics helped spread the campaign's message.
- Toolkits and Resources: Toolkits for parents and educators to help them actively listen to children’s perspectives and promote their right to participation. https://www.unicef.org/parenting/world-childrens-day-toolkit
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- Distribution and Amplification:
- Global Collaboration: UNICEF offices in 189 countries participated, sharing localized content and engaging with their audiences. Partnerships with global, national, and regional ambassadors, celebrities, and advocates further amplified our messages.
- Social Media Engagement: Content was shared across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other platforms, with a focus on non-English content to reach a diverse global audience.
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- Paid Marketing Strategy: We executed a paid marketing strategy using Meta ad credits to drive traffic to the campaign's destination page on unicef.org and to amplify social media content, as well as strategically deployed Youtube marketing
The "Listen to the Future" campaign achieved remarkable results, demonstrating the power of digital and social media in advocating for children's rights:
- Global Reach and Engagement:
- 500Million impressions on UNICEF global channels, with video content viewed 35M times on Meta channels and 28M times on YouTube.
- 2.3M views on the World Children's Day landing page on unicef.org.
- Video Performance:
- "A Letter from the World's Children" video garnered 11M views across multiple languages on YouTube.
- "Listen to the Future – Teens and Their Parents Talk About the Future" video achieved 10M views, in English language alone, with completion rate of 77% of the 3min 09sec video, a much higher view duration that average
- Collaborations with Goodwill Ambassadors: Goodwill Ambassadors Priyanka Chopra and Millie Bobby Brown posted our Letter video, along with new supporter Khaby Lame, UNICEF UK Ambassador Gemma Chan, UNICEF Regional Ambassador Sachin Tendulkar and actor Mark Ruffalo.
Key Insights
The messaging and content resonated exceptionally well with our audiences, even in a contentious online environment, positively engaging them to unite around children's rights and the importance of listening to children's perspectives.The campaign's success was driven by a strategic focus on amplifying children's voices and leveraging global partnerships.
- Engagement Drivers: HQ content was a key driver of overall engagement, supported by a well-executed distribution strategy and partnerships with ambassadors and celebrities.
- Language Accessibility: The campaign's multilingual approach ensured that non-English speaking users were effectively reached and engaged.
