Social Element, a global social media agency, has launch a campaign aimed at helping brands understand the role they can play in improving social media platforms for all. The Make Social Better campaign, aligned with the agency’s ethos, is a new movement which recognises the collective power brands have as advertisers in influencing the actions of social media platforms. It calls on them to use this power to improve the safety and positivity in these online spaces.
The new principle is rooted in the founding ethos of Social Element: an agency created over 20 years ago to keep brands and people safe online. At a time when rates of anxiety and depression in young people have risen 70% in the past 25 years, and 70% of young people have experienced cyber bullying, brands and platforms have become too focused on the ‘media’ and have forgotten the ‘social’. Crucially, the movement highlights the responsibilities brands and advertisers hold to make any social space safe. Social Element’s mission is to spearhead the charge in Making Social Better and create a social environment where everyone can thrive. Brands and agencies are pivotal to this transformation.
To kick off this movement, Social Element is launching an integrated campaign that utilises Press, OOH and social media to raise awareness amongst the industry. The hero creative is written in the style of a letter ‘to brands from Social Element’ and highlights social media as a mirror to society, reflecting the light and the dark. It also draws attention to the financial power brands have over the platforms, with over $200 billion being made collectively from ad spend by social media platforms last year. This makes brands the ultimate influencers. It ends with a clear call to action: join the social revolution to change social for good because every decision made, post shared and platform funded give brands the power to create safer and more positive online spaces.
The letter will run in print on June 13th in the i paper, and will be taking over the homepage of Campaign UK on launch day. It then culminates in a DOOH execution featuring a concise call to action that asks brands to use their influence for good. This will run during the Cannes Lions festival from the 17th to the 21st June. The creative will then be amplified across LinkedIn, Google ads and organic social, with a bespoke social account dedicated to this movement acting as a hub for all information on how to make social better.
Linn Frost, Co-CEO, Social Element: “Social media holds huge power in our society and used well can do so much good in the world. It creates communities, builds connection and offers a creative outlet for people who may not have had a voice otherwise. And it’s also an incredible platform for brands to reach and connect with their audience as genuine humans, which is why together we need to make sure that it is a kinder place for all.
“This is about our agency making change and doing something it was founded to do – protect and nurture communities. We are ready to put the agency on the line for this cause, so much so that we will only work with brands and partners who believe in this too. We can’t do this alone. We need brands to use their influence, the industry and platforms to support with greater regulation and education, and individuals to recognise and shift their own behaviours on social. Only together, can we Make Social Better.”
