Every Second
Driving criminal justice reform through family stories and data
We partnered with FWD.us on Every Second, a campaign designed to empower the public to demand new criminal legislation to tackle mass incarceration.
Challenge
The advocacy organization FWD.us partnered with Cornell University and social research organization NORC to undertake a first-of-its-kind research project to identify the widespread impact that mass incarceration has on American society. This work uncovered that 1 in 2 people in the U.S. has a connection to incarceration in their own family. To make audiences aware of the impact of mass over-incarceration, FWD.us needed to bring the figures to life.
Strategy
The holiday season, combined with the release of this newsworthy, original report data, provided an excellent opportunity for FWD.us to establish a family angle in America’s criminal justice conversations. Our strategy was to turn their raw data into relatable experiences through a report, website, video and social media assets that took the statistics out of the abstract and brought them close to home in a human way.
Creative
We developed a poignant visual direction for the report centered on family-centric infographics and including data visualization of striking insights, a special, attention-grabbing tri-fold illustration and custom animations to increase the impact. The accompanying video used stop-motion animation to bring the statistics to life and a contrasting black background to embody the feeling of time erased and moments lost forever.
Campaign
Our compelling, visually immersive digital report was housed on an “Every Second” narrative platform to engage residents, policymakers, and constituents on mass incarceration. We also created social media, display and print ads, an emotive video, and a long-term strategy to sustain momentum for criminal justice reform. Digital messaging testing ensured optimal performance and meaningful insights throughout.
Impact
During the campaign, we watched the quality of digital engagement evolve from resistant social media comments and modest engagement to proffered testimony and peer-to-peer sharing from impacted individuals. The campaign grabbed attention throughout the criminal justice advocacy community, opening new doors to deepen coalition ties and collaborations in this important work. In addition, Every Second was recognized by the Webby Awards for best video in Public Service & Activism.
“My father’s incarceration definitely affected the way I look at life. At first, I was very anxious. I didn’t know where to turn, and I didn’t know what was going to happen. It definitely put me in a place where I lost a little hope, because my whole life my dad had been a great provider, and a great leader for me. We know that what our family has gone through is not right. The length of my dad’s sentence has changed who we are forever. We continue to share his story and fight his case because we know this has to change.”
Phil W.
Affected family member
“We did about 10 years in prison. I’m saying ‘we,’ because families are affected. I mean, a person goes to prison, that’s an effect on everybody. Especially if you’re a parent, or a wife, or a mother. You’re doing time just like they are. Because you’re responsible. I had to let the prison officials know that I’m not your average mom. You know him as a number, but I know him as TaDarrius. I’m not going to just let you just throw him away. I have a great son, but he made a bad choice.”
LaTonya T.
Affected family member