The deaf bubble

DESCRIPTION

Deafness is the most prevalent disability in the western world, with around 10% of the population suffering from the condition to some degree.

In Israel, this translates to nearly 700,000 people, many of whom will only become deaf in later life. This loss of hearing can be traumatic and embarrassing for the sufferer, as they struggle to continue with their daily lives with increasing difficulty. As many as one in three people over 65 in Israel are deaf, and are thought to be living in the deafness “bubble”, cut off from friends, family and the rest of the outside world.

Bekol, a charity set up to look after the deaf and hard of hearing, wanted to reach out to those who were trapped in the bubble and let them know that help, support and advice was available to them.

As a non-profit organisation, staffed largely by volunteers and maintained by donations and government grants, Bekol had to find a way to communicate its message with a non-existent budget.

It is standard practice on Israeli television for many of the high rated programmes to carry a sign language interpreter in a small bubble at the bottom corner of the screen. Bekol persuaded some of these programmes, mainly news, current affairs and magazine shows, to make a direct link between the interpreter bubble, and the bubble in which the deaf can become trapped.

In an attention grabbing move, the roles were switched, and main presenters were moved to the bubble, while the sign interpreter was “liberated” and appeared full screen.

This flipped perspective generated an enormous amount of publicity for Bekol, and the plight of those with hearing loss. The action is estimated to have reached an audience of 400,000 deaf people. Bekol experienced a 300% rise in calls to its service.

As an example of where a marketing campaign meets a PR stunt, this case study highlights the potential of a single, simple, carefully chosen action to communicate a message and reach a niche audience.
 

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