Local businesses partner to produce campaign raising awareness of violence against women

Three businesses based in the North Midlands and North West have come together to produce a series of films to support the activity of Press Red, a Christian charitable organisation educating, equipping and empowering on the issues of violence and abuse against women and girls.

Working in partnership

The three businesses involved are leadership consultancy Morgan James Consulting, video production company Reels in Motion and integrated communications agency Social. All are donating their time and expertise free of charge and have been brought together by Lily Newman, Managing Director of Morgan James Consulting who is on the Press Red Board of Trustees. Lily explained: “I have been fortunate enough to work with Reels in Motion and Social for many years as a number of their employees have gone through our Leadership Programmes. They have exactly the strategic and creative expertise we needed, and I’m thrilled to work with them on this project for Press Red. Our objective was to develop a campaign to raise awareness on the topic of bystander intervention based around video content which will grab the attention and make an impact on the viewer.”

Lily continued, “This campaign and the work of Press Red is of profound importance to me – twenty years ago, my 19-year-old cousin was murdered at the hands of her ex-partner; it was a devastating tragedy which our family has struggled to come to terms with. Yet here we are in 2021 witnessing tragedies such as the murder of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa which raises the question of how can we create the conditions for women be able to exercise their fundamental right to feel safe as they go about their daily lives.”

Reels in Motion is a video production agency based in Stoke on Trent, helping businesses to build brand awareness through video marketing. Matt Hubbard, Managing Director at Reels in Motion outlined their role in the production: “We are thrilled that we could lend our expertise and resources to support this project. When Lily told us about the incredible work of Press Red and the vision for this campaign, we knew that our team would want to create a series of films that will support them in their intentions and change the way people think and act towards women.”

Becki Ord, Associate Director at Social, an integrated communications agency with its head office in Manchester and four further locations throughout the UK, explained their contribution: “To support this project was an absolute no-brainer for us and myself and my team will be working on the wider distribution, PR and awareness of the campaign. As an agency we provide a unique blend of strategic insight and imaginative delivery to help organisations find their voice and connect with their target audiences and it has been a privilege to be able to utilise what we do to support the work of Press Red.”

“Break the Silence”

The work of Press Red is based primarily around awareness and education; working with communities and organisations to highlight the issues of violence and abuse against women in all its forms.

The videos depict women in everyday situations: riding a bus; in the workplace; and having a drink at the pub, who experience violent or inappropriate behaviour. Each story was inspired by real life experiences, but in real life they stopped short of the positive intervention seen in the film. The idea is to challenge men to call out the behaviour of their friends before the violence and inappropriate behaviour escalate.

Rosemary Hack, Managing Director of Press Red, concluded: “This is such an exciting opportunity for Press Red to broaden the conversation and awareness of abuse of women and girls. To-date, we have been able to directly inform over 4,000 people about this issue and seen many galvanised into action. With the help of Reels in Motion and Social we now have the opportunity to get our message to tens of thousands of people and beyond.”

The videos can be viewed on the Press Red YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQRaE1VaqH9DeQgm_FecMsQ