Bravehearts exposes the hidden face of grooming in new behaviour change campaign via Engine Group and Wavemaker

Engine Group, Wavemaker, Bravehearts, ChangePR and UnLtd have partnered to launch a national campaign to educate parents and caregivers about the dangers of grooming. The campaign is the first major behaviour change campaign for Bravehearts, a national charity focused on preventing and treating the crime of child sexual abuse.

More than 1 in 4 Australians have experienced child sexual abuse and in 79% of cases, the perpetrator was someone the child knew. These aren’t strangers in white vans, but trusted figures like family friends or relatives, who use grooming to exploit that trust. The new campaign by Engine Group aims to arm the public with the knowledge they need to recognise it, by showing them what grooming can look like, and how it hides.

The emotional campaign was created and produced pro bono by Engine Group and its industry partners including Leah Purcell as the director and Taxi Film Production as the production company.

Additionally, over 100 other creative contributors collectively gave in excess of $1M of their craft to assist with the development of the campaign – which is a visual and haunting representation of how grooming often hides behind harmless behaviours.

Says Managing Director and Owner of Engine Group, Tim Weger: “After our first conversation with Bravehearts, the entire Engine team walked away absolutely horrified not just by the shocking statistics around child sexual abuse, but because we didn’t know them. As a father to five beautiful daughters I immediately started cycling through all the people my wife and I have ever let through the front doors of our home.

“It was this impact that I wanted us to create in our work for Bravehearts. To stop people in their tracks and to get them thinking that this heinous crime happens everywhere. It simply doesn’t discriminate. Our work aims to normalise the conversation, address the stigma and importantly to empower people with the tools to recognise how child sexual abuse begins through grooming.”

Adds Mike Fritz, Creative Director at Engine Group: “The weight of this brief was immense. We weren’t just creating a campaign – we were contributing to a cultural shift that could protect countless children across the country. How do you begin to tackle something so repugnant, so confronting, that most people instinctively turn away? In our eyes, you stop it before it starts. By helping people recognise the signs early, and by encouraging parents to stay vigilant about who their children spend time with. To play even a small role in that kind of positive change isn’t just a creative challenge. It’s a responsibility. And it’s one we carried with real pride.”

The campaign includes TV, outdoor, digital, press, and radio with Wavemaker managing the media strategy and planning. Following a media briefing in Brisbane in April, over 24 media owners have already supported the campaign with over $3M of pro bono media inventory pre-committed. Kantar has also come on board to provide pre and post campaign study to measure effectiveness and ChangePR, part of Shannon Behaviour Change, is providing PR support pro-bono.

Says Jane Sullivan, Managing Director at Wavemaker Brisbane: “Supporting Bravehearts on this campaign has been both a personal and professional privilege. I’ve spent my career using the power of media to connect with audiences and create meaningful, positive outcomes – and this campaign exemplifies that purpose in the most important way. This campaign is not just about awareness – it’s about giving parents and caregivers real tools to recognise grooming behaviours and take action early. I’m incredibly proud of the Wavemaker Brisbane team and what we’ve delivered together with Bravehearts and Engine, and so grateful to our exceptional media partners for their generosity to ensure this important message reaches communities across Australia.”

The campaign is one of the first nationwide major launches from UnLtd Queensland with all Queensland based partners. Media owners supporting the campaign with pro bono inventory include: Paramount, Seven, Nine, SBS, Foxtel, Pedestrian Group, Val Morgan Outdoor (VMO), QMS, oOh!Media, Cartology, JCDecaux, YStop, GOA, Bishopp, Go Transit, Torch Media, Nova, SCA, ATN, News Australia, Are Media and Yahoo.

Says Emma Davis, General Manager of Queensland: “It’s truly been a career highlight to bring these incredible Brisbane partners together and to bring this important message to all of Australia. The statistics are horrendous but I know this campaign has the potential to change those numbers, and help protect young lives and for that I will be forever grateful to all of our partners, across agency and media, for helping us drive this change.”

The campaign launched with a simple but important goal – to protect children from the crime of child sexual abuse. Says Alison Geale, CEO of Bravehearts: “Child sexual abuse is an insidious crime that few people want to talk about. However, sadly it’s a pervasive crime that doesn’t discriminate – it can happen in any family. We hope this campaign will bring awareness but also practical tools for caregivers to use to identify and stop grooming behaviours. We are so grateful to work with such incredibly talented and passionate partners who have truly leant in to this project. The passion shows in the powerful creative and the incredible media support we have received. We’re so grateful.”

If you or anyone you know needs help, advice or support, please visit Bravehearts.

Creative – ENGINE GROUP
Tim Weger – Managing Director
Mike Fritz – Creative Director
Dianne Grice – Client Services Director, Strategist
Saxon Squire – Senior Account Manager
Aiken Hutcheson – Copywriter
Mark Smith – Senior Creative
Liam Marsden – Art Director
Megan Le-Nguyen – Studio Manager

TAXI FILM PRODUCTION
Andrew Wareham – Executive Producer
Leah Purcell OAM – Director
Mark Wareham – Director of Photography
Kohbe Vela-Smith – General Manager
Jill McMahon – Senior Producer
Alessandria Riding – Production Manager
Justin Lyons – 1st AD
Josh Bailey – 1st AC
Havery Robinson – 2nd AC
Glenn Jones – Gaffer
Tom Waddington – Lighting Assistant
Matthew Porter – Art Director
Josh Turner – Grip
Sophie Borra – Wardrobe Stylist
Linda Jordan – Hair and Makeup Artist
Ruby Masterton – Art Assistant
Ken Kimura – BTS, Editor
Mitch Young – Editor
Erich Bailey – Unit
Kristie Corkill – Runner
Hans Salceda – Runner
Harry Dodd – Locations
Nat Set Catering – Catering
Kali Bateman – Colourist

PHOTOGRAPHY
Sam Scoufos – Stills Photographer
Dominic Lasaitis – Stills Assistant
Derek Leong – Retoucher

AUDIO – Rosco Audio

AUDIO TALENT – Snack Box
Ross Batten – Senior Sound Designer
Sarah Ritchie – Producer

MUSIC COMPOSITION
Raf Mikolajczyk – Composer

DIGITAL PARTNER
Daniel Button – Muse

MEDIA – Wavemaker:
Jane Sullivan
Courtney McBryde
Zoe Stanek
Alex Miller
Madi Eyre

PR – ChangePR, part of Shannon Behaviour Change:
Justine Sywak, Director of PR, Stakeholder Engagement and Misinformation Unit
Marisa Lo, Account Director
Reagan Ruppell, Account Director

CLIENT – Bravehearts:
Zoe Hermans, Marketing Manager
Kylie Hewitt, Partnerships Manager
Alison Geale, CEO

SOCIAL IMPACT – UnLtd:
Emma Davis, GM of QLD, UnLtd