White Ribbon Australia appoints Innocean Australia as strategic agency partner

White Ribbon Australia, an organisation that is part of a global social movement working to eliminate gendered violence, has appointed Innocean Australia as creative agency for its national brand strategy and communications.

The appointment builds on Innocean’s work over the past months to develop a new brand architecture, as well as a communications plan and content strategy, for White Ribbon to bring greater focus to thought leadership and primary prevention when it comes to addressing domestic violence.

Since its acquisition by Communicare in 2019, White Ribbon is positioned as the country’s leading advocacy, primary prevention and social movement in the domestic violence space. The domestic violence needle has not been shifted and whilst there has been positive legislative change with updates to the Federal Government’s Respect at Work Bill, the key audience of men need to be better engaged in the conversation.

The results of the last Global Institute for Women’s Leadership Survey revealed that 30 per cent of Australian men believe “women who say that they were abused often make up or exaggerate claims of abuse or rape”. In addition, Australia ranked the second highest country in the world, just behind Malaysia, when asked if it was acceptable to use sexist or misogynistic language online, with 14 per cent saying it was acceptable. The global average was eight per cent.

White Ribbon, now with Innocean Australia at its side, is on a mission to change these perceptions among men.

Says Allan Ball, national director, White Ribbon Australia: “At White Ribbon Australia we employ a variety of programs and strategies to impact actionable change, 365 days a year. From community engagement activities and prevention strategies, to our collective efforts in advocacy – such as including coercive control into legislation – we’re working hard every day to end men’s violence against women. Innocean will be key in us achieving this goal and ensuring men have a role to play in both the conversation and creating change.

“In (Innocean CEO) Jasmin Bedir and her team at Innocean we have found a partner that genuinely understands how to build brands, shares our view on the job at hand, and is well versed in messaging around gender equality.”

Says Jasmin Bedir, CEO, Innocean: “When we met the team from White Ribbon in 2022 we immediately clicked and started bouncing off each other. This is an organisation that shouldn’t exist, yet we need it to exist right now and do the heavy lifting with its advocacy and prevention to stop men’s violence against women. We are incredibly excited to work with White Ribbon and help them connect with Australians on a deeper level and to put an end to men’s violence against women.”

The partnership is effective immediately with campaigns and communication strategies already in development.