Free Periods • Free Period Stories
SMASHING TABOOS WITH A SOCIAL CAMPAIGN
THE BRIEF
Following the success of her campaign to change legislation around free period products in schools across the UK, activist Amika George MBE came to us as partners for an upcoming attempt to break the ongoing stigma surrounding cycles. The brief was to create an end-to-end campaign which would help remove the stigma of periods, creating something grassroots, open-source and accessible for all.
HOW WE DID IT
In response, we developed #FreePeriodStories - a social media campaign designed to generate a menstruation conversation by encouraging people across the internet to share their most awkward, funny and relatable stories about periods. We created a taboo-smashing visual identity inspired by the rhythmic cycles of the body, social media strategy, and complete campaign plan and management - all pro bono.
THE CAMPAIGN
We kicked off the campaign by hosting a Free Periods Summit event, including a period panel, workshops, and themed cocktails with an audience of activists, experts and gynaecology influencers. Over the space of two weeks, we had period stories about endometriosis, infertility, menopause, period poverty, cultural backgrounds, religion and disability in addition to stories that were funny, awkward and graphic. We even had a period story from 1914!
THE PARTNERS
The campaign spread as far as Nigeria and Thailand. Participants included MPs and politicians, activists, celebrities, models, journalists, authors, TV and radio presenters, influencers, gynaecologists, and more. Highlights included Phillip Schofield, Emma Freud, Anais Gallagher, Rupi Kaur, Adwoa Aboah, Jane Garvey, Emma Barnett, Gemma Styles, The Slumflower and The Guilty Feminist. #FreePeriodStories also garnered support from organisations such as the UN, the Women’s Equality Party, UNICEF, GurlsTalk, Plan International, The Fawcett Society, Bodyform and The Eve Appeal.
THE RESULTS
80 initial attendees at the summit triggered over 1170 stories shared in total over 2 weeks | 770k impressions on owned channels alone and engagement peaks of 15.3% | 1,652 new followers in 14 days | 562m est. organic press reach with coverage from the BBC, Glamour, Elle, The Huffington Post | Shortlisted for Bravest Campaign in the Campaign Experience Awards
‘From helping friends insert tampons to panicky confessions on first dates, people have been sharing stories about periods on social media. It is part of an initiative using the hashtag #FreePeriodStories, which campaigners hope will help to tackle stigma around menstruation.’ - BBC
‘The identity features abstract, colourful shapes, reproductive organs and period blood, which overlap and bleed into each other, representing the “the interconnected systems of a period cycle.” The campaign’s logo has been made up of a speech bubble formed from a tampon and animations have been inspired by euphemistic terms such as ‘on the dot’ and ‘the blob’.’
