Online bullying is an epidemic in the US. The CDC estimates that it’s the root cause of 20% of teen suicides. For this reason, anti-bullying activist Monica Lewinsky and a coalition of 12 anti-bullying nonprofits wanted to create a sense of community so those being bullied know that they’re not alone.

Unfortunately, we can’t change what bullies say to their targets, but we can change the way it makes them feel. So we created a movement to disarm bullies of their most common tactic: name calling.

#DefyTheName kicked off with a film showing that some of the most successful people out there were also called names, but they didn’t let that define who they became. The film was only the beginning, as the campaign grew into an online movement that encouraged people to add their bullied names to their display names on social media. Lewinsky started this by changing her Twitter name on live television. Soon after, over 350 influencers and thousands of people did the same, sharing their stories and reinforcing our message: you're not alone and the names you’re called don’t define you.

-Bullying is a global issue – The United Nation's Children's Fund states that half of students (150 million 13- to 15-year-olds) around the world experience peer-to-peer violence/bullying. By leveraging inspiring/successful celebrities from different fields showing their vulnerability for a good cause we created an indelible story for the media.

-The names you’re called do not define who you are. Many inspirational and successful people have faced similar harassment. Defy the name (like Monica Lewinsky and the PSA’s star-studded cast)

-Anyone who experiences bullying, both online and off – and those who love victims of bullying. It’s especially relevant for young people and minorities/the disenfranchised who are more likely to be bullied. Because it’s a universal issue we targeted national broadcast and print.

-We ensured our messaging was safe by liaising with top psychologists and the campaign was released over the national wire and through old fashioned pitching/embargo.

The PSA aired on ABC’s Good Morning America during the first week of October, which is Bullying Prevention Month. The PSA was also posted on YouTube and shared across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The online movement around #DefyTheName inspired thousands of people to change their social media names on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Our audience was young people, especially students, who are currently experiencing bullying or who have experienced bullying in the past.

With a media budget that consisted of zero dollars, we needed to develop a campaign that would create buzz and PR. That’s where our reach, and our impact, needed to come from.

On the day that the campaign launched, #DefyTheName trended on Twitter. Within the first two weeks, the campaign received over 1 Billion impressions. It got covered by over 430 publications and news outlets, including Forbes, The Washington Post, CNN, ABC News, USA Today, Vanity Fair, People Magazine, and Fast Company. In the first five days, it was shared by more than 350 influencers on social media. And thousands of brave people shared the hurtful names that they were bullied with, taking ownership of the campaign and igniting a conversation about how painful it is to be bullied among their peer group.