Bullying no longer lives only in classrooms, in hallways and on school buses. It’s online and far more toxic. Our solution to battle it online was to create the first anti-bullying emoji. Because of its universal code, the emoji can be used across all social media platforms where bullying takes place, without the need to download apps or keyboards.

Launching last October, our campaign centered on an anti-bullying emoji—reported to be the first emoji tied to a social cause*. Because of its universal code, the emoji can be used across all social media platforms where bullying takes place, without the need to download apps or keyboards.

The full force of Silicon Valley backed us in this effort, offering us product innovations on their platforms, such as Snapchat filters; a custom Twitter hashtag—#IAmAWitness—that, when used, displays our emoji; and our symbol featured on the front page of Reddit on its iconic Snoo. So no matter where a young person encountered bullying, they would also encounter our campaign.

These were paired with an interactive film in which participants could use our emoji to help a bullied boy out of different situations. It was the first interactive film to function on an iPhone. This part was crucial, as our demographic consumes media mainly on mobile devices.

We also used influencers from YouTube, Vine and Instagram to distribute our campaign, as it was imperative that this project feel like it was being shared from peer to peer, and not coming from a parent or a teacher.

*http://stimulantonline.ca/2015/10/23/emoji-for-an-anti-bullying-cause

To reach 19 million teens ages 11 to 15,* the campaign generated 2 billion+ impressions across their favorite social networks and mobile devices to raise awareness about the emoji.

From October 2015 to today, the campaign generated:

• Over 1.2 billion impressions

• 23.5M views of our films

• 265.9K engagements with the custom keyboard app and Kik stickers

• 2.3M impressions through other social

When it comes to adoption and intent, a Facebook Nielsen Brand Effect study revealed familiarity with the campaign and understanding of how to use the emoji doubled among those ages 11 to 15 and young adults ages 18 to 20.** And our most important result was that teens who saw our campaign were “definitely” more likely to support a victim or stand up to a bully the next time they witnessed bullying.

*Pew Research, Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015 Report

**Facebook, Nielsen Brand Effect Study February, 2016