The Canadian Down Syndrome Society (CDSS) had a goal of reaching the general population and raising awareness of the abilities of people with Down syndrome, on a minuscule budget.

But there were two issues with the ask:

Issue #1: Too Broad. With a small budget, the CDSS didn’t have resources to breakthrough to a mass audience. The reality was that the CDSS couldn’t be and say everything to everyone. More than anything, we needed to hone our efforts in two ways: by focusing on supporting parents of children with Down syndrome, and by focusing on specific moments in their journey when they needed our support.

Issue #2: Too Expected. The desired creative approach was generic, and frequently employed by disability advocacy groups. Their existing platform was based on the idea of “seeing the ability”, but we knew that simply saying it doesn’t make people believe it.

At its core, the CDSS is an organization that believes in being “pro-information” by combatting the stereotypes and stigma of Down syndrome – at every moment. So, to fulfill their mission, we set out to demonstrate people with Down syndrome’s humanity instead of merely talking about.

We focused our efforts on parents, not the general public – and used our strategic process to map a customer journey that defined moments when they're in need of information and support.

The mapping required an extensive review of qualitative and quantitative data, revealing three key moments:

Year 1 moment: between diagnosis and decision

When parents learn their unborn child has Down syndrome, they have about 10 days to decide whether to continue with the pregnancy. Search data showed a high need for information among a small group of parents. 0.1% of pregnant couples ask Google over 57,000 Down syndrome-related questions monthly.1

Year 2 moment: Announcing the birth

Qualitative interviews showed parents of Down syndrome children hear “I’m sorry” after their baby’s birth, a hurtful comment that turns a moment of celebration into pain.

Year 3 moment: Raising children in a shrinking community

Analyzing Down syndrome birth statistics revealed a rapid increase in pre-natal screening for Down syndrome, along with near universal termination rates, signaling the population was declining. 2, 3, 4

Qualitative interviews with parents revealed this decline was putting pressure on them, as they struggled to get the proper education, find supportive housing and employment for their children.

We established a new creative platform, that didn’t just say what people with Down syndrome can do – it demonstrated it. We let the community speak for themselves, a humanizing approach employed throughout the journey.

Year 1: Have the true experts answer parent’s questions

To answer parents’ questions, we launched Down Syndrome Answers - a series of searchable videos where people with Down syndrome answer all of the 40 top Googled questions on Down syndrome. Creating a self-sustaining resource.

Year 2: Make Sorry a Bad Word

To change how people react to the birth of a baby with Down syndrome, our Down syndrome experts once again explained that any profanity-laden reaction is better than the worst word of all: “Sorry”.

Year 3: Position a community as endangered

To advocate for resources, for the first time in history, a group of people applied to be on the endangered species list.

Since launch in November 2016, the Canadian Down Syndrome Society’s campaign has:

• Achieved earned impressions over 23 billion

• Increased donations by 429%, reaching the highest level in the Canadian Down Syndrome Society’s history

• Every Down Syndrome Answers video remains in the top 10 in Google rankings, with 65% at #1. Forever making them available for parents in need.

• In 2019, the UN went on record to ensure that no new parent should ever hear sorry again.

In Canada and North America, despite a growing movement towards diversity and inclusion, bias continues to be pervasive against people with disabilities. Stigma and stereotypes impact parents and people with Down syndrome at every stage of their lives – from a lack of fair and balanced information at the moment of diagnosis to difficulty accessing resources to find their first job and move out on their own. While Canada has made great strides in building an inclusive society that accepts people of different races, genders and sexual orientations, we are way behind when it comes to accepting people with disabilities.

Because of this, the CDSS had the goal of supporting parents of children with Down syndrome at every stage of the lives. To fill the gaps of support, information and resources that parents don’t receive.