Going Beyond Words: Meaningful Ways to Support Awareness Campaigns

It seems like there is an awareness day for everything doesn’t it? There are the ones that most people know about through publicity, like International Women’s Day, World Mental Health Day, or World Book Day. Did you know about Marzipan Day though? (put 12th January in your diary) Or National Recycling Day, National Caregivers Day, or Spreadsheet Day?

We are not limited to days either, we have National Inclusion Week, Black History Month, World Communication Week and so on. These are all to spotlight different causes, campaigns, and issues. The campaigns can be to celebrate, and others to campaign for change.

It can be baffling to know what to support and how to support these campaigns. It is one of the top things our clients ask us about at Watch This Sp_ce when we start working on their inclusion journey. And as with all inclusion work, it is about going beyond words and performative gestures and thinking about meaningful ways to support and amplify the campaign and message.

Why are you supporting the awareness campaign?

Awareness days and campaigns are powerful ways to spotlight causes and encourage people to learn about them and support them. They are the heartbeat of many social movements. The problem is that many people think that posting on social media is enough. To drive real change and further the cause you are supporting, it’s about more than jumping on the latest hashtag. Why are you supporting a cause and how are you supporting to drive change? You do not have to jump on everything just because other people do. Consider who you are centering in your support. Is this about how you look to the world, or do you genuinely want to spotlight an issue or a cause? 

We have been known to have the odd rant about all of this at Watch This Sp_ce! For example, to support International Women’s Day, if you are changing your logo pink and posting on social media about your celebration of women, have you first checked your gender pay gap? Have you checked how you support women in the workplace, and asked people who work for you what they think? If you do support the awareness day, consider what actions you take to support it to make an impact.

How are you supporting the awareness campaign?

What actions are you going to take? Yes, it might be posting on social media, but what else could you do? You could commit to learning more and helping employees to learn. You could fundraise, volunteer, and show support. You could go further, advocating and becoming allies for the campaign.

That can take different forms. It could be supporting petitions or joining events. It could go even further though, you could decide to act, perhaps joining a march or writing to a politician or other group to show support. Most campaigns need financial support, so it could be that your brand decides to fundraise to support the cause you are highlighting.

To support a campaign requires a level consistency. If you posted a black square on Instagram in 2020, what have you done since then? Jumping on a hashtag is an easy action to take, but it becomes meaningless if you do not follow it up with meaningful actions.

How can you make an impact?

Many awareness campaigns highlight issues affecting marginalised groups. Or they could be raising awareness about an issue to educate people. As that is the case, how are you going to centre the cause in your support?

Posting selfies with a hashtag are fun ways to engage employees, but if that is not combined with more impactful actions, are you driving any change? You could do more, and use your platform to amplify voices. You could share stories, or interviews that show different experiences and perspectives. 

To be an ally to the campaign, listen, learn, and think about meaningful actions. Consider how to support and amplify without overshadowing people’s voices. Supporting a campaign is not a one-time effort. Regularly reflect and assess your impact. Did your actions contribute to increased awareness, donations, or policy changes? Use these insights to refine your approach and identify new ways to contribute.

It can be very powerful to use your position, brand, and impact to help further a cause or campaign with your support if you think about it carefully.

There is fun in supporting awareness days too. If you have decided to celebrate ‘talk like a pirate day’ (September 19th), then you can have some fun and not worry too much about the impact. Unless you’re a disenfranchised pirate.

To learn more, our book The Inclusion Journey is packed full of stories, examples, and insight to help you on your inclusion journey.

If you want to contribute to the Chamber blog, contact us on hannah@brightonchamber.co.uk