Objective
To create a film that uses people’s experiences to spark conversations about orientation, inclusivity, and acceptance, and reflect GoCardless’ diverse and inclusive culture.
A message to myself
Synopsis
To celebrate and mark National Coming Out Day, the Pride Group at GoCardless wanted to create a short, impactful video to raise awareness and lend their support to those who may be struggling with the decision to come out.
Results
The film had a fantastic online and internal response and performed above average across all platforms for organic GoCardless posts. Data demonstrates that it is highly shareable, and has achieved the best engagement outside of company announcements and awards.
“GoCardless is always looking to build an inclusive workplace and culture, and National Coming Out Day is an important event in our calendar. We wanted a video that was personal and engaging to help people share their own experiences openly. UGC was the perfect way of approaching this sensitive topic, and we’re really pleased with Big Button’s idea and how they executed it. The final video looks great and everyone in the Pride group loves it. We couldn’t wait to publish it and the response has been beyond what we hoped for.”
Hamish Wood
Head of Customer Experience and Pride Group Lead, GoCardless
Background
Every year on 11th October, the LGBTQ+ community and its allies observe National Coming Out Day, a day to support and celebrate living life as an openly out person from the LGBTQ+ community. National Coming Out Day is an opportunity to talk about the challenges of coming out and to promote tolerance and understanding.
Diversity and inclusion play a vital part in how GoCardless operates. 10% of GoCardless colleagues identify as LGBTQ+, compared to the UK average of 4%. It was important for the Pride Group at GoCardless to mark the occasion and they wanted to produce a video that could be shared and provoke open and honest conversations about the issues around coming out.
The approach
The idea was simple: think back to when you were considering or preparing to come out. What would you say to your younger self? If you sat down next to the earlier ‘you’ and had just a few moments to share a few words to inspire, comfort, empower and reassure that wonderful and unique person… what would they be?
This film captures messages from those at GoCardless who have lived through it, the voice of experience that many wish they’d been able to hear during that worrying time; maybe just a little gesture to make someone’s day a little bit easier, or to reach out for support if they’re feeling anxious or lonely.
We chose user generated content (UGC) as an effective way of creating authentic and honest accounts. It became apparent that UGC was the perfect way of enabling people to talk openly and candidly about their past.
The outcome
The film was published on National Coming Out day, and it had a fantastic online and internal response, starting plenty of positive conversations.