Click here for the Outreach and Education Initiative brochure.

The goal of the “You deserve better!” public awareness campaign is to educate DC residents about the local resources available to domestic violence victims and to empower everyone in the District to help defeat relationship violence. The DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence and ten local anti-domestic violence service providers are working collaboratively to create and launch this first-of-its-kind campaign in the District.

October 2005
DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence (lead agency) and nine local service providers [Asian Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project (DVRP), Ayuda, Boat People SOS, Break the Cycle-DC, Center for Child Protection and Family Support, House of Ruth, My Sister’s Place, Ramona’s Way, Women Empowered Against Violence (WEAVE)] receive funding from the DC Office of Victim Services to plan and develop the campaign.

November 2005
The collaborative group meets to begin setting an agenda for developing the project. The group must determine what audiences the campaign target, what message the campaign will send about domestic violence, and how the campaign will persuade the audience to access resources.

December 2005
In consideration of the campaign’s target launch in 2007 and the community’s immediate need for resource materials that promote a wide variety of resources, the group decides to “makeover” an existing resource. A card formerly distributed during Domestic Violence Awareness Month was updated and revised for year-round distribution, and 5,000 of the cards were printed.

February 2006
Many possible audiences for the campaign are whittled down to six key populations to target: African American women; Latinas/Spanish-speakers; Teens; Vietnamese and Fujianese speakers; and Parents of children exposed to domestic violence.

April 2006
The search for a communications agency to join the team begins—the partner agencies seek out a firm with expertise in urban communications and social marketing, and a track record of effectively reaching out to hard-to-reach audiences. From among the candidate firms, MEE Productions Inc. is selected.

June 2006
Group members familiarize themselves with dozens of national, statewide and local anti-domestic violence campaigns from other jurisdictions to inform their decisions about what to say to District residents. They begin the process of determining what all of the diverse populations in the target audience have in common.

August 2006
A second “immediate resource” to provide DC residents with information about where to go to find help and support was developed. The “Speak Out, Listen Up” foldout guide urges local residents to support survivors and offers detailed lists of services available from anti-domestic violence service providers, and 7,500 of the guides were printed.

September 2006
Group determines that the campaign’s message will be, “You deserve better and you have options!” and that its call to action will urge people to, “Take the first steps to finding out what your options are.” The group welcomes a new partner—Women of Freedom Foundation—into the project.

October 2006
The “Stop DV in DC” website is launched to chronicle the campaign’s development, update the community on the project, and invite community members to be part of the solution. The site will also encourage residents to take part in the project by sharing their stories and participating in project focus groups.

December 2006
Possible campaign “slogans” are developed for testing with target audience members. MEE Productions Inc. and the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence conduct the first focus group to test the campaign’s message and call to action. The words use to convey the message will be refined and re-tested by partner agencies in a series of focus groups with members of the various target audiences.

January 2007
The DC Child and Family Services Agency requests a special order of 5,000 of the “Speak Out, Listen Up” resource guides to distribute to its clients—bringing the total number of guides printed and distributed to 12,500.

March 2007
Trained by MEE Productions Inc. to conduct the campaign-testing focus groups, partner agencies enlist more than 80 local residents from the target populations to participate. Six focus groups are scheduled and the results analyzed.

May 2007
Results of the focus groups are prepared by partner agencies. The common preferences across all audiences will form the basis for what words are used to deliver the message. The highest-ranked forms of communication and media consumption will determine where the campaign appears and how the campaign will reach out to audiences.

July 2007
Final recommendations for the campaign’s content begin. Creative concepts will be developed for testing in the target populations and finalized with local residents’ input. The campaign is on-track to launch in Winter 2007 if the creative concepts are well-received during community test groups.