merit
We can all rattle off names like Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook, but fewer of us can name famous women in the tech world, as women make up less than a third of the tech sector, but voice almost 100% of our digital assistants and smart speakers.
We created this campaign for Hackergal – a first of its kind for the not-for-profit - because even as of 2023, women still only make up 23% of the tech sector in Canada. That’s even fewer than in 1984. And while we all know technology continues to move forward, gender equality is apparently moving in the opposite direction. So to best bring this issue to light, and reach a target that would be most receptive to this discrepancy, we focused our campaign in and around Toronto, Canada, the “Silicon Valley of the North.” Our thought-provoking posters, complete with scannable QR codes leading directly to our donation page, were then placed in public locations near tech companies and organizations, inside technology stores, and across university and college campuses that had a focus on technology.
Whether they’re giving us directions or setting a timer, almost all of the devices that make our lives easier are voiced by women. Which means that, sadly, the easiest way to speak to a woman in tech today is to say “Hey, Alexa.”
So, we created a campaign that points out this irony, to raise awareness and donations for Hackergal’s initiatives. Posters, social posts, and guerrilla in-store tactics asked readers to consider why the most famous women in tech were the ones living in their devices and encouraged them to help give women a real voice in tech by supporting Hackergal.
Our posters featured a well-known smart device, like Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant, and asked the viewer to consider why they knew its name, but not the names of any real women in tech. To build awareness, we then placed these messages in key high-traffic areas around tech companies and universities throughout the GTA, beside actual digital assistants and smart speakers in key tech retail locations, and posted them across Hackergal’s social channels, all in an effort to drive traffic to the Hackergal website, increase visibility to their program, and ultimately drive donations.
Over the course of the December 2023 campaign, Hackergal saw a significant increase in donations and online traffic, with campaign Instagram reels seeing a 406% lift in viewership compared to other Hackergal posts. Instagram followers even reached out to ask if they could purchase the posters for themselves, all in support of giving women a real voice in tech.
Specifically, during the campaign period, the Hackergal campaign drove an impressive:
150% Increase in Donations (vs. Dec 2022)
493% Increase in Donation Page Visits (vs. LM)
3.4% Lift in Enrolment
1,429% Increase in Engagement (vs. L2M)
201% Increase in Homepage traffic
All indicating that we drove greater awareness, interest, and donations for Hackergal – the campaign even got more young girls enrolled in the Hackergal program. But most importantly, we supported Hackergal in their mission to show young women everywhere that they belong in tech, not just inside tech.
