In early 2019 KERTIS worked alongside over fifteen non- and for-profit partners to conceptualize, design, and execute a regional campaign to change the conversation around homelessness in Louisville and Southern Indiana.

The large scale campaign was rooted in strategy and community engagement. The identity and key marks were developed from that strategy. The campaign was activated through an informative animation series, a narrative video series that profiled individuals who have experienced or are experiencing homelessness, as well as an activation via coffee shops in Louisville and Southern Indiana.

The Challenge

One of the initial questions we started with was: why, given all the multitude of information, resources, and capacity working to end homelessness, did the general public seem so apathetic about addressing the issue?

The answer was that although there is a ton of data about homelessness - stats, root causes, psychological analysis, theories, testimonials, photography, etc - none of it connected the dots between exposure, education, and engagement for everyday people.

How could we begin to address such a complex problem? By exposing people, educating them, and inspiring them to continue their own awareness and advocacy journey.

The Approach

Our strategy team spent nine months researching and learning about one of the most difficult problems of our time. We designed a research plan that looked into academic, conversational, and media narratives about homelessness so that we could be as educated about the issue as possible. We conducted internal workshops and taught short courses in data collection and management, statistics, political geography, and social work practices to help our team wrap their heads around this complicated topic. 

Most critically, we created a panel of experts including service providers, non-profits, and departments within local government who became our advisory group. Through working sessions with them, we learned how to approach core issues and build creative products that would aid in their efforts vs acting in a silo and potentially hindering their efforts. 

Our driving vision for the creative package: spark a regional conversation about the issue(s) of homelessness by generating exposure, education, and engagement with the problem.

Activation / Why Coffee Shops?

Early in the campaign, we identified the need for an activation environment that could allow us to get our messages across to audiences and really drive them to come face to face with our data, messaging, and content. This should be a site known for encouraging public discussion. Coffee shops became our target. We had numerous willing coffee shops on board as partners spread throughout Southern Indiana and Louisville. Additionally, we considered that coffee shops are often spaces of refuge for those experiencing homelessness. That intersection drives social interaction, conversations, the need for resources. 

After bringing our coffee shop partners on board, we provided training to help their staff understand how they should interact with our campaign. We provided the coffee cups, stickers, and resources for their teams to use in the shops.

The Results

The KNOW Campaign ignited a conversation across state borders and social media, deepened relationships between non and for-profit partners, and generated real, material benefits for the non-profits working to end homelessness.

In our post-campaign interviews with partners, they told us that exposure resulted in

1) real financial gains in a time when COVID challenged them (increased donations)

2) development of better or new relationships with partner orgs across the region

3) gained media exposure

“I think of KERTIS as elevating existing stories in my community, rather than telling the stories about my community. That distinction is really important to me as someone who has worked in community organizing, housing advocacy, and homeless services for over 25 years. KERTIS does the on-the-groundwork of building authentic relationships, deep and reflective listening, and inclusion so that instead of creating a story about you or your community, the story you need to tell reaches new platforms and new audiences. The non-profit advisory board of the KNOW Homelessness Campaign is only one example of how attentively they do this work. The KNOW Homelessness Campaign has significantly expanded the reach of our stories and our work.”

— Jane Walsh, Director of Mission Advancement, St. John Center