2024 Winner
BronzeBest in Niche Targeting
Hackergal
"A Real Voice for Women in Tech"
FUSE Create
"A Real Voice for Women in Tech"
FUSE Create
Hackrgal, a not-for-profit located in Toronto, is dedicated to helping young women break through gender barriers so they can become the tech leaders of tomorrow. Their program relies on the generosity of donors, but with so many worthy causes, it can be hard for them to stand out. Furthermore, the lack of women in tech is no secret, in fact as of 2023, women make up less than a quarter of the tech sector in Canada – that’s fewer than in 1984!
So, to inspire people to act (i.e. donate), they needed to make them consider the
problem through a new lens.
While we all know technology continues to move forward at a rapid pace, gender equality is moving in the opposite direction, and at an opposite pace.
We can all take off names like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, but fewer of us can name influential women in the tech world, with one exception: smart speakers. From GPS apps to phone assistants, to home smart speakers, women make up the majority of their default voices.
Why do women only make up 23% of the tech sector in Canada, but voice almost
100% of digital assistants?
Hackergal hosts their annual ‘Hackergal Day’, a day that brings young women together to code, learn about technology, and acts as an open house for their organization. For an organization with a little budget to drive awareness or to spend on, it was the perfect time of year to launch their first-of-its-kind campaign for the not-for-profit, to drive awareness, spur conversation,
and ultimately, generate donations.
The brand took to the streets to raise awareness about this gender-bias in support of Hackergal, bringing their big idea to the forefront with thought-provoking headlines in a highly targeted OOH campaign that asked the viewer to rethink women’s role in tech.
They also set out to ensure employers and institutions that employed tech positions would see the campaign, so the brand ran the campaign in Toronto, ON, the “Silicon Valley of the North”, to reach a target that would be most receptive to this issue.
Wild postings asked readers to consider why the most famous women in tech were the ones living in their devices, and then encouraged them to help give women a real voice in tech by supporting Hackergal. In addition to posing near places of tech employment and tech institutions, the brand placed guerrilla signage and messaging inside technology stores and across university and college campuses that had a focus on technology.
The posters and guerilla tactics, as well as social posts, featured well-known smart devices like Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant, and asked the viewer to consider why they knew their names, but not the names of any real women in tech. And while the social posts allowed for click-thru straight to a donation page, the posters and in-store tent cards included a QR code that drove to
the same donation page.
Toronto was the ideal audience for this first-ever campaign by Hackergal, not just because it’s where Hackergal is based, but because it’s home to the largest population in the country, including the largest population of women, and has the most schools, universities, and colleges, i.e. the most women in the education system.
Finally, it also has the largest concentration of technology companies in the country, that don’t
employ enough women.
During the December 2023 campaign – a first-of-its-kind for Hackergal – the not-for-profit saw a significant increase in donations (mission accomplished) and online engagement, with even campaign Instagram Reels seeing a 406% lift in Views vs. the average viewership. Followers even asked if they could purchase the posters for themselves, all in support of giving women a real voice in tech.
The campaign garnered a 150% increase in donations YOY, 3.4% lift in enrolment during campaign period, a 1,429% increase in engagement vs. previous 2 months, a 493% increase in donation page visits vs. Nov 2023 and a 201% increase in homepage traffic.
The 3.4% increase in enrolment did exactly what this campaign was set out to do: to give young women a real voice in tech. The 150% increase in donations means the next generation of women will continue having their voice heard.
“This campaign has been transformative for Hackergal, actively challenging viewers to confront the persistent gender gap in Canadian tech.”– Rebecca Hazell, Executive Director, Hackergal
So, to inspire people to act (i.e. donate), they needed to make them consider the
problem through a new lens.
While we all know technology continues to move forward at a rapid pace, gender equality is moving in the opposite direction, and at an opposite pace.
We can all take off names like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, but fewer of us can name influential women in the tech world, with one exception: smart speakers. From GPS apps to phone assistants, to home smart speakers, women make up the majority of their default voices.
Why do women only make up 23% of the tech sector in Canada, but voice almost
100% of digital assistants?
Hackergal hosts their annual ‘Hackergal Day’, a day that brings young women together to code, learn about technology, and acts as an open house for their organization. For an organization with a little budget to drive awareness or to spend on, it was the perfect time of year to launch their first-of-its-kind campaign for the not-for-profit, to drive awareness, spur conversation,
and ultimately, generate donations.
The brand took to the streets to raise awareness about this gender-bias in support of Hackergal, bringing their big idea to the forefront with thought-provoking headlines in a highly targeted OOH campaign that asked the viewer to rethink women’s role in tech.
They also set out to ensure employers and institutions that employed tech positions would see the campaign, so the brand ran the campaign in Toronto, ON, the “Silicon Valley of the North”, to reach a target that would be most receptive to this issue.
Wild postings asked readers to consider why the most famous women in tech were the ones living in their devices, and then encouraged them to help give women a real voice in tech by supporting Hackergal. In addition to posing near places of tech employment and tech institutions, the brand placed guerrilla signage and messaging inside technology stores and across university and college campuses that had a focus on technology.
The posters and guerilla tactics, as well as social posts, featured well-known smart devices like Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant, and asked the viewer to consider why they knew their names, but not the names of any real women in tech. And while the social posts allowed for click-thru straight to a donation page, the posters and in-store tent cards included a QR code that drove to
the same donation page.
Toronto was the ideal audience for this first-ever campaign by Hackergal, not just because it’s where Hackergal is based, but because it’s home to the largest population in the country, including the largest population of women, and has the most schools, universities, and colleges, i.e. the most women in the education system.
Finally, it also has the largest concentration of technology companies in the country, that don’t
employ enough women.
During the December 2023 campaign – a first-of-its-kind for Hackergal – the not-for-profit saw a significant increase in donations (mission accomplished) and online engagement, with even campaign Instagram Reels seeing a 406% lift in Views vs. the average viewership. Followers even asked if they could purchase the posters for themselves, all in support of giving women a real voice in tech.
The campaign garnered a 150% increase in donations YOY, 3.4% lift in enrolment during campaign period, a 1,429% increase in engagement vs. previous 2 months, a 493% increase in donation page visits vs. Nov 2023 and a 201% increase in homepage traffic.
The 3.4% increase in enrolment did exactly what this campaign was set out to do: to give young women a real voice in tech. The 150% increase in donations means the next generation of women will continue having their voice heard.
“This campaign has been transformative for Hackergal, actively challenging viewers to confront the persistent gender gap in Canadian tech.”– Rebecca Hazell, Executive Director, Hackergal
Credits
FUSE CreateExecutive Creative Director: Steve Miller
Creative Director: Linda Carte
Account Manager: Jenna Stafford
Art Director: Carole Ineichen
Copywriter/ ACD: Cristina Markham
Creative Strategist: Madison Rogers
Creative Support: Camélia Pitsilis
Print Production: Jack Evans
XM Producer: Luke Nicol
Public Relations Manager: Vanessa Francone