The collaborative work of TCU’s Real World, IMC and their non-profit client, Safe Haven, will be seen and experienced by the TCU community later this year.
Safe Haven is an organization dedicated to helping young women who are in abusive relationships and showing them how to detect the early warning signs to prevent a future abusive relationship. They will be hosting two awareness weeks, tentatively set for October 2007 and February 2008, to educate TCU students about the “red flags of relationship abuse.”
Real World IMC, the student-run integrated advertising and marketing communications agency at TCU, is working with the organization to produce the promotional materials to be used during the awareness weeks.
“During the awareness weeks there will be red flags in the grass lawns around campus with warning signs on them,” said Heather Tansill, a junior advertising/public relations major from North Bend, Wash. “There will also be posters and hand out cards along with other promotional items to remind students that certain actions or behavior are never okay.”
Tansill is the account executive who works on the Safe Haven account at Real World. She works on the account daily, making sure all aspects of the campaign work with one another.
In addition to Tansill, Katie Decker, a senior international advertising/public relations major from Midland is the graphic artist also works with Safe Haven, preparing for the Relationship Abuse Awareness weeks.
“It’s important for not only the account executive to know about the client and his product, but also the creative,” said Decker. “(Tansill) and I both did the research. We don’t work at the same time so it’s difficult to get together to work.”
“Safe Haven has been given a grant to be used to spread awareness to the 18-24 age group in Tarrant County,” said Tansill. “They chose to focus on TCU and hence came to Real World for student insight and direction.”
“There are so many young women who are afraid to speak up or believe that they’re in a ‘normal’ relationship but they’re not,” Decker said. “These posters will make them aware of what kind of situation they’re in and that they can do something about it.”
Beyond the awareness weeks to be hosted at TCU, this is the only big project Real World, IMC and Safe Haven have in the works.
“I believe we have started a good relationship with them and will keep working with them in the future,” said Claudia Butts, who is the graphic design advisor at Real World, IMC.
