A domestic abuse charity has become the first to release a campaign using the new “hidden replies” option on Twitter.
Solace Women’s Aid said Twitter had confirmed it was the first charity and organisation globally to use the feature, which enables users to hide replies to their tweets, for a creative campaign.
The campaign, which began this week, was created to highlight the fact that abuse against women can be hidden. This was demonstrated in the campaign using the new feature, with which users can hide tweets.
The campaign begins with a tweet by @SolaceWomensAid showing a couple who looked happy together.
— Hidden Abuse (@DomesticAbuse) February 25, 2020
Next, the hidden feature button is highlighted and viewers click on it to see a series of messages appear on the screen, revealing abusive behaviour by the male partner towards his girlfriend.
The campaign is also raising money for the charity, with text donation options available at the bottom of the screen in a separate tweet.
The hashtag #hiddenabuse is used in the tweets. The charity said the campaign had so far received 8.6 million impressions and 1.5 million engagements, with 2,200 retweets and 3,900 likes.
Solace Women’s Aid worked with the customer-acquisition company Stack, which instigated the idea and worked on the campaign at no cost to the charity. The campaign was initially proposed by Stack for Twitter UK’s Powered By Tweets competition and was chosen by judges to receive £50,000 of Twitter media spend.
Jane Jutsum, business development director at Solace Women’s Aid, said: “The purpose of the #HiddenAbuse campaign is to remind people that if you can’t see domestic abuse that doesn’t mean it’s not happening.
“The hidden replies feature on Twitter has allowed us to tell an engaging story, one that is based on real-life experiences we hear about every day and to raise awareness of hidden domestic abuse.”
Bobbi Cooper, senior account manager at Stack, said: “All of the actors are internal staff members to avoid any third-party stock photography fees, and the mechanic was supported by our head of tech within the agency.
“We enjoy supporting Solace because it’s such an important charity, raising awareness on what is a worldwide issue.”