Queer Creatives Collaborate on Campaign for World’s First Social Media Platform for LGBTQIA+ Youth

Jul. 12, 2023

Some of the strongest LGBTQIA+ talent in the Dutch creative agency landscape have collaborated on a powerful new creative campaign to mark the relaunch of Jong&Out, the world’s first social media platform for queer youth in the Netherlands. Celebrating the many facets of queer joy, the campaign is centred on the idea of a space that young LGBTQIA+ people can define for themselves - something the entire pro-bono team wished they could have had access to as queer teenagers.

Created by COC - the world’s oldest LGBTQIA+ non-profit organisation - in response to the specific mental health issues plaguing queer youth, Jong&Out provides a much-needed safe space for young queer people - a particularly valuable resource when hate crimes against the LGBTQIA+ community are still rife. With LGBTQIA+ youth twice as likely to face mental health issues, and 4.5 times more likely than their heterosexual and cisgender peers to commit suicide, Jong & Out was inspired by statistics showing that the best way to combat these issues is to put young queer people in contact with like-minded others.

Initially launched in 2020, the platform has already amassed over 4,000 members - harnessing social media as a force for good and providing a vital mental health resource for one of the world’s most vulnerable groups. To mark its three year anniversary, the relaunch campaign aims to encourage even more LGBTQIA+ young people to join the community, connect online and to meet-up in person. Fresh, fun, aspirational and most of all accessible to its target audience - queer youth aged 12-18 - the campaign spans a new visual identity for the app, a 30-second mixed-media campaign film directed by Gianna Mazzeo and a social media activation featuring some of the biggest youth influencers in the Netherlands. 

Led by strategist Steph Morrow, founder of STUDIO WORROM and former head of strategy at VIRTUE (VICE Media), the pro bono team behind the campaign is made up of some of the leading queer marketers in the Netherlands. Pairing high level industry experience with personal experience made them the perfect team to deliver this campaign and show how Jong&Out can empower and support the LGBTQIA+ youth of today - with every team member united by the wish that there had been this kind of community platform during their teenage years.

Steph Morrow, founder of STUDIO WORROM said:

“There is a very real thing where queer representation in agencies is still so sparse that you often find yourself as the token queer person on Pride projects, and for us with this project, it was immediately clear it would only resonate if we were able to really demonstrate our understanding of queer cultural references across the queer spectrum, with a team that reflected different facets of the queer experience.” 

 

As a result, the campaign puts young queer people and their lived experiences front and centre - letting them articulate their own thoughts, rather than putting scripted words into their mouths, and positioning Jong&Out as an online space which queer youth have the freedom to define for themselves. 

Morrow added:

"By far the most rewarding aspect of the project is knowing how helpful this resource will be. It is the ultimate embodiment of using your skills and knowledge for good. Every one queer kid we get to join this app is a kid we’ve connected into a mental health lifeline. Next to that, getting to work alongside other queer creatives has been a joy and a privilege. It’s no exaggeration to say we’ve become best friends in the process. I think you can feel how much fun we have had in the work, too. It’s just been an absolute joy and the work reflects that: pure queer joy."

 

Made with first hand experience 

The campaign was initiated and orchestrated by strategist and queer champion Steph Morrow, founder of STUDIO WORROM who pulled together a pro bono team of some of the strongest LGBTQIA+ talent - both homegrown and international - from across the Dutch advertising scene. 

Alongside Morrow, key members of the team included Fran Marchesi, Creative Director at Amsterdam-based agency Soursop, who co-created the concept with Morrow and oversaw all of the work as Executive Creative Director for the campaign as well as award-winning Art Director at VanMoof James Holdsworth, who sharpened the visual direction of the film under Marchesi's direction, multi-award-winning Creative Director at VICE, Martin Magner, who came up with the idea for the campaign’s “story time” social activation extension. 

Gemma Trouce, most recently Sr. Account Director at Wieden+Kennedy, took the reins as business lead, while Mark Lester, R/GA New York’s Executive Strategy Director on Nike, and ex-Head of Strategy at We Are Pi, acted as consultant on the rollout of the campaign.