SUBMIT The Documentary #NoBystanders campaign by SUBMIT The Documentary LLC

Educators, parents and children are coming together to stand up to cyber bullying with SUBMIT The Documentary

Brand / Agency:  SUBMIT The Documentary LLC, American Counselling Association, Cyberbullying Research Center, PLAT4M Studios LLC, and PLUS Program
Audience:  Educators, civic leaders, health professionals, parents and children
Duration:  Ongoing. Started on 26/02/2013
Budget:  Not disclosed
Channels:  Billboards, mobile marketing, online advertising, PR and social media
Results:  80 private screenings and a rally


Social Media Portal (SMP): Who is behind the campaign?


SUBMIT The Documentary LLC (Submit):  The campaign was created by us, SUBMIT The Documentary (www.submitthedocumentary.com, @SubmitTheDoc) in partnership with American Counselling Association (http://counseling.org, @CounselingViews), Cyberbullying Research Center (http://cyberbullying.us, @OnlineBullying), PLAT4M Studios LLC (@Plat4mStudioATL) and PLUS Program (http://www.plusprogram.org, @UnitedByPlus).

SMP: What is the official campaign name and why was it chosen?

Submit: The campaign, #NoBystanders, was created because the film expresses the importance of the bystanders roles in combating cyberbullying. The more people that do not stand up to bullies create a snowball effect that increases the bully?s power over their victim. The campaign running alongside with #NoBystanders is #RandomKindness, teaching our youth and adults that random acts of kindness are a key way to combat bullying and this also promotes a sense of community and bringing back traditional values to being kind to others and living by the ?Golden Rule.?



SMP: What was the start and end of the campaign?

Submit: This campaign began on 26/02/2013 and there is currently no ending date as the campaign continues to grow support from around the world.

SMP: The target audiences of the campaign, who are you trying to reach and why?

Submit: We are looking to reach educators, civic leaders, health professionals, parents and children. Educators and civic leaders play a key role in society and help enhance our message along with gaining credibility because we are new in this market. The film is really for parents and children to spread awareness and solutions to the growing topics of bullying, cyberbullying and suicide.

SMP: Briefly, tell us about your campaign

Submit: The way we hurt each other has evolved. In today?s digital generation, we stay in touch with the world and our friends through our phones, tablets and laptops. Texting and social media are vital to staying in touch with friends and connecting with new people. Most children and young adults use social media to connect, but it has also turned into the latest tool for bullying and harassment. It is easy to be invisible online. Anyone can be a cyberbully.

Official Producer's Statement: Les Ottolenghi from SubmitTheDoc on Vimeo.

SMP: What are the goals of the campaign and why is it different?

Submit: The ultimate goal of the documentary and our website is to become the centre of education on cyberbullying awareness, support and solutions. This is different because it translates into prevention along with utilizing our technology we own to create a safe place for support to those that are victims of cyberbullying and a place where others can go to support their friends. Another reason why it is different is our film does not sensationalize the topic as many other bullying films do. Lastly, we are creating a content library we are going to license for curriculum resources for schools and organizations with the support from our experts in the film.

SMP: What are the channels, platforms and methods you?re using?

Submit: We are using traditional sources like press releases, billboards, mobile marketing, online advertising, film festivals, social media platforms and multimedia sources to promote this film and topic. We elected to use these to promote a more grassroots campaign to generate buzz for the topic along with our film and the film festivals we have been accepted into. We understood we had to target all these mediums in-order to convey our story best with having a diverse target audience.

SMP: Why have you decided to use video to drive this campaign?

Submit: We have three videos we are really using to drive the campaign. The first is our Trailer for our film ?Submit the Documentary?, this is a fast-look into the film along with sharing our story. Our Producer?s reel by Les Ottolenghi we are using to convey the realness and human-interest side of our story expressing our reasoning for creating this film and campaign. The last video we are using is our Producer?s reel by Ashley Reid and it is more of a thank you to our experts and families that appeared in our film along with promoting our social media networks.

You can see the trailer at Vimeo https://vimeo.com/59973030.

SMP: How can people and especially young get involved and submit their films?

Submit: This is a great question.  We actually have a place on our website for victims, bullies, and bystanders can come and Submit Your Story. These stories can be in any media form and are then published to our website along with social media. We are passionate about this part because it is really the real stories of the topic and problem and it is how we created our film and we want to have a place for these stories to be shared because there is a face and a name to this growing problem of cyberbullying.



SMP: What are you achieving in terms of results?

Submit: So far in the past two weeks we have acquired over 80 private screenings of the film. We are now working with the PLUS Program in CA, our Producer Les Ottolenghi also testified in-person at the Maryland to support HB396 cyberbullying bill.

We have also had our World Premiere at the Atlanta Film Festival on March 21 another film festival we are screening at is the Buffalo Niagara Film Festival in April 11, 2013.  

We also were in attendance and presented at the American Counselling Association (ACA) on March 21 and featured on Counselling Today and this week on March 28, 2013 we are speaking at Westlake High School in GA for their Anti-bullying rally.

SMP: What is the budget used for the campaign?

Submit: We don?t really have a budget for this campaign as it dependent on Film Festivals and donations for screenings or for the efforts.

SMP: How are you making the campaign social and why did you decide to attend a school and create a rally?

Submit: We are making the campaign social by using social media to push the topic. Social media is the centre of our film and it makes perfect sense to create social campaigns to promote both. We decided to attend Westlake High School in GA because it was a local school being that we are located in Atlanta GA. This was an opportunity that was presented to us and we said yes the first chance we were given to be a part of the message.

SMP: How are you going to make the most of these two initiatives and make them social?  

Submit: We will be posting pictures, videos, and statements from the rally along with contacting local press to push to the social aspect. These mediums combined will be used in marketing and promoting the campaign and film.

SMP: Are there any dedicated hashtags or social media profiles for the campaign?

Submit: Yes the hashtags are #NoBystanders and #RandomKindness

SMP: Is there anything else we should know, or is there anything in particular that you?d like to share about the campaign?

Submit: Submit compassionately tells the stories of children and families who are affected by the harsh reality of cyberbullying. The shared experiences, testimonials of survivors, and experts on this phenomenon allow you to peer into the rapidly growing epidemic world of cyberbullying. Submit educates parents, teachers, counsellors, and bystanders and how they can help the victims of bullying and stop cyber bullies.

It is too easy to be invisible on the Internet, so anyone can be a cyber bully. Submit is also accepted into the 2013 Atlanta Film Fest and 2013 Buffalo Niagara Film Fest.

SMP: Best way to contact you and elements of SUBMIT The Documentary?


Submit: Our press page, Facebook, Twitter @submitthedoc with hashtags #NoBystanders and #RandomKindness, Google+, LinkedIn, Tumblr and YouTube.



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