PURA IDEA supported the University of Birmingham in delivering a digital recruitment campaign for a research study exploring the experiences of young people affected by online blackmail and sextortion.

The study was conducted in partnership with Nottingham Trent University and funded by the NSPCC, with the aim of improving understanding of online harms and informing future safeguarding and support strategies.

The brief

The research team required a targeted digital campaign to raise awareness of the study and recruit participants. The challenge was to sensitively reach a difficult-to-engage audience while ensuring that the campaign achieved meaningful reach and engagement within the project’s recruitment timeframe.

Digital recruitment strategy

• Development of a targeted digital marketing strategy to support participant recruitment for the research study.

Campaign creative

• Design of campaign visuals and messaging suitable for social media platforms used by younger audiences.

Social media advertising

• Management and optimisation of targeted advertising campaigns across Snapchat and Meta platforms.

Audience targeting

• Use of platform targeting tools to reach users within relevant demographic groups while maintaining appropriate sensitivity for the subject matter.

Campaign optimisation and reporting

• Continuous monitoring and optimisation of campaign performance to maximise reach and engagement during the recruitment period.

The campaign supported the research team in reaching participants whose experiences could contribute to improving safeguarding responses to online blackmail and sextortion, significantly exceeding the study’s original recruitment target.