Case Study
Connecting with future foster carers
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Campaign
I Am Not A Robot
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Partner
Plymouth City Council
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Goal
Increase applications for foster carers
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Result
Applications doubled year-on-year
In 2017, a handful of young people with care experience spent 20 days making a campaign that created 29 potential new care placements for local children.
In collaboration with a group of young curators, we developed an interactive installation that saw visitors not just process the story they were being told, but feel it.
Using 50 robots that would sing and dance if you gave them the love and care they needed, visitors could practice their foster caring skills – reading them stories, virtually hugging them and showing their support through social media.
And once the robots were emotionally ready, applicants could come forward to foster them – taking them out into the world and sharing their experiences
Huge Engagement
During the installation’s run, approximately 8,000 people visited the gallery. 3,243 of them hugged a robot! The campaign achieved 74,220 social media engagements. Messages of support; pictures of fostered robots; I Am Not A Robot captured imaginations.
29 Foster Carer Applications
The campaign delivered 120% more than the average 13 applications the local authority receives in a usual 10-week period.
“ I’m very excited about what we can achieve going forward because I think it’s the start of something that is really important, not only for the fostering service and the wider public but also for the children in care that are looked after. ”
Stuart Davis, Marketing and Recruitment Officer, Plymouth City Council