The Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines

Project Unfriend

The Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines has been working with Stairway Foundation and the Department of Education on Be CyberSafe, a collaborative effort that aims to bring awareness to kids and teens about the importance of cyber safety. To launch this, Ace Saatchi and Saatchi created a digital campaign called Project Unfriend. 750,000 child predators are online at any given moment, and social media is their main hunting ground. In the Philippines, Facebook is the most popular social media platform among kids and teens, with 5 out of 10 admitting to befriending strangers. We went on Facebook and befriended teens through four profiles. In 3 months, we gained 1,653 friends demonstrating how easy it is for predators. On National Children’s Month, we launched an online film revealing Project Unfriend that encourages these kids to check, detect and unfriend strangers. The film was launched with two versions; one targeted for parents/teachers and another that talks to children and teenagers. The videos have reached over 3 million views, as well as over 1 million reactions, comments and shares from parents and kids. Today, the Philippine Department of Education is using Project Unfriend as part of their nationwide cyber safety program for educators. Although we may never be able to completely take out child predators on social media, kids can take them out of their friends list.