Auckland City Mission ‘cyber-squatting’ on unused homepages in a campaign via RAPP

In a new campaign created by RAPP, this week The Auckland City Mission is “cyber-squatting” on the .nz home pages of dozens of New Zealand organisations in an effort to raise awareness around homelessness in the city.

Missioner Dame Diane Robertson says the initiative, which involved uploading imagery and information about rough sleeping and the Mission’s services onto organisations’ unused .nz homepages, is aimed at sparking important conversations around the growing number of homeless people in Auckland.

Says Robertson: “We wanted a campaign that was going to make people sit up and take notice of an important issue, which is why we have decided to use these organisations’ unused ‘homes’ for those who need them most – the homeless.”

The Mission’s annual rough sleeper count shows a dramatic increase in the number of people sleeping on Auckland’s streets – a figure which has more than doubled in the past two years.

“The largest population of rough sleepers is in the Auckland CBD, though there are growing numbers in other parts of the city as well,” says Robertson, who also notes an increase in the number of people sleeping in vehicles and other temporary, sub-standard accommodation.

Robert Limb, managing director for RAPP, explains the campaign was designed as an innovative way to raise awareness, encourage talkability, and hopefully drive donations from a new audience for this important issue.

Those wishing to remove the Mission’s content from their .nz homepages will simply be required to click an icon on their homepage, at which point the “squatter” will be removed.

Visit some of the squatter-sites:

http://bluestargroup.nz.

http://campaignbrief.nz.

http://dettol.nz.

http://enza.nz.

http://sugarandpartners.nz.

Auckland City Mission

Photography producer: Jason Jones