Campaign Launch and XLR Collective (Session) 24/7/17

Recap of Campaign launch and meeting with the Collective's new partner (Bristol Zero Tolerance).

Spirits are high as the Collective come off their campaign launch success this past weekend at Bristol Harbour Festival. Having built up to this point for quite some time now the group have finally presented themselves to the city of Bristol as well as the world (via social media). The launch itself was one of unequivocal strengths as well as areas that can be improved on, all of which has played a strong role in the development of the team.

As the launch on Saturday took off, the collective started the day by surveying various people and groups of people at the festival. This was definitely a highlight moment for them as every single member got involved and pushed passed their comfort zone to really engage with people. The response (overall) was amazing. People genuinely started opening up to them and speaking about gender-based harassment they had either received or had witnessed. The team were even able to get street interviews recorded of various people's experiences, including one from a group of 'lads' on a stag doo who were rowdy at first but ended up giving very heartfelt and insightful answers regarding harassment. The team witnessed firsthand the power of what they were doing. 

The performance itself was next. The group performed a set of both original music and covers, officially debuting their lead single 'Hide' which was a clear crowd favourite. In addition to the collective the team brought in a spoken word artist who gave a bold recite of an original poem promoting gender equality and speaking out against gender-based harassment. Ending on a cover of Meghan Trainor's "No" the group had finally accomplished one of their main objectives to officially launch their campaign. 

Following their campaign launch, the team met with Charlotte from Bristol Zero Tolerance- one of their official partners. They spent their time with her speaking about mutually beneficial endeavours as well as how each can visibly support each other. Afterwards the core team met to speak about the strengths and ares of improvements from the campaign launch. The team recognised that the music aspect of the launch could be improved but also felt that the street promotion and surveying was clearly a strong point, one that some didn't know they had personally until now.  

As they say, this is only the beginning. Onwards and upwards!