Putting the Power of Language into the Hands of Deaf Children

Client: British Deaf Association

manifesto partnered with British Deaf Association (BDA) to launch a high-impact advocacy campaign, calling for free British Sign Language (BSL) tuition for families of newly diagnosed deaf children. With 90% of deaf children born to hearing parents, many face significant barriers to communication, causing language deprivation and long-term developmental challenges. Our campaign sought to raise awareness and drive policy change to ensure early language access for all deaf children.

Co-created with the Deaf community, the bilingual campaign ensured accessibility in both spoken English and BSL. A bold visual identity, inspired by the colours of the Deaf flag, featuring a deaf child’s handprints made the campaign recognisable and deeply personal. A parliamentary reception launch drew 40 government officials, influencers, and media attention, leading to mentions in the House of Commons and Hansard. Central to the campaign was authentic storytelling, using video interviews and user-generated content from real families. This struck an emotional chord, driving 1.73 million impressions, a 7.24% conversion rate, and over 3,500 emails to MPs. Notably, this was only BDA’s second-ever paid media campaign. The numbers were significant for them, marking the first time they successfully drove large-scale digital action. This transformed BDA’s approach to digital advocacy, demonstrating an insight-led campaign can deliver impact within a modest budget. Crucially, the campaign achieved a significant political milestone—securing free BSL access in the Liberal Democrats’ election manifesto. This campaign exemplifies the power of digital advocacy, grassroots mobilisation, and creative storytelling, proving impactful change can be driven with limited resources.