The Situation
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) recorded a 61 percent poverty incidence rate in 2018. Six in ten residents lived below the poverty threshold. According to Oxfam International, BARMM held the highest infant and maternal mortality rates, the highest illiteracy rates, and the lowest life expectancies in the Philippines. Armed conflict had compounded everything: deaths, economic decline, and displaced families.
UNICEF needed to crowdsource financial resources for its BARMM programs, but the pandemic had shut down in-person fundraising and partnership channels. The organization turned to digital platforms to communicate the realities of BARMM and drive voluntary contributions. The challenge was producing on-the-ground video content from Mindanao while the creative team in Manila couldn’t fly out due to lockdown restrictions.
The Approach
Phase 1: Scriptwriting for Five BARMM Stories
Wrote scripts for five videos, each covering a different aspect of daily life for children in BARMM. The scripts were designed to show how kids lived in the region rather than listing statistics, giving potential donors a human connection to the communities UNICEF serves.
Phase 2: Remote Production With On-Site Crew
Partnered with a third-party crew based in Mindanao to shoot the material on location, since lockdown restrictions prevented travel from Manila. The scripts were handed off with detailed creative direction so the on-site team could capture footage that matched the intended narrative without the creative team being physically present.
Phase 3: Digital Ad Distribution on UNICEF Facebook
Posted the finished videos on UNICEF Philippines’ official Facebook page and deployed them as digital ad assets. The videos served a dual purpose: raising awareness about BARMM’s conditions among a general audience and driving donations from viewers who connected with the children’s stories.
The Results
- 5 videos Produced covering daily life for children across BARMM
- 61% Poverty incidence in BARMM, the crisis the videos documented
- Dual-purpose Videos served as both awareness content and digital fundraising assets
Campaign Highlights:
- Remote production model overcame pandemic travel restrictions between Manila and Mindanao
- Each video covered a distinct aspect of children’s daily life in the region
- Content deployed as both organic Facebook posts and paid digital ad assets
- Videos balanced storytelling about children’s lives with fundraising call-to-action for UNICEF programs
- Campaign supported UNICEF‘s shift to digital fundraising during pandemic-era restrictions
The Takeaway
People don’t donate to statistics. They donate to stories. UNICEF‘s BARMM videos worked because they showed how children actually live rather than how many of them are poor. Five videos covering five dimensions of daily life gave donors five different reasons to care, and five different moments to act.
- Industry: Public Sector
- Service: Creative Services
- Solution: For Enterprise
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you produce video content in a conflict zone during a pandemic lockdown?
By separating creative direction from on-site execution. The scripts and creative direction were developed in Manila. A third-party crew in Mindanao shot the footage on location. This remote production model allowed the videos to capture authentic BARMM life without requiring the creative team to travel during lockdown.
How do fundraising videos balance storytelling with the ask?
By making the story compelling enough that the donation feels like a natural response, not a demand. UNICEF‘s videos showed children’s daily lives in BARMM. Viewers who connected with those stories were more likely to contribute because the need was visible and human, not abstract and statistical.
Why use Facebook for a UNICEF fundraising campaign in the Philippines?
Because Filipino social media usage is among the highest in the world, and Facebook is where the majority of the audience already spends time. For a non-profit that relies on voluntary contributions, reaching potential donors on the platform they already use daily lowers the barrier between seeing the story and making the donation.
Can five videos make a meaningful impact for a fundraising campaign?
When each video covers a different dimension of the problem, yes. Five videos addressing five aspects of life in BARMM gave UNICEF a content library that could be rotated as digital ads over time. Each video reached a slightly different emotional angle, which keeps the campaign from fatiguing a single message.
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