In light of last spring’s tragic events, the University of California at Santa Barbara knew they had to do something to increase the safety of their students living in the community of Isla Vista. As a result, County and School entities joined forces to fund a campaign to help ensure student’s safety during the Halloween weekend, an event that in the past had drawn tens of thousands of revelers. They also reached out to Verdin to help with the process of getting the word out.
During the month of October, Verdin created and managed a campaign across the state of California encouraging students outside of the Santa Barbara area to not attend the Halloween Festivities in Isla Vista. A Facebook and Twitter account were created for the campaign, as well as other forms of digital advertising, Pandora spots and various grassroot efforts in campuses throughout the state. Students were warned of the legal and physical dangers of partying in Isla Vista and told that the weekend was just #notworthit. At the same time, UCSB students were encouraged to keep things safe and local throughout the Halloween weekend.
Although the rain was an unplanned but welcome bonus, the campaign was recognized by media across the state and credited for the fact that there were no major incidents, and very few arrests and citations issued. In previous years, Halloween had attracted tens of thousands of people, many of them from out of town, but in 2014 the crowd was estimated at no more than a few thousand and consisted mostly of locals. Verdin is very proud in the part we played in keeping Isla Vista Safe.
