HSBC - Setting a Global Standard for Safety & Respect

Challenge

All large, global organisations face issues around workplace harassment and bullying. In some cultures, these behaviours can be more deeply embedded - reinforced by hierarchy or long-standing social norms - and are therefore harder to surface and address.

HSBC wanted to tackle this head on.

As a truly global business, operating across dozens of countries and cultures HSBC needed an approach that could speak honestly about unacceptable behaviours while remaining culturally sensitive, inclusive and effective everywhere it was deployed. The challenge was not simply to inform, but to create something that employees felt safe engaging with - regardless of role, seniority, or geography.

Solution

We developed a global animated campaign built around non-human characters, intentionally removing race, age and nationality from the storytelling. This abstraction allowed the films to focus on behaviour rather than identity - enabling employees in every market to recognise situations without feeling accused, exposed or culturally misrepresented.

Animation also gave us precise control over tone - serious enough to carry authority, entertaining enough to promote engagement and accessible enough to invite reflection rather than resistance.

The characters became a repeatable visual system, extended into posters for staff rooms, digital assets, internal channels and printed materials - reinforcing the message well beyond the screen. The result was a scalable, culturally neutral toolkit designed to support ongoing conversations, not just compliance training.

Impact

The work was rolled out globally and embedded across multiple regions, becoming a core internal communications asset rather than a one-off intervention.

Stakeholder feedback highlighted strong engagement, particularly in markets where discussions around harassment and bullying are traditionally more difficult to initiate. The use of non-human characters was consistently cited as a key factor in enabling open, non-defensive reflection.

The project was also recognised externally, winning Silver for Best Animated Film at EVCOM.

(In partnership with agency Media Zoo)