Queer Momentum

A National Week of Action Campaign for Rainbow Equality

Client

Society of Queer Momentum

Sectors

2SLGBTQI+

Human Rights

Services

Strategy

Campaign

Brand Design

The Society of Queer Momentum came to us with a big vision: to organize a National Week of Action addressing anti-queer and trans hate.

Momentum asked LeBlanc (& co.) Communications to support their National Week of Action for Rainbow Equality in May 2024. We partnered with Momentum to create the branding and support with the strategy for the National Rainbow Week of Action, which was Canada’s largest collective 2SLGBTQI+ action since the fight for marriage equality.

Before building the brand identity, we collaborated with Momentum on strategy and messaging in order to ensure the campaign’s success. The Week of Action was a narrative change campaign harnessing the Race Class Gender Narrative, an evidence-based approach to persuasion on contested social issues.

The campaign was created to be proactive, rather than reactive, at a time when many allies and activists were learning to counter the newly emerged "parental rights" narrative. The “proactive and not reactive” approach of the campaign was an inspiring continuation of other campaigning efforts over the past few years — but the scale of this national week of action campaign was unprecedented.

The campaign created an important rallying moment at a time of rising hate. Soon after its launch, the campaign spread from coast to coast to coast, furthering a positive counter-narrative amidst a crisis of rising hate faced by 2SLGBTQI+ communities. The week of action saw 85 events held across the country, materials aimed at sparking action, a letter writing campaign directed at the federal government, and much more.

We designed the National Rainbow Week of Action campaign brand and applied it to a suite of materials including social media content, t-shirts, posters, and handheld signs mailed to organizers across the country. The brand we created is recognizable but flexible, allowing for a national campaign to launch with significant brand recognition for Momentum, and adaptability for local 2SLGBTQI+ advocates across Canada.

Given the nature of the campaign, which included local activations and rallies across Canada, we also created Canva templates provided to lead organizers who were able to create consistently branded promotional materials for their rallies and events — on a grassroots budget. It was fantastic to watch events pop up across the country — all with our unified visual branding.

Here’s our impact, by the numbers:

  • 85 events, including 25 rallies and 60 letter writing or related events.
  • Thousands of people attended rallies across the country, with over 3,000 people marching in Toronto alone. 
  • 600+ people took the Pledge to Defend Rainbow Equality, including over 130 federal, provincial, and municipal politicians.
  • Over 2,600 letters sent to local Members of Parliament and the Prime Minister.
  • 53 local and national media hits, inclusive of radio, print media and TV coverage.

Kind words from our client:

We had an idea — a big one —but her team took our concept and wrapped it up in a compelling brand, built the templates we needed to mobilize grassroots groups across Canada, and helped with strategic messaging such that our week of action was a tremendous success across the country.
Fae Johnstone
Executive Director, Society of Queer Momentum