HomeStoriesCampaign encourages parents to create “magic moments” with their children
HomeStoriesCampaign encourages parents to create “magic moments” with their children

Campaign encourages parents to create “magic moments” with their children

Every moment in the lives of busy parents and their children can become an enjoyable, meaningful and memorable moment. That’s the message of the Magic Moments campaign in Israel, which launched in 2019 with a series of short documentary films on Hop!, Israel’s leading cable and satellite TV channel for preschoolers, and has since expanded to reach more parents through a range of partnerships with the private sector.

Every moment in the lives of busy parents and their children can become an enjoyable, meaningful and memorable moment. That’s the message of the Magic Moments campaign in Israel, which launched in 2019 with a series of short documentary films on Hop!, Israel’s leading cable and satellite TV channel for preschoolers, and has since expanded to reach more parents through a range of partnerships with the private sector.

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Behind the scenes during the filming of the Magic Moments media campaign. Photo: Courtesy of Yael Feldman Shavit and Yogev Hagbi.

Magic Moments – and its Arab-language equivalent, Beautiful Moments – was the subject of an in-depth case study in 2021 conducted by RAND Europe. An evaluation found that 47% of parents have started to interact with their children in new ways as a result of the campaign.

Daniella Ben-Attar, Country Representative for the Bernard van Leer Foundation in Israel, says: “We supported the Magic Moments campaign because parents of young children often feel isolated and lack the time or financial capacity to seek help. We want to assure them that they already have everything they need to bond with their child through meaningful and memorable moments that help their child develop.”

TV films inspire families to find joy in everyday situations

The series of films that launched the campaign were informed by experts in psychology, child development, behavioural economics and digital marketing, and honed by focus groups of parents and children. They suggest practical ways for parents to create “magic moments” with their children in everyday situations.

Given the busy lives parents lead, broadcasts on television and online are an ideal way to reach them at scale. The Hop! TV channel reaches 1.5 million homes, and by the end of 2020 the video materials had been viewed over 7.8 million times online.

Each film portrays an aspect of the life of an Israeli family, presenting a diverse range of social economic groups, lifestyles and family structures. They include the Yadenko family, originally from Ethiopia; the Zayyadd family, religious Arabs; the Berman-Segalle family, including a gay male couple; and the Katsman family, a single mum and her daughter.

After the success of the Hebrew-language campaign, in 2020 we launched an Arabic-language version – not a transcription of the Hebrew project, but an original production tailored specifically for the Arab population, featuring Arab experts and families along with social media influencers such as the Facebook diaries of a confused dad.

Expansion through partnerships with private and public sector

Partnerships with the private sector have become increasingly central to broadening the Magic Moments campaign in Israel. For example, the supermarket chain Rami Levi put up signage in its 52 stores across Israel suggesting ways for parents to turn shopping with their young children into a fun experience.

Tnuva

End result of one of the activities printed on the Tnuva milk cartons.

Israel’s largest dairy company, Tnuva, partnered with Magic Moments to print on its milk cartons suggestions for fun activities that caregivers could do with their young children using the empty carton. The campaign worked with a range of employers to distribute parenting tips to their employees using channels such as WhatsApp.

The campaign continues to think of innovative new ways to reach parents, such as working with local municipalities to install signage in playgrounds with QR codes linking to videos that suggest activities. For the 2022 celebration of Passover, when many families go on vacation, posters at train stations suggested ways to interact with children en route.

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One of the Magic Moments signs in a playground in Herzeliya city.

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