Ripple wanted to create a lightning fast response system to address help for students, recently living on their own. Pearl created the strategy, product, brand, and system that makes getting support on the phone one click away.
Ripple consists of a simple button worn anywhere, app and a back-office system used by Ripple operators. One click of the button and an operator calls the users' cell phone, ready to help, dispatch, connect or whatever else is needed. Click. Ring. Solved!
Discrete trigger
Ripple has been trying to solve the atrocious problem of assault on women at collage campuses. To address the problem, one first must fully understand it. Pearl brought in a leading researcher to educate the team on what really is happening and which efforts have proven effective. As it turns out - attackers lurking in the shadows of empty parking lots comprise a surprisingly low number of incidents. In fact, a large majority of incidents involve a friend or someone the victim knew. Because of this, the victim is often confused and conflicted, hesitating to use a severe deterrence method. So, we created a discrete tool to help the victim get out of an uncomfortable situation before it escalades.
Wear anywhere
Ripple button is a tiny, disposable button that is designed to be worn just about anywhere. It could be clipped to a bra, worn as a pendant on a necklace or attached to keys. It's so small and discrete, that it's not noticeable and does not stigmatize. It connects to users' phone and instead of triggering a call, it creates a connection with our support network portal and initiates a call from the support team to the users' phone. The Ripple button can decipher between a soft emergency, where the user would like to get out of an uncomfortable situation or an emergency where the user would like immediate police help, simply through single or multiple clicks on the device.
Support network
The support team is trained to de-escalade situations and if needed can dispatch emergency response. We built the back office system and portal for the support team members, where they can see the location of user, their profile, nearby venues, nearby users and even closest police stations. Through the portal, a support team member can call, text and even add conversations into one view while addressing one incident. It also automatically assigns incidents and load balances between the support team.