STAMMA Uses Empty Billboards To Encourage Listening

Quick answer: STAMMA and Iris London have launched Leave Space, a minimalist outdoor advertising campaign that uses mostly blank billboards to encourage people to give those who stammer time to speak.

When Empty Space Becomes The Message

Most outdoor advertising is designed to fill every available inch of space with messages, visuals and branding.

STAMMA's latest campaign takes the opposite approach.

Created by Iris London, Leave Space uses large areas of empty billboard space to highlight a simple but important idea: not every silence needs to be filled.

The campaign launches across major UK cities including Manchester and Liverpool, supported by pro bono media from JCDecaux.

A Powerful Insight Behind The Campaign

The campaign is based on a striking insight from STAMMA: 14% of people who stammer reported being hung up on during their most recent call to an organization.

Many people instinctively rush to fill pauses in conversations because silence can feel uncomfortable.

For someone who stammers, however, those pauses are not empty. They are simply part of speaking.

By highlighting this everyday behavior, the campaign encourages greater understanding and patience during conversations.

Using OOH To Demonstrate The Problem

Rather than simply telling people what to do, the campaign uses the medium itself to demonstrate the message.

The creative leaves much of each billboard intentionally blank, creating a visual pause in environments typically crowded with advertising.

The empty space immediately attracts attention because it feels unexpected.

That pause mirrors the very behavior STAMMA hopes people will adopt in real-life conversations.

Simple Words, Powerful Impact

The campaign centers around two short lines:

• Not every space needs to be filled.
• Give people who stammer time to speak.

The simplicity of the copy allows the visual idea to do most of the work, creating a campaign that is both memorable and emotionally resonant.

By saying less, the campaign ultimately communicates more.

Supporting Long-Term Behaviour Change

For STAMMA, the objective extends beyond awareness.

The organization hopes the campaign will help create meaningful behavior change and contribute to a society where people who stammer feel heard, respected and included.

The OOH launch will be followed by national cinema and audio campaigns supported by pro bono media partners Pearl & Dean and Acast.

Together, these efforts aim to continue building understanding around stammering and reduce the stigma often associated with it.

Why This Campaign Works

• Uses the medium itself to communicate the message.
• Transforms empty space into a meaningful creative device.
• Encourages genuine behavior change rather than simple awareness.
• Creates strong visual impact through minimalism.
• Addresses an important social issue in a memorable way.

With Leave Space, STAMMA and Iris London demonstrate how outdoor advertising can become a powerful tool for empathy, proving that sometimes the most effective message is the one that leaves room for others to be heard.