Did any of you catch Angelina Jolie’s guest edit of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme over the Christmas break? Airing on 28 December, she focused on subjects relating to her work as a special envoy to the UN Refugee Agency, including the global refugee crisis and violence against women in war zones.
During a wide-ranging interview with presenter Justin Webb, she said: “Look at the movement of people as a barometer for understanding what was happening in our world… The focus should be what is happening to these people, why is this happening and why do we have this many people uprooted and what are the causes.”
“I honestly will do whatever I think can really make change, and right now I am able to work with a UN agency that is the most in the field of all the UN agencies, to do a lot of work directly with the people in need. I’m also able to work with governments and I’m also able to work with militaries, and so I sit in a very interesting place of being able to get a lot done without a title and without it being about myself or my policies.”
Her programme reminded us of one of the most rewarding gigs we’ve had: supporting the Nobel Women’s Initiative with PR during the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. The bravery of the women who told their stories was humbling, and it was an honour to be able to help them bring about the change so desperately needed. Here’s a reminder of what we did.
Executive summary
From Newsnight to China’s Xinhau news agency, via Sky News, the Guardian and France’s AFP, Slack Communications helped Nobel Women’s Initiative raise the profile of a campaign to end sexual violence in conflict.
Slack Communications helped secure nearly 90 interviews across print, broadcast and digital, covering 40 media outlets and 20 countries around the world.
Challenges and objectives
In June 2014, 1,700 delegates including 79 government ministers representing 129 countries gathered for the first ever Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. Co-chaired by Angelina Jolie and William Hague, the London Summit sought to agree practical steps to tackle rape as a weapon of war and to change global attitudes to these crimes.
Among those looking to influence the discussion and extend its reach was the Nobel Women’s Initiative, part of a network of 90 organisations operating under the umbrella of the International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence in Conflict.
The Nobel Women’s Initiative required PR outreach services to secure global media coverage across print, broadcast and digital. A fast turnaround; handling multiple languages and geographically dispersed media outlets; as well as an awareness of the regional and political sensitivities involved were among the challenges presented by the work
How we helped
In the weeks running up to the Summit, Slack Communications set about building relationships with the world’s media, working with editors, planners and producers to aid in forward planning and secure coverage.
This culminated in an intense period of activity over the week of the Summit when 32 different individuals were put up for interview. The list included four Nobel Laureates, an actress and seven survivors of sexual violence.
The results
Some 86 live and pre-recorded interviews were conducted over a five-day period, across television, radio, print and digital for 40 publications and media outlets serving more than 20 countries worldwide.
Flagship coverage included:
– BBC Newsnight (UK)
– BBC Woman’s Hour (UK)
– Sky News (UK)
– Evening Standard (UK)
– Huffington Post (UK)
– Guardian (UK)
– AFP (France)
– El Tiempo (Colombia)
– Glamour (United States)
– NBC Universal: Ronan Farrow Daily (United States)
– O Globo (Brazil)
– CBC: As it happens (Canada)
– Xinhau News Agency (China)
What the client said:
“Becky and her team were our on-the-ground ears, eyes and brains. They came early and left late, and kept us laughing even as they organised yet one more interview. They were professional, highly knowledgeable and strategic about which media were the most important for us to reach. We would hire them again, without hesitation.”
Rachel Vincent, director of communications, Nobel Women’s Initiative
To find out more about how we can help your organisation secure media coverage about its work, get in touch today.
