SECOND OPINION – ELIN TWIGGE, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER, PLMR

The success of this campaign was underpinned by getting the message right from the start. Having taken on a global issue, with far-reaching economic impact, the debate was rightly framed around the people at the centre of it all.

By highlighting the effect of piracy on the individuals held captive – and each and every one of us in terms of global food supply – audiences were more likely to empathise with the rallying cry to ‘Save Our Seafarers’.

The use of grassroots campaign tactics and social media enabled the cost-effective creation of a global platform for securing support from political leaders, in turn encouraging more maritime organisations to back the campaign.

This was a classic example of framing a message correctly and then taking an integrated approach to disseminating it, combining traditional public affairs with PR, global advertising and SEO. When trying to draw attention to issues that, despite their human interest angle, are failing to attract human interest, this is a textbook way of doing it.

You can also read this article on the PR Week website.