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By Ishbel Macleod, PR and social media consultant

June 14, 2013 | 2 min read

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has today launched a global campaign across TV, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Thunderclap to help drive donations and pledges ahead of World Refugee Day on 20 June.

Two public service announcements (PSA) were created by the in-house UNHCR creative team, while MEC’s international division Global Solutions has helped secure the backing of major media owners such as Wall Street Journal, MTV, Euronews, CNBC, CNN, and the Financial Times, who together have pledged nearly £300,000 in free inventory to help publicise the campaign.

Celebrities involved in the campaign include Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner and former refugee from Afghanistan and

Mike Walton, UNHCR head of fundraising development, said: “World Refugee Day is an important marker in the calendar to recognise the courage and strength of refugees, as well as to fundraise to provide shelter and protection for those who have fled persecution, violence and conflict. In the UK, we dedicate a whole Refugee Week (17 – 20 June) to celebrating the contributions that refugees have made and to promoting a more positive view of asylum. We are grateful to all of the media owners and MEC for their invaluable support in raising awareness and publicising World Refugee Day.”

Supporters are invited to post an image of an item they would take with them if they were forced to flee, using Pinterest, to help underline the difficulties that Refugees face.

Jason Steele, social media director for MEC Global Solutions, said: “We all crave the opportunity to do something good in our work, the depth and scope of this work is testament to passion that everyone involved in the project feels with the campaign. We would like to thank all of the media owners who have shown an interest in this campaign and pledged free inventory, which will undoubtedly make a difference and help UNHCR raise as much money as possible.”

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