Written by Strategic Agenda’s Communications and Writing team
The annual day, or celebration day, often feels like an easy MarComms win, especially for stretched comms officers and strained social media managers seeking to feed the daily beast.
Put together a graphic, the thinking goes – maybe even a carousel – exhibit the values of your organisation, and elicit a chorus of support from your followers. However, the question needs to be asked: is this really impactful? Is it purposeful? Have you made a difference, or simply ticked a box?
This month, we are highlighting two campaigns, from UNICEF and charity: water , that take on the celebration day a little differently. These two examples show how community engagement and multimedia and multichannel approaches can make your annual day campaign stand out, provide a variety of content options, and closely align your activity with your organisational values and objectives.
UNICEF’s ‘Poems for Peace’ (2020 – ongoing) is an annual collection of videos written and performed by young people aged between 8 and 24, living in conflict zones, who channel their creativity and deliver compelling and impactful messages, in spite of the turmoil surrounding them.
Each video in this powerful series focuses on the experiences and poetry of young people from conflict-affected areas. While many share common themes of resilience and hope, each recital is unique, reflecting individual stories and perspectives. Poetry, a universal cultural touchpoint, bridges the intertwined histories of youth, education and conflict, providing a profound medium for expression and communication.
Every year, UNICEF leverages this campaign to celebrate World Poetry Day and support their Peacebuilding and Social Cohesion programme. The campaign’s powerful content aligns with UNICEF’s objectives, using the art of poetry to promote understanding and unity. These compelling videos amplify the message of peace and the importance of education in conflict zones.
1) Clear link to organisational objectives and programmes
The ‘Poems for Peace’ campaign stands out due to its strong alignment with UNICEF’s core mission and active programmes, particularly the Peacebuilding and Social Cohesion programme. Unlike many celebration day campaigns that focus on broad awareness, ‘Poems for Peace’ directly ties into UNICEF’s strategic objectives by:
2) Abundance of versatile content
The campaign generates content that is not limited to a single day, but can be utilised throughout the year across various platforms. This approach provides several advantages:
3) Unique and consistent video style
The style of the Poems for Peace videos sets the campaign apart through its unique and thoughtful production approach:
UNICEF’s Poems for Peace campaign excels by creating a clear link between its content and the organisation’s broader goals, offering a wealth of versatile content that can be used year-round, and employing a unique and consistent video style that enhances engagement and impact. This strategic and thoughtful approach not only distinguishes it from other annual day campaigns but also ensures it makes a lasting contribution to UNICEF’s mission of promoting peace and education.
Since 2004, Charity Water has run the impactful ‘Pledge Your Birthday’ campaign, encouraging individuals to ask for donations instead of birthday gifts to support the global water crisis. By posing the question ‘What’s so special about birthdays anyway?’, this campaign engages a digital community and taps into human empathy.
1) User-friendly digital experience
2) Personalised impact statements
3) Community-generated content
By designing user-friendly landing pages, leveraging multi-channel promotion, personalising campaigns, providing clear impact statements and fostering social sharing, Charity Water have created engaging, effective and replicable campaigns. The strategies and tactics used enhance the relevance, engagement and impact of initiatives, ensuring they resonate deeply with their target audience and amplify their cause.
UNICEF’s and Charity Water’s campaigns exemplify how strategic alignment with organisational objectives, user-friendly digital experiences, transparent communication of impact and multichannel engagement can elevate annual or celebration day campaigns, turning moments of celebration into opportunities for meaningful change on a global scale.
These campaigns offer valuable insights and actionable strategies to enhance any annual or celebratory day campaign. By adopting these principles and adapting them to specific contexts, those same stretched and strained communications professionals can create impactful campaigns that speak to their audiences and drive positive change in their communities and beyond.
Looking for more examples of great communications campaigns? Explore our ‘WORK’ section to see some case studies of our own!
Network Hub, 300 Kensal Road, London, W10 5BE, UK
© Strategic Agenda 2024. All rights reserved. Privacy policy | Sitemap.
We’ll send you quarterly updates so you can see what we’re working on, what the future holds and how we’re shaping it.