Campaign: Beatbullying: The Big March
Client: Beatbullying
PR Team: Frank PR/Beatbullying in house PR team
Timing: November 2011 - March 2012

Overview

Global research has revealed that one in 10 parents say their child has been cyberbullied and 75% of world citizens have said that cyber-bullying needs special attention (IPSOS Report 2012). Beatbullying is an anti-bullying charity which provides a safe environment, via Cybermentors.org.uk, where children can receive one-on-one, web-based support from their peers who are all trained to give counselling and support.

Objectives

To create large-scale awareness of Beatbullying's existing property, The Big March, and its aim to have bullying added to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Pragmatically, Beatbullying recognises that the road to enshrining bullying in the UNCRC is a long one, but the aim of the activity was to build up a wealth of awareness via media coverage, sign ups from the general public and well-known names.

Ensuring we secured well-known names, who are respected by Beatbullying's stakeholders or looked up to by the young people which the charity helps, was really important, as was bringing on board major corporations and uniting the charity sector internationally.

Strategy

A three-phase strategy was created to deliver media coverage, sign ups to TBM and get well-known names on board:

• Mass Awareness: Use the media to make young people, parents, teachers and the general public around the world aware of, and involved in, The Big March.

Beatbullying ambassador Aston Merrygold, lead singer of band JLS, announced The Big March 2012 at the start of Anti-Bullying Week. Aston recorded a video asking people to sign up to The Big March and tweeted about TBM to his 700,000 followers.

• High-Profile Supporters: Unite high profile celebrities, opinion makers, charities and organisations around the world, and get them to sign up to The Big March 2012.

We approached well-known people, including Stephen Fry, Pixie Lott, Katherine Jenkins, the cast of Channel 4's Hollyoaks and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and asked them to join The Big March, create a digital avatar and tweet their involvement. Worldwide organisations got on board each allowing TBM to walk across their websites, including Google, Facebook, Disney, Clarks, Universal Music. International charities that signed up included PEAS (Africa), Parentline (Australia), Child World Cancer and the GirlGuiding UK.

• Lobby the United Nations: Push the UN to review the UNCRC through the weight of public interest.

We used media coverage in press titles read by key opinion formers to drive the message behind The Big March, connected with cross-party MPs and brought on board global supporters.

Results

• Number of supporters: 1,004,721m.
• Countries represented: 98, including Brazil, USA, Australia.
• Schools signed up: 350.
• Corporations signed up: 31, including Facebook, Orange, Google, Universal Music, MTV, The Sun.
• University students: 190,500.
• Charities signed up: 44 including Diabetes UK, World Child Cancer.
• Celebrity/well-known supporters: 30, including Stephen Fry, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Sir Michael Parkinson.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu said: "I am thrilled to know that my involvement in Beatbullying's The Big March 2012, the world's first global march, will help promote positive change for the protection of young people against bullying across the world."