Haiti Text Campaign, Hope For Haiti Take Golden Mic
Words of the Day
“If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” – Benjamin Franklin
Red Cross Haiti Text Campaign & Hope For Haiti Now Wins Golden Mic
One of the worst disasters in recent memory – the massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake that demolished Haiti – was certainly one of the most harrowing news days WordSmith can remember. But out of the tragedy, a world of caring was born. And as the major international event unfolded, new and social media became the communication vehicles of the day. The word spread around the globe in real time, through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn – and reverberated throughout the blogosphere.
In no time, a worldwide American Red Cross text campaign was launched to raise funds and awareness for this tiny island nation. Using the power of technology, anyone could text “Haiti” to 90999 and donate $10 through a simple charge to their phone bill. And it quite literally was an overnight PR home-run! To date, nearly 2.5 million people have donated almost $25 million to help the victims in Haiti.
The Red Cross text campaign has eclipsed all other text fundraising efforts – and in just days raised more than six times the $4 million donated to all charities by text for the entire year last year!
Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief drew a cumulative audience of more than 83 million viewers and a gross average audience of more than 24 million viewers in the United States, according to Nielsen Media Research. To date The telethon has raised more than $61 million in donations. The star-studded event aired live on Friday, Jan. 22 across networks including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, CMT, PBS, TNT, Showtime, AMC, CNBC, COMEDY CENTRAL, Bravo, E! Entertainment, MSNBC, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, G4, CENTRIC, Current TV, Fuse, MLB Network, EPIX, Palladia, SoapNet, Style, Discovery Health, Planet Green, CNN en Espanol, HBO Latino, Logo, MTV2, MTV Tr3s, MTV Hits, VH1 Classic and VH1 Soul.
This is at the epicenter of effective PR – stirring passionate, powerful publicity to engage a worldwide audience in action!
The American Red Cross Haiti text campaign and Hope For Haiti Now event win this week’s Golden Mic Award!
Each week, WordSmith will bestow a Golden Mic Award to the person, group or company in the court of public opinion that best exemplifies the tenets of solid PR, marketing and advertising — and those who don’t. Stay tuned … and step-up to the mic!