Situation
Since 2009, the America for Bulgaria Foundation has been organizing the “Schools of the Future” competition, aimed at modernizing the environment in Bulgarian schools. Thanks to the funding received in the competition, over 30,000 Bulgarian students in 45 schools gained access to new laboratories in natural science and are using up-to-date technologies.
Despite its great social significance, six years later, the competition had not received serious media coverage and the public was not aware of the foundation’s contribution to improving the school environment in Bulgaria.
Goal
Drag media attention to the importance of the project and the contribution of the America for Bulgaria Foundation for improving conditions in Bulgarian schools.
Strategy
- Offer interesting content to media and include in communication the principals and teachers from schools beneficiaries from the competition
- Apply an individual approach to key national and regional media.
Tactics
- Informal meeting with 8 journalists from key national media to present details about the foundation’s projects in the field of education
- Media briefing at a beneficiary school to announce the start of the competition for 2016
- pressrelease to national and regional media
- Proposal to key regional media to conduct interviews with the program director of the foundation
- Partnership with 3 leading national media (TV, press and radio), which supported the competition
- Announcement of the 23 schools that won the competition with a press release sent 2 weeks before the final event
- sending targeted emails to regional media to present the winning schools from the respective region
- Announcement of the final event of the competition with a separate press release
- Final event for announcing the schools – winners in the competition for 2016
- opportunity for exclusive materials and interviews
- inclusion live in a popular morning TV show.
Results
- 155 publications in media (positive and informative)
- 107 – in online media
- 40 – in print media
- 4 TV interviews
- 2 radio interviews
- 1-hour program on the topic in national radio
- 2 interviews in regional publications
- Video interview in online media
- The tone of the publications was predominantly positive
- The messages of the campaign were present in the coverage of the press releases and media events, and the name of the foundation was mentioned in the title or the first paragraph of the materials
- Journalists from 10 media attended the closing event.
Media center
