Break the Cycle, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization, works directly with young people to combat domestic violence against teens. Like many organizations focused on teen
violence Break the Cycle directs its outreach efforts toward two distinct groups. First are the young people themselves, typically ages 12 to 22, who are the most likely
recipients of the organization's services. Second are the corporate leaders, grant makers and other potential donors upon whom the group relies for support, financial and
otherwise. Unfortunately, these two groups typically do not read the same magazines, watch the same TV shows or surf the same Web sites. Even so, the message must remain
fundamentally the same.
"It's one campaign, taking divergent paths and then meeting in the middle. We never want to stray too far from who we are," says Gail Becker, general manager of Edelman's L.A.
office, has run a pro bono campaign on behalf of Break the Cycle for the past two years.
Before Edelman came on the scene, Break the Cycle had little PR. "Our communications were really ad hoc and reactive," says the group's founder, Meredith Blake. The media might
call for a quote every now and again, but that was about it. Eventually the group turned to Edelman, with an eye toward taking its programs to a national level.
Job one for Edelman was to develop a PR structure within the nonprofit organization to create some cohesion for future communications efforts. In a series of meetings and
calls, "we spent time thinking through the ways in which PR could be a vehicle to help us do our work better," Blake says.
As a result of that process, the PR team developed a target media list comprised of magazines read by young women, and others read by corporate leaders. It was decided that the
PR strategy would be two-fold. First, it would personalize the issue by disseminating stories of teens who had been subjected to abuse. At the same time, the PR would try to raise
awareness to domestic violence toward teens as a distinct phenomenon. With so much media attention already directed toward domestic violence in general, it seemed important that
carve a separate niche, to avoid being lost in the bigger picture.
The PR team began by getting the client's name to the media. "We developed press materials, and we got them into the hands of the right people," Becker says. This took some
heavy research. Since there are few reporters who cover only domestic violence, the PR team dug into its database to find those who wrote often on social issues, women's issues,
nonprofit trends and other related subjects. Then, before they even began pitching stories about the organization itself, Becker adds "we wanted to make them a real thought leader
in any story on domestic violence."
In these types of efforts it helps to have a news hook, even one that is not directly related to the organization itself. Six months ago, for instance, the National Institutes
of Health released a major study on domestic violence. At the time that report came out, "we took that and leveraged that with the media," says Edelman Account Executive Katie
Bass. "We said to them: There is actual news coming out about domestic violence, and if you're going to do a story, you should talk to someone from Break the Cycle."
The strategy paid off, with substantial stories on the organization and its mission in the Los Angeles Times and O magazine. These stories gave a boost to the first element of
the PR mission: reaching potential supporters. The Times piece, for example, elicited calls not just from teachers and teens, but also from foundations and donors.
At the same time, the PR team was pursuing the pop culture track, a task made easier by Edelman's existing relationships. For example, a member of the firm's entertainment
marketing team saw a possible synergy between the Fox show "Boston Public" and the pro bono account, and was able to broker a deal in which Break the Cycle representatives got the
opportunity to consult for an episode of "Boston Public" focusing on domestic violence. A PSA was also delivered at the end of the program. The group was also quoted in an MTV.com
cover story on domestic abuse, and got a big boost through a story in teen-targeted YM.
The organization recently signed singer Missy Elliott as its unpaid national spokesperson, a move the PR team says will help garner wider exposure; Elliott had donated her
efforts in support of the cause in the past, and Break the Cycle approached her directly to renew that relationship.
Elliott is looking to raise $5 million for Break the Cycle, whose entire annual budget is just $2 million. She will donate $1 from each ticket from her upcoming concert tour to
support the group and - equally important - will generate buzz for the nonprofit's efforts. The Lifetime Network later this year will honor Break the Cycle and Elliott's work with
the group - high-level exposure that might not have materialized without a celebrity connection.
After two years, Edelman's pro bono efforts have brought Break the Cycle to a new level. The groups' success is due in large part to a PR strategy that has managed to broadcast
a single unified message toward two very different audiences. The key to getting this done? Staffing diversity.
Says Becker: "When you are trying to reach diverse groups of people, people from really different backgrounds, the key is put a team on there that is really
multidimensional."
Contacts: Katie Bass, 323.857.9100, [email protected]; Gail Becker, 323.202.1037, [email protected]; Meredith Blake, 310.286.3366, [email protected]