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Over the past year, the Occupy Wall Street movement has grown from a small grassroots movement in New York’s Financial District, to similar protests seen in major U.S. cities around the country.
As OWS “celebrates” its one-year anniversary, the measure of whether or not the marches and protests the 99% staged against the social and economic injustice have been successful is debatable. Many feel that the past year has been all talk and no substance, leaving the movement in a fizzling-out stage.
Not so fast.
On Monday, Sept. 17, the Strike Debt campaign was launched, led by the publishing of the Debt Resistor’s Operations Manual. According to reports, the idea is to give practical tips to people who have navigated a default event, either through housing, student loan, credit card or medical debt.
What the OWS movement has lacked from the outside looking in is a sense of organization and solid direction. Debt can now be the central message OWS presents to the public, serving as an overall theme for the movement—an essential point for any PR campaign.
Will this campaign give OWS a boost? That’s yet to be seen. What can be taken away from the new plan is that the OWS movement saw an area in which it was lacking, made the proper adjustments and launched a strategy.
As PR pros, it is important that when faced with a lack of message cohesiveness and direction, creating a campaign that highlights a consistent, compelling theme to the audience is a formula for success.
Follow Jamar Hudson: @jamarhudson