For the past 15 years, Association Francois-Xaxier Bagnoud (FXB) has donated $100 million to help AIDS orphans - who will soon number 200 million worldwide - by providing
food, healthcare, education and information to protect them against HIV/AIDS.
Sion, Switzerland-based FXB is named for the only son of the French Countess Albina du Boisouvray. Her son, Francois, was a helicopter pilot who died in a medical rescue
mission in Mali, Africa. While Countess du Boisouvray has funded the organization for the last 15 years from her personal fortune, FXB is now seeking additional funding. To help
drum up support FXB has firmly planted itself in the States and created a focused PR plan.
Still, with AIDS coverage not nearly as pronounced in the U.S. media as it was say, a decade ago, the organization had to be careful when planning its launch event. What's
more, FXB, working with Washington, D.C-based PR firm Potomac Communications Group Inc., had just three months to put things together.
"The whole process was very hard from a PR standpoint," says Aimee Stern, program director at Potomac Communications. "We were handed the assignment from FXB in February and
needed to create the Web site, the (branding) materials and scramble to find volunteers" to help get the word out. An even bigger challenge, however, was to put a human face on
the organization. So, to increase the appetite for the group, FXB and Potomac Communications, along with Swiss Chocolatier Albert Uster Imports, created Sweet Charity
(sweetcharity.org).
"We wanted to show that this was a benefit but it was also about food and fun," says Keri Douglas, an AIDS orphan advocate who is FXB's rep in Washington. In terms of media
coverage, she adds: "AIDS has been widely covered...[But] when attention is paid to people who have died of AIDS, people don't think about the fact that children are being left
behind, and that's a problem that hasn't been addressed."
Prior to the event, Douglas and Stern blanketed local publications like The Washington Post, City Paper and The Washington Business Journal to run items promoting Sweet Charity
and FXB. The charity got some major plugs from local radio stations, including WTOP and ARW. (During a 5-K run sponsored by the radio station ARW offered free tickets to the
event.) E-mail blasts were also distributed to members of Congress while free ads were placed in The Hill - the Congressional bible.
The event, which was held May 3 at the Women's Memorial and Education Center at Arlington National Cemetery, celebrated chocolate as a delectable food and fashion statement.
Chefs from some of Washington, D.C.'s most renowned hotels displayed their fantasy food creations. The benefit featured a fashion show of models adorned with chocolate. Sugar
showpieces - scenes made from every type of sweet imaginable - were auctioned off to the highest bidder as part of on-site silent auction. All told, the event helped to raise
$150,000, with donations still coming in.
"We were going after coverage on two tracks," Stern says. "The story about FXB was pitched to local news channel (News Channel 8) and radio stations while the chefs and the
fashion elements were pitched to CNN." Ultimately, coverage was pretty much split down the middle: local network affiliates focused more on FXB's efforts to assist AIDS orphans
while CNN, considering all that B-roll of sugar showpieces, concentrated more on the food/fashion parts of the event.
Planners are now preparing for the next Sweet Charity event this October in Chicago. Reflecting FXB's two-pronged media strategy, reps from Fox News and the Food Network have
expressed interest in covering the event. "We've laid the foundation and, since we have longer than three months this time, will be able to reach out more," Douglas says. She adds
that FXB should find positive feedback in Chicago - home to the American Medical Association -- for FXB's efforts on behalf of AIDS orphans.
There is another, perhaps more popular, Chicagoan who could do wonders for FXB's mission: Oprah Winfrey, whose talk show originates in the Windy City. And an appearance on
Oprah can warm the hearts of millions.
Contacts: Keri Douglas, 703.908.0892, [email protected]; Aimee Stern, 202.466. 7391 X1119, [email protected]