The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) works with migrants who have lost or left their homes. When record numbers of unaccompanied immigrant children from Central America began flooding America's southern border, USCRI had to respond.
USCRI needed a campaign to educate the public on the realities of the situation while simultaneously influencing government decision makers to act. To change sentiment and steer the conversation toward solutions, we needed to humanize the issue and dispel myths.
We crafted I am Solo, a campaign to introduce the world to the children. Our message: these kids are alone and afraid and should be treated as refugees, not criminals. In one week's time, we flooded social media with infographics and 225 powerful images of children, each representing 10 children crossing the border.
To target government funding sources necessary to resolve the crisis, we staged a "Capitol Hill Takeover" event and distributed to every member of Congress an educational flyer with six solutions.
The campaign saw triple and quadruple growth in engagement across Facebook and Twitter. We reached over 1 million people: +1,700% retweets and +1,123% shares. Other measures were up: Likes (+303%), Comments (+591%), New Likes (+530%).
USCRI scored the biggest win – real policy change. The State Department announced the official launch of an in-country refugee program (one of USCRI's six solutions!) in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. USCRI is proud to have championed a policy so now children can be brought safely and legally to the U.S.
The Situation, Stories, and Solutions to the Central American Children Crossing Borders.
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) works with migrants who have lost or left their homes fleeing war, political unrest, violence, or fear. For over 100 years, they have shaped history, demanding justice and breaking down barriers for the uprooted as they successfully integrate into new communities. So, when record numbers of unaccompanied immigrant children from Central America began flooding America's southern border, they had to respond.
With no end to the humanitarian crisis in sight, U.S. government officials struggled to control the situation. Media pressure mounted as image after image of tens of thousands of children fleeing violence atop freight trains took the cover of every national newspaper. The unprecedented stream of vulnerable children searching for refuge created a blockage for U.S. Customs and Border Control as children were inhumanely detained in swelling warehouse facilities. The first refugee crisis on U.S. soil shocked the public as the media hyped the fear factor with references to an "invasion." Soon, polarized positive and negative public sentiment surfaced and Congress members' phones could be heard ringing as constituents demanded action.
Objective
As the children suffered, the world watched. USCRI needed a campaign to turn the tide by educating the public on the realities of the situation while simultaneously cranking the advocacy engine to influence government decision makers to action.
Key Features
To change sentiment and steer the conversation toward solutions, we needed to humanize the issue and dispel myths fueling the negative sentiment. We wanted to create an urgent message: these kids are alone and afraid and should be treated as refugees, not criminals. So, we created I am Solo to introduce the world to the children.
Behind the headlines are human beings with individual stories.
In one month, 9,000 children crossed the border in search of safety. In one week's time, we portrayed the magnitude of the situation with 225 images, each representing 10 children crossing. To establish an emotional connection, we flooded social streams – Facebook and Twitter – with powerful images of children alongside real stories adapted from actual USCRI cases. Additionally, we posted powerful infographics dispelling misconceptions and establishing USCRI as an authority on the issue. Using popular hashtags and direct social outreach to Congress, media, and other influentials, campaign engagement soared.
After 100 years of serving the uprooted, USCRI knows a refugee situation when they see one.
We took the campaign a step further by targeting the government funding sources necessary to resolve the crisis. Pivoting to real-world guerilla marketing, we staged a "Capitol Hill Takeover" event and distributed to every member of Congress an educational and action-oriented flyer that reflected the campaign. This time, we added 6 solutions that USCRI developed to resolve the crisis. We added real-time social marketing during critical Congressional funding debates to urge Congress to act before their summer recess. The element of real-time tongue-in-cheek humor helped rally the USCRI base to keep the pressure on Congress.
Campaign Goes Mainstream
Rumor has it one of our flyers was hand-delivered to President Obama. Jon Stewart, of the Daily Show, took a liking to the topic, too, and featured USCRI's Vermont office in a parody on the ridiculous approach media was taking.
Metrics
For I am Solo, triple and quadruple growth across social channels were grounds to celebrate! The campaign reached over 1 million people between Facebook and Twitter with huge gains in engagement: +1,700% and +1,123% growth in retweets and shares, respectively (month over month). All other measures were up: Likes (+303%), Comments (+591%), New Likes (+530%).
Real Policy Change
In the nonprofit world social media return cannot be measured back to profit, but rather to purpose. USCRI scored the biggest win an advocacy group could ever hope for – real policy change. On December 1, the State Department announced the official launch of an in-country refugee program (one of USCRI's six solutions!) in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The program allows certain parents who are legally present in the U.S. to apply for refugee status via the U.S. Refugee Program for their children currently living in one of the above-named three countries. USCRI is proud to have championed a policy so now children can be brought safely and legally to the U.S.
