Projeto experimental trajetórias: sempre há uma história a mais para ser contada. Uma campanha de sensibilização para o Lar Vila Itagiba

Abstract

This experimental project was inspired on using the practice of Public Relations as a transformative tool in society, enabling interpersonal communications amongst people who are driven by social good. Our research goal was to understand if applying Public Relations tactics into nonprofit entities can positively impact fundraising. The overall goal of this paper is to propose a PR strategy that is both efficient and effective into achieving that. The specific goals of this work were: Analyze communications in the third sector, develop a communication plan for the third sector and propose strategic tactics based on that plan. Our main goal was to develop, plan, execute and measure the success of an Empathy Campaign targeting Santa Maria’s population, aiming to raise funds to the nonprofit Lar Vila Itagiba. Considering that the institution never had a structured comms center before, the work started by us had to focus on the current priorities. The campaign was called: LIFE JOURNEYS: THERE’S ALWAYS ANOTHER STORY TO BE TOLD, and its purpose was to reminisce life stories and dreams of the elder residents. We focused the campaign on this theme with the intent of creating empathy amongst people who doesn’t naturally relate to the home or its elders residents, highlighting that there’s a lot to live and dream at an older age. Generally images of sadness and abandonment are linked and tied up to home institutions like Lar Vila Itagiba, and the new friendships, close ties and inspiring stories end up being forgotten. The methodology used was on this project qualitative, we used the participant observation technique, semi-structured interviews and kept record of a field diary. To diagnose the current situation of the home, we ran a SWOT analysis, a media audit and a collected pre-campaign metrics. For the campaign methodology, we used images to track and evaluate the impact and results generated. We performed analysis of Facebook metrics as well as online feedback. Overall, we found that the PR strategies to raise awareness, build and maintaining networks to fundraise for nonprofit entities are effective.