Every child deserves the right to play. That’s the universal truth promoted by Right To Play (RTP), an international charity committed to supporting disadvantaged children in over 20 countries through the power of sport and play.

Although RTP is headquartered in Toronto, the organization was virtually unknown in Canada. Among those familiar with it, the perception was that RTP sponsored sports and games, with virtually no knowledge of the critical developmental benefits their activities provide for children.

We set out to raise awareness, focusing specifically on the organization’s work in the West African and Francophone African (WAFA) region, and to increase its donor base.

More importantly, we looked to communicate that the power of play can be used to educate, empower and transform both disadvantaged children and the communities in which they live.

Because funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) could not be used for paid media, our public relations efforts had to rely on unpaid channels to achieve our objectives.

We created a campaign called ”Level The Field”, a fully integrated communications program including social, digital and traditional efforts.

We enlisted Canadian Olympians and credible authorities who were trusted by our target group: parents.

In meeting our objectives—raising Canadians’ awareness of the developmental impact of play and engaging them in a social media discussion—“Level The Field” was an unqualified and measurable success.

In addition, we helped to expand RTP it’s 20 year-old donor base by nearly 10% in just three weeks.

We engaged our target through a launch program that kicked-off with an exclusive story in the Globe and Mail, Canada’s largest newspaper, featuring RTP founder Johann Koss. The story ran nationwide, driving readers to our Facebook page.

There, ambassador teams consisting of parent-influencers and athletes rallied their extensive networks around “Level The Field” program areas. A like-gated tab on RTP’s Facebook page featured a multimedia experience about each program, and our anthem video captured the impact RTP brings to disadvantaged communities. A Facebook contest let fans vote for their favorite athlete/influencer pair and initiative.

We then sent two Olympic athletes, the winning parent-influencer and a Canadian Facebook fan to Monrovia, Liberia to experience RTP in action. We captured the experience and continued the conversation in traditional and social media, demonstrating the benefits of RTP’s global programs.

Level The Field was an unqualified success for Right to Play in Canada. Despite having no paid media support, we delivered:

• a 455% increase in online conversations about RTP, with more than 12,000,000 online mentions;

• a nearly 10% increase in RTP’s 20-year-old potential donor database in just three weeks;

• a 76% increase in Facebook fans;

• a 43% increase in Twitter followers, with 3,400,000 total Twitter impressions;

• 4,000 anthem video views on YouTube;

• a 175% increase in Facebook engagements; and

• 7,000+ unique views of the Facebook tab.

The Facebook tab lives on as evidence of RTP’s success, and continues to help the organization raise awareness and funding for the critical programs that reach one million children every week around the world.