Dominican society turns a blind eye to the state of extreme poverty in which 45% of the population lives. Un Techo para mi País is a non-profit organization that helps to build transitional homes for families living in extreme poverty. Our goal was not only to distinguish the organisation but also to tell a story in an engaging way so as to inspire action. In order to attract audiences, we cast a popular TV hostess to participate in a ‘reality show’, which would place her with a family living in extreme poverty for 1 week. In order to keep our message authentic, the experience would be live-streamed online with no scripts, voice-overs, or editing. We promoted the campaign with a teaser trailer, social media, and a media tour. In addition, the most-watched evening news program featured a 3-minute synopsis of the day’s filming for each day of the campaign.

In the end we obtained media coverage worth more than US$315,000 as well as US$800,000 in donations to the NPO. The number of volunteers grew from 500 to 2,000, and Un Techo’s social media followers grew by 400%.

The key ‘PR’ elements of the campaign are evident in the objective and the strategy; we tackled people’s perception of poverty in this country and managed discussions regarding the appropriateness of a reality show for this purpose. Our media relations team was instrumental to the success of the entire campaign, helping to craft the strategy from conception to finish.

The campaign kicked off on October 31, 2011 with a teaser trailer, media tour, TV & radio mentions, billboards, and web banners that promoted the ‘reality show’ with a bit of shock value (never before in the Dominican Republic has a show dealt with the subject of extreme poverty for an entire week). Filming began November 6th 2011, and was live streamed 24/7 via Un Techo’s website until November 12th.

Media tactics included regular 3-minute synopses on the 2pm news and daily live cell phone interviews with Nashla by the most influential news anchor in Dominican Republic, Roberto Cavada, on the most-watched 11pm news show. Celebrities and influencers engaged in social media discussions. Media coverage and social media comments spanned from the beginning of the announcement on October 31st until national donation days on Nov 18th-19th. The campaign ran according to our original plan.

Un Techo received an overwhelming response in the weeks following the campaign: The number of volunteers rose from 500 to 2,000, and donations rose to a staggering US$800,000 in 1 month.

Our campaign generated approximately $315,000 US worth of media placements.

Social media followers on Facebook and Twitter grew 400%. Ultimately, the campaign transformed the NPO from one out of many to one of the most well-known in the Dominican Republic. Multi-national corporations have taken note and have committed to working with Un Techo on future projects. Our campaign was instrumental in raising awareness on a worthy cause and in establishing the NPO’s success in this country.