The PR Lions celebrate the craft of strategic and creative communication. #DefyTheName targeted young people feeling hopeless, isolated and defenseless because of bullying. We wanted them to know they’re not alone by creating a sense of community. Past anti-bullying efforts have focused on stopping the bully, but we wanted to empower the victim by encouraging them to #DefyTheName they were called by bullies by adding it to their display name on social media. With a media budget that consisted of zero dollars, the campaign achieved over 1 billion impressions and was covered by over 430 publications and news outlets.

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Online bullying is an epidemic in the US. The CDC estimates that it’s the root cause of 20% of teen suicides. For this reason, anti-bullying activist Monica Lewinsky and a coalition of 12 anti-bullying nonprofits wanted to create a sense of community so those being bullied know that they’re not

Online bullying is an epidemic in the US. The CDC estimates that it’s the root cause of 20% of teen suicides. For this reason, anti-bullying activist Monica Lewinsky and a coalition of 12 anti-bullying nonprofits wanted to create a sense of community so those being bullied know that they’re not alone.

Unfortunately, we can’t change what bullies say to their targets, but we can change the way it makes them feel. So we created a movement to disarm bullies of their most common tactic: name calling.

#DefyTheName kicked off with a film showing that some of the most successful people out there were also called names, but they didn’t let that define who they became. The film was only the beginning, as the campaign grew into an online movement that encouraged people to add their bullied names to their display names on social media. Lewinsky started this by changing her Twitter name on live television. Soon after, over 350 influencers and thousands of people did the same, sharing their stories and reinforcing our message: you're not alone and the names you’re called don’t define you.

Bullying is a global issue – The United Nation's Children's Fund states that half of students (150 million 13- to 15-year-olds) around the world experience peer-to-peer violence/bullying. By leveraging inspiring/successful celebrities from different fields showing their vulnerability for a good cause we created an indelible story for the media.

The names you’re called do not define who you are. Many inspirational and successful people have faced similar harassment. Defy the name (like Monica Lewinsky and the PSA’s star-studded cast)

Anyone who experiences bullying, both online and off – and those who love victims of bullying. It’s especially relevant for young people and minorities/the disenfranchised who are more likely to be bullied. Because it’s a universal issue we targeted national broadcast and print.

Created in partnership with the agency, ensuring messaging was safe by liaising with top psychologists. Went out over the national wire and through old fashioned pitching/embargo.

We lined up several print/online embargoed interviews for launch aimed at diverse markets and a morning show exclusive on ABC’s Good Morning America.

Outreach started more than a month before launch, securing and facilitating interviews. To keep up momentum on Nov. 1 we buttoned the campaign with a video on Monica’s Twitter highlighting even more names she had been called (over 4,000 likes and 557 retweets, resulting in more coverage).

The scale of this campaign was massive. We asked some of the most famous people in the world to share incredibly personal details about themselves (for free) often just on goodwill outreach and we had to ensure that final messaging reflected all talent’s stated desires.

PR reached 445 million people globally thanks to 437+ pickups on the story. Earned media value was $4 million. Embargoed stories also ran in New York Magazine’s The Cut, People, Glamour, Refinary29, and InStyle. We ensured that messaging stayed on the campaign’s important work and wasn’t hijacked by the 20th anniversary of the Clinton impeachment.

In first week: 512 million Twitter impressions (trending on Twitter on launch day). 290+ Twitter/Instagram celebrities, Influencers, publications posted about the campaign. Celebrities/publications generated 64% of total Twitter impressions. Respected and influential figures helped spread a message of community and love.

While anecdotal, A&E’s documentary, The Clinton Affair, came out just a month after this campaign and featured Monica at her most candid about the events of 20 years ago. She has emerged as a champion of the #MeToo movement and the series enjoys a positive reception.