SOWC 2012

Case Study/

Launch of ‘The State of the World’s Children’ 2012

UNICEF Headquarters

Division of Communication, Social and Civic Media Section

March 2012

© U

NIC

EF/N

YH

Q20

08-0

744/R

og

er

LeM

oyn

e

2

The Challenge

UNICEF’s flagship report, The State of the World’s Children 2012: Children in an

Urban World, was dedicated to the challenges of growing up in urban settings.

Almost half of the world’s population, including more than a billion children, now

live in cities and towns.

The report presents the realities they face such as the lack of opportunities for

education, of protection, of secure housing options, of water, sanitation and

hygiene, and it calls for greater emphasis on identifying and meeting their needs.

Our challenge was to use social media, in coordination with country offices and

National committees, to raise global awareness about the situation of children in

the context of urbanization, and offer information and facts for grassroots

advocacy.

3

The Approach

On Tuesday 28 February, UNICEF’s Executive Director Anthony Lake

launched the SOWC 2012 in Mexico City. Led by the Social & Civic

Media Team (SCM) within the Division of Communication, UNICEF

designed a global social media campaign with the aim to

coordinate communication efforts across the globe and to ensure a

smooth and successful entry of the SOWC into the digital era. This

was the first time that UNICEF used social media in a strategic way

to launch its flagship publication.

Interactive content & powerful sharing tools  

One of the main difficulties was effectively coordinating the work

of different stakeholders within UNICEF. To help Regional Offices,

Country Offices and National Committees stimulate engagement

and raise awareness on their social networks, the SCM section

designed a social media package (produced in English, French, and

Spanish) that was shared 3 days before the launch. The package

featured proposed feeds with tracked links for Facebook and

Twitter, as well as other materials listed below. Before the launch,

DOC and PFP hosted three internal webinars to present the content

of the report, key messages and the content of the pack.

#SOWC2012 was created and used as the dedicated hashtag for the

report which helped build excitement and create awareness on the

issue of Children in an Urban World. #SOWC2012 enabled the

SCM team to better monitor conversations and track key messages

and outreach. Taking advantage of the recently launched Facebook

Timeline, 29 tailor-made cover photos were provided for users to

download and use on their profiles. One of the most innovative

initiatives included in the pack was the creation of a Facebook

Application, developed to raise awareness around issues facing

children living in urban areas. It helped visualize significant

statistics within the report by showing how users’ own friends

could be affected. Finally, the team developed an animated

interactive map, showing the growth of the world urban

population since 1950, and a projection until 2050, that was used

by the Executive Director during the launch.

4

The Approach

Keeping the buzz alive with 2 lives: 2 miles apart  

Working in close collaboration with UNICEF country offices, the SCM team developed the ‘’2 lives: 2 miles

apart” series of films from eight different cities around the world: Istanbul, Cairo, Buenos Aires, Mumbai,

Port-au-Prince, Manila, New York and Johannesburg. These films were produced by young people and

focused on the lives of two children living in relative proximity but contrasting circumstances. Around this,

we created a “Two lives: Two Miles Apart” pack, composed of posters’ pictures for Facebook Profile and

Facebook pages and the proposed social media feeds for Facebook and Twitter. This series ensured a longer

lasting impact post-launch, and was communicated to the Natcoms and Country Offices for them to share on

their social platforms with their online communities.

5

On the day of the launch, we recorded nearly 3 times more mentions than the daily average in the time

period. The team used monitoring tool Radian6 to analyze social media activity on different platforms, such as

Twitter, blogs and mainstream news. The event was discussed in 159 countries. The high level of buzz was

also related to the high mention of the report in mainstream news website that mentioned it at least 2,000

times.

A significant number of Good Will Ambassadors came together to draw attention to the report. Their support

resulted in a massive increase in outreach to users who may have previously never heard of the document or

even of UNICEF. On Twitter, 74 UNICEF associated accounts came together to promote messaging on the

campaign. This resulted in a reach of more than 1.3 million users. The fact that 80% of UNICEF offices adopted

the specific messaging from the social media package was one of the most significant outcomes of the

launch!

The Results

“  

”  

6

Stats  on  Syria  

Child  soldiers  

SOWC  Launch  

Sustained  SOWC  buzz  

Anthony  Lake  on  Syria  

UNICEF  Tap  Project  

7

Lessons Learned

We are planning to continue using the same approach in future events. It is very important that we offer

innovative products to Country Offices and Natcoms, ensuring global coordination at the same time. We will

also prepare a summary report highlighting lessons learned and outcomes.

Relevant Links   To check out the interactive urban map, go to: http://www.unicef.org/sowc2012/urbanmap/

  To know more about the SOWC 2012, visit: http://www.unicef.org/sowc2012/

  Watch the “2 lives: 2 miles apart” series at: http://uni.cf/2lives2milesApart

8

Who we are

The Social and Civic Media Section, in the Division of Communication, seeks to

support and promote UNICEF’s mandate through the use of social and civic

media, and engage stakeholders in a deeper dialogue about child rights issues.

Want to learn more on the SOWC report? For further information contact us at:

[email protected]

8

Who we are The Social and Civic Media Section, in the Division of Communication,

seeks to support and promote UNICEF’s mandate through the use of

social and civic media, engaging stakeholders in a deeper dialogue about

child rights issues and empowering youth and vulnerable

communities to create positive change worldwide.

Want to learn more on the SOWC report? For further information contact us at:

[email protected]