Using topical research to drive policy change
Our medical society client challenged the Beyond team to build the society’s profile as a leading authority in digestive health through the promotion of new research at their annual congress.
Our approach
We created a topical public and political news story, with mass global relevance, from a novel piece of research due to be presented at an upcoming gastroenterology congress. The research demonstrated the first evidence of microplastics in humans – a media topic that we knew would appeal to news outlets across the world.
We launched the press campaign the day before an upcoming EU parliamentary debate on single-use plastic to maximise the impact of the media coverage.
To help facilitate international media coverage, we distributed an embargoed press pack to global media outlets and held a press conference onsite at the congress with the lead author of the study.
Outcome
The media campaign achieved over 1200 pieces of coverage across 52 countries on the day of its release, including front-page headlines and articles in The Guardian, Forbes and National Geographic. The topic was number 1 on Google Trends that day, and the news was shared by political parties, Members of the European Parliament, celebrities and key stakeholders. These included the UK Government Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), who published a statement in response to the global media coverage, and The Greens/European Free Alliance European Parliament political group.
The following day, the EU Parliament overwhelmingly voted (571 to 53) in favour for a complete ban on single-use plastics across the union within 3 years. The vote resulted in a second wave of coverage and articles, including in The New York Times, which referenced the importance of this timely study.
The campaign won several industry awards and cemented our client’s position as a leading global authority, capable of sparking positive environmental change across the European continent.
“Congratulations from my side. This is the campaign we were all waiting for.”
Medical Society Executive Director