The article I found came from the PRWeek Website titled, Special Olympics ups Outreach. During the 2009 Winter Games in Idaho the PR team for the Special Olympics hopes to attract more people to its year-round programs. The global brand marketing and awareness director said “Our goal is to promote the program so all people realize they can be a part of the movement”.
They are bringing in celebrities supporters such as Arnold Schwarzenegger to their opening ceremony and the Global Youth Rally. The Global Youth Rally will serve to reach out to the youth to become “changing agents for acceptance”. The opening ceremony of the Winter Games will bring about 2,500 athletics with intellectual disabilities from about 200 countries.
The Special Olympics Public Relations wants to install core values such as determination and dignity, by using the slogan “Be a Fan”.
After reading the article I became very interested in the goal of creating a world of acceptance. “Dignity, acceptance, and a chance to reach one’s potential – these are human rights worth promoting for everyone. Since 1968, Special Olympics has been bringing one message to the world: people with intellectual disabilities can and will succeed if given the opportunity.” I think that this sums up everything that the Special Olympics Public Relations is trying to get across. In order for people to reach their full potential they need to have that dignity and acceptance.
The “Be a Fan” campaign is also very interesting. The campaigns main goal is to connect people who are not already associated with the Special Olympics to support the Special Olympics brand goals. The campaign was developed by Andrew Robertson who is the Special Olympics International Board Director and his advertising team. They use powerful images of the athletes to show the true power of the human spirit. The “Be a Fan” campaign is also using stories of the athletes such as Be a Fan of: dignity, joy, courage. These are very powerful stories that help people feel connected to the athletes themselves. I think that this is a great way to get their point across and to get more people involved in the Special Olympics.
