“Burma: It Can’t Wait” campaign recognized for creative use of social media to drive public awareness of political injustice in Burma
WALTHAM, Mass. – Digital Influence Group, a next-generation interactive agency that helps clients build communities with their key constituencies, has been recognized in the 2008 Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX) Awards for “Best Use of Social Media.” Digital Influence Group’s winning “Burma: It Can’t Wait” campaign supported a 30-day effort launched by The Human Rights Action Center and the U.S. Campaign for Burma to build a grassroots movement to free Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma.
MITX is the largest Internet advocacy organization in the world. The annual MITX competition rewards the development and implementation of interactive technologies in New England. This year’s competition included more than 130 entries from a wide variety of industries including biotechnology and pharmaceuticals to travel and tourism. More than 1,000 people attended the MITX awards night in Cambridge last week.
“Digital Influence Group has set a high bar in the social media marketing space,” said Michael Smith, President of Digital Influence Group. “‘Burma: It Can’t Wait’ is a great example of our creativity and acute understanding of interactive media.”
Digital Influence Group developed a comprehensive branding and educational outreach campaign for “Burma: It Can’t Wait” within social media shopping site Fanista and through a Facebook application. Each day in May 2008, visitors to www.burmaitcantwait.org could watch a new video with celebrities such as Will Ferrell and Jennifer Aniston describing the dire political situation in Burma and stressing the urgency of acting to reverse it. All thirty videos, which attracted 3.5 million views, were posted to YouTube and embedded in more than 100 blogs. Both the microsite and a Facebook application directed viewers to watch the videos, learn more about Aung San Suu Kyi, sign an online petition to help the Burmese people, and share the site or application with friends.
About Digital Influence Group
Digital Influence Group, a W2 Group company, is a next-generation interactive agency that helps clients build communities with their key constituencies. We have developed a unique methodology for identifying, educating and influencing the blogosphere, reputation aggregators, e-communities and social networks. Our approach, a true innovation in marketing services, blends the expertise of public relations and interactive marketing to achieve new levels of engagement and influence with targeted audiences.
