Fuelling potential: A PR strategy for Breakfast Club of Canada

The tradition continues as Breakfast Club of Canada launched its biggest annual fundraiser, the Back-to-School Campaign, at the end of August 2023. The funds raised through this fundraising activity will help to meet the growing demand for school feeding programs. At a time when inflation is high and it is increasingly difficult for Canadian households to make ends meet and absorb the rising cost of food, the Club's commitment takes on even greater meaning.

In an effort to help children have access to a nutritious breakfast at school, Breakfast Club of Canada has renewed its mandate with NATIONAL to manage media relations for its campaign. This media relations activity is part of a broader public affairs plan in which our various teams across the country provide support to the Club in both public and government relations. Committed to spreading the word about the Club's mission, our teams from coast to coast approached the main national and local media, highlighting the importance and impact that a nutritious breakfast can have on children's daily lives. Once again this year, several of the Club's regional spokespeople were on hand to explain the school feeding programs set up in the provinces and to discuss local statistics and data. Connecting with local ambassadors was a key aspect of NATIONAL's media strategy. By highlighting the realities specific to each province and region, we were able to strengthen the element of proximity with the local media and take the discussion further. Interviews were also coordinated with the president and CEO, as well as the co-founder, in order to paint a more global picture of demand and explain the scope of school food programs nationwide.

In the first few days after the official launch of the 2023 campaign, our teams managed to coordinate 40 interviews, for a total of over 16 million impressions. With major media outlets across all 10 Canadian provinces, such as the National Post, Radio-Canada, CBC News, 98.5FM Montréal, and Global News covering the news, we can confirm that the volume of media coverage was not only high, but also of high quality. The inflationary context and its direct impact on the socio-economic situation of all communities, as well as our personalized approach to the media, are all factors that contributed to the high profile of the campaign. The idea behind this year's campaign was for people to adopt the reflex of donating to the Club at the start of the new school year. It's a simple gesture, but one that makes all the difference among young people.

While our teams were busy developing and implementing a Canada-wide media relations strategy, the firm decided to take its commitment to the Club a step further.

We are proud to announce that thanks to the collaboration of several of our offices, NATIONAL is donating nearly $14,000 to Breakfast Club of Canada as part of its Back-to-School 2023 campaign.

It is with great pleasure that we are donating $13,900 to Breakfast Club of Canada. This amount will help children across the country reach their full potential.

—Martin Daraiche, President of NATIONAL and Managing Partner at the Montreal office

Cover image: Martin Daraiche, President of NATIONAL and managing partner of the Montreal office; Jillianne Gignac, Junior Analyst at NATIONAL; Tommy Kulczyk, President and CEO of Breakfast Club of Canada; Judith Barry, Co-Founder and Director at Breakfast Club of Canada; Eric Aach, Senior Consultant at NATIONAL; and Valérie Beauregard, Executive Vice-President of AVENIR GLOBAL.