May 12, 2022 was an important and successful day for the Moose Hide Campaign
, an Indigenous-led, grassroots initiative aimed at reconciliation and ending violence against women and children—and National was honoured to be part of it.
For the second consecutive year, National helped to raise awareness—from coast to coast to coast—for this critical initiative.
Leading up to, and on that day, you could notice Indigenous leaders, local mayors, federal and provincial politicians, students, teachers, and even some of your neighbours wearing small, square pieces of moose hide on their lapels—the unique pin that is the symbol for this movement and sparks thousands of conversations about gender-based violence.
You could read articles about the Campaign, and hear interviews with Raven Lacerte, and her father, Paul, who started the movement more than 11 years ago. And as the sun set on May 12, you saw city halls across Canada, lit up in orange or you came across pictures on social media of that torrent of water pouring over Niagara Falls, which was bathed in orange light that evening.
This was all in support of the Campaign, and part of the national push to inform Canadians about the Campaign’s goals and encourage them to participate in Moose Hide’s annual day of fasting, gathering and celebration.
More than 400,000 people registered to participate across the country and were involved in the day of ceremony on May 12, learning how they can contribute to eradicating gender-based violence, about how they can participate in reconciliation.
National helped to drive national media placements and stakeholder awareness of Moose Hide Campaign’s annual campaign day, while raising the profile of the campaign through endorsements from elected officials and influencers on social media.
To maximize impact and conversation, National employed a strategic, phased earned media approach that leveraged Moose Hide Campaign’s spokespeople and key opinion leaders. For example, Murray Sinclair, former chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, was presented with the Campaign’s three millionth pin, which provided a “media moment” and helped to drive awareness and more participants to the campaign day.
In addition, National enlisted team members from across our network to engage local stakeholders and pitch the story of the Moose Hide Campaign to regional and local media.
For the past two years, National’s media relations strategy resulted in significant reporting across the country, including interviews with top tier outlets, such as the Canadian Press, CBC, CTV Your Morning, Global Morning, and others. For the second year, The Globe and Mail also generously donated a full-page colour ad, which NATIONAL helped to develop and design.
Working on impactful projects and with clients, such as the Moose Hide Campaign team members, is work that we are so proud to do. Raising awareness for this movement—one with a goal to make Canadians work together to stop gender-based violence in Canada once and for all—is incredibly rewarding.