As part of our B Corp commitments (and because it’s just the right thing to do) Gong donates 160 hours of in PR and comms support to helping charities communicate their positive efforts and meet their objectives. In previous years we’ve worked with Refugee Support to help them on their mission to provide aid with dignity; African Entrepreneur Collective in their efforts to support local entrepreneurs (many of whom are refugees) so they can grow their businesses and create jobs; and Uganda Conservation Foundation to raise money for the rangers protecting critically endangered species.
Each year we ask our employees to put forward the charity that they would like to support. This year we homed in on a subject close to all our hearts: refugees and displaced people. But choosing just one brilliant charity that we all care about is becoming harder and harder to do, because… well, we want to help them all! That is why we have launched a refugee press office.
Gong’s refugee press office will act as a PR and communications resource for refugee charities without professional communications support, helping them to communicate their stories effectively, amplifying their voices and reaching changemakers and action-drivers. We will work with the charities to ensure their stories are media-worthy before putting our dedicated team of experienced PR experts to the job, tapping into our little black book of journalists who are as passionate as we are about supporting this cause.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
- The engagement starts with a meeting to understand more about the story or message you want to communicate.
- We’ll then come back to you with our recommendations for how you can package it up and make a story that will work for media.
- You then send us the key information we’ll need to pitch to journalists, such as a press release, case studies, and data points (if possible) which we can contribute to, ensuring it is as media-worthy as possible.
- We spend our time pitching your story to some carefully selected journalists that we know will be sympathetic to your cause and most likely to take an interest. This may result in some interviews, in which case we will guide you through the process and offer light media coaching where needed. The journalists will be from a range of outlets, depending on your needs and the audience you want to reach.
WHAT DO YOU GET?
- Two to five hours of consultancy to help you determine the strongest story and understand what success in the media looks like for you.
- Ten hours of focused pitching to carefully targeted journalists and support with any media interviews that may come as a result of the pitching.
WHAT ABOUT THE RESULTS?
- Nothing is ever guaranteed in the world of PR, it comes down to the strength of the story, the relationships with journalists, timing, and sometimes just a little bit of luck. What we can guarantee though, is that our journalist relationships and years of experience in finding the best story will put you in the strongest position to get the results you need.
WHAT DO WE NEED FROM YOU?
- A timely and topical story that will suit the media agenda, but don’t worry – we can help you with this bit!
- Information, insight, and data (if possible) to support your story – usually this is in the form of a press release.
- Someone who is willing and available to talk to press. This might not always be the founder of the organisation. Often, speaking to the refugees themselves makes for the strongest story.
Gong will commit to up to 10 projects of this nature per year. Interested charities can read more in the flyer here and contact us for an initial conversation.
You can read more about our CSR work media successes on the webpage here.
