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Raleigh Alumni working with McCann Worldgroup UK to raise awareness in Costa Rica and Nicaragua

Last year the Raleigh alumni society in Nicaragua ran a campaign called Sin Plastico to raise awareness about the damage that plastic can do to the environment,  and to encourage recycling and alternatives to plastics. Culminating in a concert where the guests could exchange 10 plastic bottles for a tree to plant, the campaign experienced success but the the society members were left realising how much more there was to learn about effectively running a campaign.

National society members study case studies

Following this Raleigh, and the Costa Rican and Nicaraguan national societies, began looking into ways in which to further boost the skills of alumni in this area. Partnering with McCann WorldGroup UK was the perfectly way to do this and to provide the training currently going on. Ten volunteers from McCann have grouped up with ten members of Raleigh’s National Societies from Costa Rica and Nicaragua to work on campaigns that the national society members will be delivering at the end of the course.

Victoria from McCann WorldGroup UK gives a presentation on identifying and understanding your audience

Each of the McCann WorldGroup UK volunteers brings expertise in their field of work and will be delivering a range of courses from campaign management, to graphic design and photography. During the sessions volunteers will be working closely with national society members who have already chosen their campaign topics and conducted initial research. The volunteers will incorporate these campaign themes into sessions to impart knowledge and provide examples of practical application. By the end of the courses the national society members will have learned new skills that will allow them to deliver much more effective campaigns in the future.

Toby gives a presentation on the psychology of consumer behavior

So far, the group has covered campaign strategy, particularly the research involved in planning to successfully campaign to change behaviours and how you should appeal to them to change or sell your idea. During the campaign strategy session McCann WorldGroup UK volunteers were particularly impressed with the national society member’s research into their planned campaigns. They will be teaching them how to use this research in the most effective way to build a strong campaign and give the volunteers the skills to do so in the future

We will be following their work over the next couple of weeks and look forward to sharing the work of the finalised campaigns.

Written by volunteer communications officer Ross A. Photos by volunteer photographer Michelle J.

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