Corporate Citizenship Report - Weber Shandwick

Ronald McDonald House Belem:
The First Ronald McDonald House in the Amazon (Alphaville)
Weber Shandwick’s Brazil operation S2Publicom
has been involved in the cause against pediatric
cancer – a McDonald’s global commitment – since
1988. In 2012, Instituto Ronald McDonald took
on an important project – the opening of the first
Ronald McDonald House in the Amazon. However,
because the region is faced with social and economic
problems, there was a high risk that the opening of
a Ronald McDonald House would go unnoticed by
the media and opinion-makers. Worse, the program
could be treated as unnecessary and/or criticized for
being out of step with the local needs. As a result, the
campaign’s messaging had to be carefully crafted. In
the three months leading up to the opening, the team
put together a plan spelling out the role, relevance
and life-changing services of Ronald McDonald House
Charities and Instituto Ronald McDonald. Messaging
also emphasized that the House would run on its own
resources, without government funds or participation
of political groups. Spokesperson training tools and
a carefully crafted script were also prepared. The
strategic messaging was a success with positive
coverage in most regional media outlets. Then, in
September 2012 – in recognition of its work in the
country, with mentions of landmark achievements
as the first Ronald McDonald House in the Amazon
– Instituto Ronald McDonald was awarded with the
Tiradentes Medal, one of the highest honors granted
by the House of Representatives of Rio de Janeiro.
The team put together a plan
spelling out the role, relevance
and life-changing services.
28 Corporate Citizenship 2012