NKPR has been selected by Engineers Without Borders Canada to promote #PoliticsAside, a newly-launched social media campaign that aims to garner support to increase Canada’s foreign aid contributions and reduce global poverty.
The online initiative hopes to get the support of 350,000 Canadians in advance of the federal election slated in October.
NKPR won the account after an RFP was held a few months ago, says agency president Natasha Koifman.
“We came at them with the perspective every person has a voice and opportunity to really make an impact,” she says, noting Engineers Without Borders had approached other agencies with significant government relations and political experience.
In a statement, Engineers Without Borders Canada CEO Boris Martin said NKPR was selected because of its “ability to engage young Canadians in the critical issues that will shape our collective future.”
Engineers Without Borders Canada has more than 50,000 members, primarily university students and engineers, and aims to outsmart poverty by attacking its root causes.
The #PoliticsAside campaign comes on the heels of a national poll that found almost universal support among Canadians for improving health, education and economic opportunities for the world’s most vulnerable. It also found 62% of Canadians said Canada should be one of the world’s leading countries when it comes to international development.
The campaign launched April 23 and has obtained support from more than 20 members of parliament from the three main parties, including a tweet from Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, Koifman says. “We feel we’re off to a really good start.”
The campaign is being promoted through social media, influencer relations and media relations.
Its success will not be measured on the amount of impressions it obtains, but in getting people to get involved and “push the needle forward to make Canada a bigger player in actually doing good things for the world,” she says.
