20th Anniversary International March of the Living

Background:

1. The March of the Living (MOL) approached Lone Star to help publicize and plan their annual Holocaust Memorial Day march from Auschwitz to Birkenau, death camps in Poland
2. In addition to providing public relations and media management services, Lone Star was also charged with forging long-term strategic relationships for MOL with a variety of different partners

Buildup to the March:

• Five months before the March, Lone Star organized key media placements for the MOL leadership in the international and Jewish media highlighting the high number of registered participants from across the globe
• Leading up to the March, Lone Star initiated contact with international and Jewish bureaus and correspondents based in Europe to ensure their awareness of the upcoming MOL program, many of whom we had worked with previously in other major events in Luxembourg, UK and Ukraine.

The March:

• An LS team was dispatched to Poland to be on-site for the weeklong program
• They ensured that different international reproters were matched to students from their countries of origin, ensuring quality coverage of the MOL delegations
• LS initiated and implemented a “local media campaign” assisting participants in writing first person accounts and letters to the editors of their local papers, as well as posting blogs reflecting their MOL experience
• “Pictures of the Day” and “Daily Updates” were sent out by the LS team to a predetermined list of media around the world
• The participation of the various VIPs in the March, such as Israel's IDF Chief of Staff, was utilized to ensure high-quality coverage for the MOL
• The LS team managed the over 50 members of the international media who came to Auschwitz-Birkenau to cover the event

Strategic Relationships :

• Lone Star introduced the MOL to important individuals and organizations with the goal of strengthening MOL’s unique programming
• Lone Star initiated and managed the creation of a new International Board of Advisory for the MOL including prestigious individuals known around the world

Results:

• The 20th anniversary event was covered widely and in-depth by the international, Israeli and Jewish media
• MOL’s new partnerships have already proven instrumental in ensuring the future growth of the organization