Contributing positively to the community is fundamental to Ketchum Estratégia. Corporate Social Responsibility represents a value that has been considered among Ketchum Estratégia’s activities, once it is a way to integrate social, ethical and environmental concerns into the business of public relations.
Consciousness about cancer and thalassemia
Ketchum Estratégia donated hours to help entities such as the Brazilian Cancer Association (ABCâncer) www.abcancer.org.br . This is a NGO that has the mission of fighting against cancer and to contribute to its prevention, the early diagnosis and the reducing the suffering of cancer patients and their families, supporters, friends and healthcare professionals with information, legal support and research.
During 2005, Ketchum Estratégia positioned and reinforced the existence of the association and its services through special activities aimed at the media. Among the actions developed to increase community and media exposure for the ABCâncer, the agency launched the first fight against cancer blue bracelet, called the goodness bracelet.
One of the agency’s strategies was the “Prevenir é a maior jogada” (Prevention is the biggest move) campaign, which involved athletes to promote the bracelets and consequently outreaching the public that admires and follows those athletes: Robert Scheidt, the crew of Banco do Brasil 1 (sailing team sponsored by Bank of Brazil), Fernando Scherer – Xuxa, players and technical commission of São Paulo Futebol Clube and players of Sport Club Corinthians Paulista (two of the Brazil’s most important soccer teams), Carlos Alberto Kyrmair and players of both female and male Brazilian volleyball teams.
Another developed project was the partnership between ABCâncer and the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), in order to increase the visibility of the NGO in the National Day of the Fight Against Cancer, November 27th. On this date, CBF exhibited banners during the most important games of the Brazilian Championship season. Therefore, the campaign “Prevenir é a maior jogada” outreached more than 2 million people in just one day.
Another institution that received the voluntary work of Ketchum Estratégia was the Brazilian Thalassemia Association (Abrasta) www.abrasta.org.br . The agency and the entity worked together to give information to the population on the thalassemia (Cooley’s anemia), an inherited autosomal recessive blood disease, that affects around 2,7 million people in Brazil.
The consciousness campaign, promoted by Ketchum Estratégia, distributed informative folders on the disease in healthcare centers and also sent gratefulness cards to the blood donors, explaining that their volunteer action helped the thalassemia patients.
CSR U.S. Embassy Initiative
Ketchum Estratégia was invited to participate in a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative led by the U.S. Embassy in Brazil. Known as “+ Unidos” (which means "United" in English), the initiative is composed of more than 50 U.S.-based companies who have signed on to share best practices in CSR and to promote partnerships among companies, nongovernmental organizations and the public sector. And in addition to Ketchum, currently the only PR agency participating in the work group, many of the agency's clients also are members, including FedEx, IBM, Kodak, Procter & Gamble and Whirlpool, among others.
In an effort to help +Unidos share information on how CSR can make a meaningful impact on communities, Ketchum Estratégia contributed case studies on its pro bono work in Brazil for the embassy to feature on its newly created website http: www.embaixadaamericana.org.br/csr-index.php
Access of people with disabilities
Ketchum Estratégia donates its services to promote the Instituto Brasil Acessível (Accessible Brazil Institute) that works with the concept of universal design in Brazil, which is the idea of building rooms and houses that provide accessibility, equality, freedom and safety to all people, independently of their temporary or permanent limitations and age.
The agency defined and implemented strategies of consciousness on the problem of environment usage with equally and independence by all people, with the exploitation of the universal design concept, presentation of a prototype (home – project “Universal Home”), that fulfilled the needs of the user in any stage of the life with environments that allow adaptations; mobilization of industry and the market to support the “Universal Home” project; mobilization of opinion makers (educational and trade institutions) and grabbing the interest of the Government on the theme.
Ketchum Estratégia developed strategies aimed at the market and its variable aspects, such as the negotiations with Casa Cor, the Latin America’s most important architecture show, which created an exposition directed to environmental concerns to this special audience.
Projeto Acesso (Access Project) www.projetoacesso.com.br is another entity supported by Ketchum Estratégia. The agency promotes the education inclusion initiatives of the program aimed at students with special educational needs in the visual deficiency area.
The agency donates working hours to promote Projeto Acesso and its new headquarters that has capacity to attend more students and to offer scholarship support in many disciplines, such as Math, English, Spanish, Chemistry and Physics, besides the art-therapy to help the socialization and autonomy of the children.
Needing Kids
Ketchum Estratégia also helps the ONG Alquimia (Alquimia NGO), which has 32 monitors to take care of children that live in slams. The objective of the institution is to assure quality of life and dignity to those kids.
The agency sponsors four big donations per year. In the Winter season, each child attended by the entity receives a blanket. In the Easter, they get chocolate eggs and in the Children’s Day, toys. In the end of the year, each family attended by ONG Alquimia receives a Xmas’ basket with seasoning food.
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