‘We are Sikhs’ campaign wins PRWeek US award

The campaign was launched  to educate the American society about the community

A campaign launched by a not-for-profit organization in the US to generate awareness about the Sikh community has won the prestigious PRWeek US award for promoting a cause.

The campaign titled ‘We are Sikhs’ was launched by National Sikh Campaign (NSC) to educate the American society about the community. FP1 Strategies that carried out the campaign also won the award which is known as the “Oscars of the Public Relations Industry.”

Launched in April 2017, ‘We are Sikhs’ campaign also aimed at reducing the hate crimes targeting Sikhs. NSC had raised about $1.3 million for the campaign. The organization decided to launch such a campaign after a mass shooting happened at a gurdwara in Wisconsin in 2012.

The commercials created as part of the campaign were broadcasted across the US on CNN and Fox News, as well as TV channels in Fresno, California, where one of the largest populations of Sikhs in the US live. Along with TV advertisements, online commercials, third-party engagement on both sides of the aisle, online amplification through targeted email blasts to journalists, and community events were carried out to generate awareness about the Sikh religion.

“The campaign drove online conversation that reached more than 5.5 million voters and gained the attention of many of Washington’s most influential organizations. Judges commented on this ‘provocative campaign that really broke through’ and ‘put a face on one distinct minority group’ and noted ‘the real humanity in the execution’,” said PRWeek in a statement.

“A post-campaign poll proved the group moved the needle, with significant increases in the percentage of people who knew more about Sikhs and said the group had ‘generally American values,’ believed in ‘equality and respect for all’ and were ‘patriotic’,” it added.

Several Sikh Americans made immense contributions to make the initiative a big success. Along with the Sikhs, some Hindus also made contributions to the campaign.

The NSC is an organization with a mission to promote a better understanding of the Sikh community in America and other Western countries and to project a positive image and profile of the Sikh community.