UNHCR SOCIAL MEDIA PACKAGE: BRIGHTER LIVES FOR REFUGEES 2014
FINAL: March 2014
Introduction
The launch of the IKEA ‘Brighter Lives for Refugees’ campaign on Monday 3rd February in 43 countries/
territories provides UNHCR with a substantial opportunity to communicate and raise awareness of
UNHCR and the refugee cause to multiple new audiences including the general public, IKEA customers
and IKEA co-workers. Social media provides a vital channel through which to do this.
This Social Media Pack contains information, ideas, materials and guidance for communications through
your own UNHCR national social media channels for the duration of the campaign.
About Brighter Lives for Refugees
Between Monday 3rd February and Saturday 29th March 2014 IKEA and the IKEA Foundation will run
‘Brighter Lives For Refugees’. For every LED light bulb (IKEA range name: LEDARE) sold in participating
IKEA stores globally during campaign time, the IKEA Foundation will donate €1 to UNHCR. The money
raised will fund UNHCR interventions in Ethiopia, Chad, Bangladesh and Jordan, specifically:
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Improved access to sustainable lighting and energy including solar street lights, indoor solar
lanterns, and other renewable energy technologies such as fuel efficient cooking stoves (60% of all
funding).
Improving primary school access and education retention for refugee children (40% of all funding).
IKEA and the IKEA Foundation have expressed a specific and direct wish to focus communication on the
‘Improved lighting and access to renewable energy’ portion of their support. The campaign will not
actively communicate about ‘Education’.
Materials and Further Information
All images, case studies and info graphics, including Photoshop/art files (.psd) to enable translation of
text, are downloadable from here: http://unhcr.org/mediaikea/index.html
Should you require further guidance, please contact:
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Social Media: Christopher Reardon, Senior Digital Editor/ Writer, +41 22 739 8937,
Reardon@unhcr.org
The partnership: Jeremy Sprigge, Fundraising Development, +44 207 759 9504, sprigge@unhcr.org
and Larissa Schlotterbeck, Fundraising Development, +44 207 759 9535 schlotte@unhcr.org
1. THE SOCIAL MEDIA PACKAGE
The social media package contains a selection of sample tweets and posts for Twitter and Facebook
which national Associations and Branch Offices can share on their own social media channels during the
Brighter Lives for Refugee.
UNHCR counterparts are requested to ‘like’ the IKEA Foundation’s Facebook Page from their own
National Facebook page
1.1 Main Campaign #Hashtag
For the duration of the campaign, and for all suitable social media activity, we request that you use:
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#BrighterLives4Refugees (23 characters)
Where relevant please include the following #hashtags: #IKEA (5 characters), #IKEAFoundation (14
characters), #UNHCR (6 characters).
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Use of word ‘Retweet’ and ‘RT’
Where possible, please include the words ‘Please Retweet’, ‘Pls Retweet’ or the abbreviation ‘Pls RT’.
Research has shown that tweets have a 12x higher chance of being retweeted if you ask for it, and 23x
higher if you actually spell out the word “retweet”.
1.2 TWITTER CAMPAIGN AND EXAMPLE TWEETS
At launch:
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#UNHCR welcomes the start of #IKEA #BrighterLives4Refugees campaign to bring lighting & energy
to families in refugee camps. Pls RT
Have you heard of #IKEA’s campaign to bring lighting to refugee families? (Link to press release/
campaign webpage) Pls Retweet
#UNHCR thanks #IKEA co-workers for their support at the start of the #BrighterLives4Refugees
campaign Retweet
#UNHCR thanks #IKEA customers for their support at the start of the #BrighterLives4Refugees
Campaign RT (Link to press release/ campaign web page)
With the support of #IKEA staff & customers we can bring sustainable lighting & energy to refugee
families. #BrighterLives4Refugees
Help #UNHCR bring sustainable lighting & energy to refugee families in Ethiopia, Jordan, Chad &
Bangladesh. Pls Retweet (Link to press release/ campaign web page)
Refugee families in Ethiopia Jordan Chad & Bangladesh will soon benefit from sustainable lighting &
energy thanks to #IKEA #UNHCR RT
During campaign:
Offices have the opportunity to engage individuals in the campaign by asking them to contemplate the
importance of light and energy, what it allows us to do, and what it prevents us from doing if we don’t
have it. This will enable you to raise a number of key themes that the campaign will address.
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When a refugee girl collects firewood in the dark, she is at risk. Light provides safety.
#BrighterLives4Refugees Pls RT
When a refugee mother walks to a neighbour’s shelter in the dark, she is at risk. Light provides
safety. #BrighterLives4Refugees Pls RT
Imagine if your town or city had no streetlights. Light provides safety to refugee families.
#BrighterLives4Refugees Pls RT
Ever tried doing your homework in the dark? With light refugee children can continue to learn.
#BrighterLives4Refugees Pls RT
How well would you do at school if you had to study in the dark? The power of light is education.
#BrighterLives4Refugees Pls RT
A child who can study after sundown has a better chance of staying in school.
#BrighterLives4Refugees Retweet
What if your family had to eat dinner in the dark? By providing lighting & energy we can improve
refugee lives #BrighterLives4Refugees RT
How do you think lighting & energy can improve refugee lives? #BrighterLives4Refugees
What if you had to stop work at sunset? By providing lighting & renewable energy we can build
#BrighterLives4Refugees Retweet
How would your life change if you had no light after dark? #BrighterLives4Refugees
What would you stop doing if your day finished at sunset? #BrighterLives4Refugees
#UNHCR is working with the #IKEAFoundation to bring sustainable lighting & energy to refugees.
Find out more. #BrighterLives4Refugees
“With the lamp my children can now study & read their books when they come home from school”
refugee Makabo #BrighterLives4Refugees RT
“We use this lamp to guide our way when we have to go outside after dark which makes it much
safer to walk around” refugee Makabo #UNHCR RT
At campaign close:
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Thanks to your support for the #IKEA campaign, we will bring sustainable lighting & energy to
refugees. (Link to press release/ campaign web page) RT
Thank you #IKEA customers & staff. With your support we can build #BrighterLives4Refugees in
Ethiopia Chad Bangladesh & Jordan RT
Thanks to #IKEA customers & staff #UNHCR will bring lighting & energy to refugee families in
Ethiopia Chad Bangladesh & Jordan RT
1.3: FACEBOOK COVERS & INFOGRAPHICS
1. Launch of Brighter Lives for Refugees (Facebook cover)
Today UNHCR is proud to announce the start of the IKEA ‘Brighter Lives for Refugee’ campaign which
will raise money to bring sustainable lighting and energy to families living in UNHCR refugees in Ethiopia,
Chad, Bangladesh and Jordan.
There are nearly 10.5 million refugees globally. Many live in refugee camps where an absence or lack of
light after sunset can have a devastating effect on safety and security. The new campaign will help to
provide solar street lights, indoor solar lanterns, and other renewable energy technologies to refugees,
making each camp a safer and more suitable home. Please share and show your support if you believe in
building ‘Brighter Lives for Refugees’
2. Human Interest Story : Solar Lanterns for Indoor Use
“Before we had the (solar powered) lamp, life slowed down and was difficult after dark. With the lamp,
my children can now study and read their books when they come home from school, we use this lamp to
guide our way when we have to go outside after dark, which makes it much safer to walk around.” - 35
year old Somali refugee Makabo, who lives with her three children in Kobe Refugee Camp, Dollo Ado,
Ethiopia
3. Human Interest story: Solar Street Lights
Before the street light was installed, you were afraid to leave your home, even visiting the toilet had
dangers. We feel much safer now, the light even reaches our home so it’s easier for me to cook for my
family and my children can still read their books after dark. There are less bad people around at night
and the sense of security is much better now.” – Somali Refugee Nuny who lives with her husband and 2
children in Kobe Refugee Camp, Dollo Ado, Ethiopia
5. Impact of Solar Street Lights (Info graphic)
TEXT: What impact can one Solar Powered Street Light have? A lot if placed in a refugee camp! Just one
Solar Street Light could bring benefits to 300* refugees. A whole set of them can transform a refugee
camp, making it a safer and more suitable home for families. The IKEA ‘Brighter Lives for Refugee’
campaign will help UNHCR to bring these benefits to refugees. Find out more (Link to press release/
campaign web page)
6. How the campaign works (info graphic)
TEXT: Wondering how IKEA’s new Brighter Lives for Refugee campaign will support UNHCR and fund our
work to improve the lives of refugees in Ethiopia, Chad, Bangladesh and Jordan? Check out this info
graphic to find out more.
1.4 Calendar of Activity and Key Social Media Moments for Year 1
It is suggested that the following key moments are factored into social media plans:
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Monday 3rd February 2014:
o Global Campaign Launch
o Distribution of Global Press Release
o Social Media on UNHCR Global Social Media Channels (Managed by HQ)
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Saturday 1st - Monday 3rd March 2014:
o Campaign half way point.
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Saturday 29th March 2014:
o Final day of campaign followed by distribution of ‘thank you’ press release
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April 2014
o I-witness: Selected IKEA Social to travel to UNHCR Camp funded by campaign to see impact
of funds raised.
1.5 Main Social Media Channels (Global)
UNHCR is currently using the following global Social Media Channels:
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UNHCR
Twitter: https://twitter.com/refugees
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/unhcr
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/unhcr/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/refugees/
IKEA Foundation is currently using the following global Social Media and online channels
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Website: http://www.ikeafoundation.org/
Blog (i-witness) http://blog.ikeafoundation.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IKEAFoundation
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/IKEAFoundation
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/ikea-foundation
1.6 Measurement
It is recommended that you measure the impact of you social media activity, so as to quantify its impact.
The following details some suggested measurement guidance:
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Tagged links: Whenever links are used on twitter, facebook, etc. it’s preferable to use tagged links
for easier analysis of impact.
Twitter: Tweet analysis (hashtag tracking, favorites, retweets) can be done with Twitonomy,
Hootsuite and other tools.
Facebook: On Facebook, each National Facebook page will need to measure its own post. Key things
to measure are: Likes, comments, shares for each post – both from your National page and
secondary (from people who liked, commented or shared the post). Reach (how many saw this post)
is less interesting than engagement, but the two are related in that the more people engage with
your post, the more Facebook lets people see it. Monitor the comments as well to get a sense of
sentiment.
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Websites: Use Google Analytics to monitor traffic to the pages where you are hosting the press
release, case studies, etc. You can see where the traffic is coming from (which websites, twitter,
etc.) as well as what those people do (how long they stay on the site, how many pages they
view, whether they donate, etc.)