THE RAOUL WALLENBERG ALGORITHM

TitleTHE RAOUL WALLENBERG ALGORITHM
BrandRAOUL WALLENBERG ACADEMY
Product/ServiceTHE RAOUL WALLENBERG ALGORITHM
Category A12. Not-for-profit / Charity / Government
Entrant GULLERS GRUPP Stockholm, SWEDEN
Idea Creation GULLERS GRUPP Stockholm, SWEDEN
Idea Creation 2 RAOUL WALLENBERG ACADEMY Stockholm, SWEDEN
Media Placement GULLERS GRUPP Stockholm, SWEDEN
PR GULLERS GRUPP Stockholm, SWEDEN
Production GULLERS GRUPP Stockholm, SWEDEN
Credits
Name Company Position
Johanna Sturk Gullers Grupp PR Strategist
Johan Yilmaz Gullers Grupp Creative Director
Cornelia Böttiger Gullers Grupp Project Manager
Kajsa Runnérus Gullers Grupp Producer
Christian Hammar Gullers Grupp Creative Director
Jerker Belvert Gullers Grupp Creative Director
Jacob Lindberg Gullers Grupp Copywriter
Anton Severin Gullers Grupp Copywriter
Isaac Kuehnle - Nelson Gullers Grupp Developer
Merhawit Habte Gullers Grupp PR and Social Media
Matilda Hedengren Gullers Grupp Graphic Design
Yoel Svenzén Gullers Grupp Graphic design
Jens Öhgren Gullers Grupp PR Consultant
John Gille Columbus Gullers Grupp Film Producer
Olle Wemne Gullers Grupp Research
Per Fridsjö Gullers Grupp Animation

Why is this work relevant for PR?

World leaders’ behavior online is frequently discussed. But how does it affect us? The algorithm offers a new perspective on the consequences of leaders’ words on Twitter. We were able to showcase an abstract idea and make it more accessible by visualizing how society’s temperature decreases when leaders act publicly without compassion. Raoul Wallenberg Academy is a small nonprofit organization with a low public awareness. The goal was to make people understand why they exist and the importance of what they do through PR. During launch-week, Raoul Wallenberg Academy was featured in all the major media houses in Sweden.

Background

The Raoul Wallenberg Academy (RWA) is a non-profit organization that works in the spirit of Raoul Wallenberg to inspire today’s youth to become the compassion leaders of tomorrow. RWA wanted to highlight the importance of compassionate leadership. Today, how our world leaders act and write on social media has a significant impact on our society. What they write can trigger substantial drops on the stock market and even cause future wars. We needed to remind them of the power that is at their fingertips and the importance to think twice about what sentiments they broadcast to the world and to act with compassion. The purpose was to increase awareness of the Raoul Wallenberg Academy’s work and to highlight the importance of compassionate leadership online. The goal was to get 1 000 people to use the hashtag #warmupourglobe within one month, and at least ten media outlets to mention the organisation.

Describe the creative idea

What world leaders say on Twitter affects us all. 280 characters can spark crises that affect millions. Is it possible to visualize the importance of humanitarian leadership both online and offline, and how it leads to a better society? The Raoul Wallenberg Algorithm, is a digital tool that analyses tweets from 300 world leaders in real time. IBM’s Watson AI is used to analyse the tonality conveyed by those leaders, including anger, fear and happiness. The algorithm calculates a real-time compassion temperature based on the tweets and the number of followers of each leader. As tweets are analysed, a 3D globe on the campaign website changes color and temperature according to a unique Raoul scale. The compassion temperature scale is a symbol to show our leaders the importance of compassionate leadership.

Describe the strategy

The campaign primarily targeted donors and young people interested in social issues. The purpose was to increase awareness of the RWA’s work and to highlight the importance of compassionate leadership online. With a minimal budget, we tried to create an idea that was powerful enough to spread organically. Publicity is crucial as the organisation relies on donations for funding. World leaders’ behaviour online is frequently discussed in media. But how does it affect us? The algorithm offers a new perspective on the consequences of leaders’ words on Twitter. We were able to showcase an abstract idea and make it more accessible by visualizing how society’s temperature decreases when leaders act publicly without compassion. In order to tell our story and create engagement, we launched the campaign on Raoul Wallenberg’s remembrance day to put the campaign in a relevant context.

Describe the execution

To engage our target audience, we invited people to spread compassion by using #WarmUpOurGlobe when tweeting to help increase the worlds compassion temperature. By using the hashtag in the campaign, everyone can engage with the algorithm. In order to tell our story and create engagement, we launched the campaign on Raoul Wallenberg’s remembrance day to put the campaign in a relevant context. The Swedish Professor and well-known author Micael Dahlén was an external commentator. He confirmed and highlighted the relevance of the campaign, by discussing the challenges that the algorithm pointed out. By launching the campaign on Raoul Wallenberg’s remembrance day, we linked the tool to an exclusive and important date in history for Raoul Wallenberg as a symbol of compassionate leadership. The campaign became a success by combining digital innovation, leveraging world leaders and human emotions, scientists, influencers and young engaged students. Campaign period: 17th January – 1th February

List the results

The campaign had a reach of 23 000 000 million impressions during the first week and appeared on the cover of Sweden’s leading daily newspaper and on Swedish public service TV. More than 1 600 people interacted with the campaign, which was trending on Twitter for 13 hours despite competing for attention with a party leader debate. Online mentions of the RWA increased by 4890%. The Algorithm has been a conversation starter and it has taken Raoul Wallenberg Academy to new arenas. Several organisations committed to additional donations to the RWA. The director of RWA, Sarah Scheller, was named one of the 75 top female leaders in Sweden in 2018 and was invited to the Swedish embassy in Paris to present the project. The tool is now used in schools to teach young people about the importance of compassionate leadership. All this with a limited budget of 1000 euro for media buy.