Who We Help / Case Study

Friends of Animals

The Jack D. Hidary Foundation and Friends of Animals, an animal rights activist group, sought MAKE WAVES’ assistance in garnering media attention for a Valentine’s Day protest against the use of horse-drawn carriages in Central Park.  In order to facilitate that effort, MAKE WAVES was asked to create a comprehensive New York City media list, draft a media advisory and a post-event press release, and coordinate the press at the protest itself.

The Solution:

MAKE WAVES began its work by creating a comprehensive media list. The final media list contained 55 outlets in the New York City metro area and included print, broadcast, radio and online outlets.  We drafted and disturbed a media advisory to the complete list two days before the scheduled protest. We then conducted follow-up calls to all individuals who opened the media advisory and to other outlets that had covered similar stories in the past.

Ami Watkin, Account Executive, attended the event and spearheaded outreach to reporters.  At the event, reporters were present from City Hall News, New York City News Service, and Inside Radio. A photographer from the New York Times also attended.  Immediately following the protest, a press release was distributed to the full media list detailing the particulars of the event.

The Results:

Sewell Chan of the New York Times published an article about the event in the City Room blog, complete with a great photo.

Additionally, Air America Radio (WWRL-AM) conducted a live interview with Donny Moss, an independent animal activist and documentary filmmaker affiliated with the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages.  Check out Donny’s film here.