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RMS tackles Somali pirates
FULL service marketing agency RMS has secured a six-figure global advertising, design, PR and social media account.
The Cheshire-based agency has been appointed by a consortium of international shipping organisations to highlight the plight of innocent merchant seafarers taken hostage by Somali pirates.
RMS presented proposals for a campaign entitled ‘SaveOurSeafarers’ to a board of more than twenty CEOs from the world’s leading shipping organisations. A campaign website, advertisements, PR and social media strategy also received unanimous approval.
Ruth Shearn, managing director of RMS, said:
“It is crucial we do away with the romantic images people have about pirates. Johnny Depp’s portrayal of the charming Captain Jack Sparrow could not be further from the truth. In reality, pirates are violent, unscrupulous and immoral individuals who kidnap, torture and sometimes kill their captives, while demanding millions of dollars for their release.
“All our activity is geared towards two very specific objectives – to raise awareness of the human and economic cost of piracy, and to urge people to lobby their government to take action and change outdated maritime laws before more lives are lost and the problem escalates even further.
“The website has a facility that enables individuals from countries around the world to send a personalised letter to their government, urging them to take action.”
An advertising campaign, initially targeting business leaders and political influencers, will launch on 1 March with insertions in global editions of The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times.
More than 800 seafarers are currently held captive by Somali pirates. Acts of piracy in the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and the Western Indian Ocean are almost a daily occurrence. Captives are held for an average of eight months. Eighty per cent of pirates caught are released without charge because of outdated maritime laws.
On 22 February, four American citizens were shot dead by Somali pirates.
