The press release begins, "The American Red Cross is ‘burning’ people’s most precious memories to raise awareness about fire prevention during Red Cross Month. Home fires occur every eighty seconds in the United States, and the Red Cross responds to a fire every eight minutes nationwide. In less than 80 seconds, people can save lives by participating in an awareness campaign to help."

The Every 80 Seconds campaign, launched by the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago, is a multichannel effort that virtually burns personal images from the Facebook pages of those who connect to the campaign. The desired result: a more personal understanding of the devastating loss that comes from a home fire.

In this FIR interview, co-host Shel Holtz speaks with Jackie Mitchell, director of marketing and communications for the American Red Cross’ Chicago region, about the origins and execution of a campaign that exists almost entirely away from the Red Cross’ website, leveraging Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social channels. Partners are also an important part of the campaign. For example, visitors to the Chicago Tribune website will see the page burn up before their eyes, leading them to an invitation to visit the Every 80 Seconds campaign and witness their personal photos consumed by fire.

(Note: The audio quality on Shel’s track is less than exceptional; we were unable to filter out hotel room noise picked up the microphone. Sorry about that.)

Get this podcast:

• Download the MP3 file (8.01Mb, 19:56)
• Get the show on iTunes
• Subscribe to the FIR Interviews RSS feed
• Get the FIR app for your iPhone

About our Conversation Partner

Jackie Mitchell leads marketing and communications efforts for American Red Cross of Greater Chicago and serves as a Red Cross national media spokesperson throughout the US by virtue of Red Cross deployment. With experience in the non-profit and Fortune 500 sectors, Jackie combines the best of international for-profit operations with non-profit purpose.

Jackie speaks in Chicago and nationally on how social media has introduced a unique opportunity to engage and mobilize a new kind of employee and volunteer – the ambassador. Most recently, she spoke at Ragan Communications Social Media Conference, PR/MKTG Bootcamp, Northwestern University’s FORUM, and the Social Media Club of Chicago. She is published writer and has received numerous awards and recognitions for her contributions to the writing, communications, and public service fields including the Illinois Governor’s Outstanding Volunteer Award and the American Red Cross Advance Public Affairs Team "Rookie of the Year."

Connect with Jackie on Twitter at @your_mssunshine.

Share your comments or questions about this podcast, or suggestions for future interviews, in the FIR FriendFeed Room. You can also email us at fircomments@gmail.com; call the Comment Line at +1 206 222 2803 (North America), +44 20 8133 9844 (Europe), or Skype: fircomments; comment at Twitter: twitter.com/FIR. You can email your comments, questions and suggestions as MP3 file attachments, if you wish (max. 3 minutes / 5Mb attachment, please!). We’ll be happy to see how we can include your audio contribution in a show.

To receive all For Immediate Release podcasts including the weekly Hobson & Holtz Report, subscribe to the full RSS feed.

This FIR Interview is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years. Information: www.ragan.com.

Podsafe music – On A Podcast Instrumental Mix (MP3, 5Mb) by Cruisebox.

(Cross-posted from For Immediate Release, Shel’s and my podcast blog.)