March of Dimes Canada is a leading national charity committed to championing equity, empowering ability, and creating real change that will help the more than eight million people with disabilities across the country unlock the richness of their lives.
The organization partnered with Perch Communications to launch a media relations campaign to earn national coverage for its trailblazing report, A Benefit without Barriers: Co-Creating Principles and Recommendations for Canada Disability Benefit Administration, co-authored with Prosper Canada.
In the report, the two organizations provided recommendations directly from the disability community for how the government can reduce barriers to accessing the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB), which promises to provide income security for individuals with disabilities across the country.
Media coverage was essential for increasing the visibility of the report and capturing the attention of members of the federal government who would be involved in the development of the CDB.
The organization partnered with Perch Communications to launch a media relations campaign to earn national coverage for its trailblazing report, A Benefit without Barriers: Co-Creating Principles and Recommendations for Canada Disability Benefit Administration, co-authored with Prosper Canada.
In the report, the two organizations provided recommendations directly from the disability community for how the government can reduce barriers to accessing the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB), which promises to provide income security for individuals with disabilities across the country.
Media coverage was essential for increasing the visibility of the report and capturing the attention of members of the federal government who would be involved in the development of the CDB.
ClientServicesMedia Relations
Campaign Planning |
CauseDisability Rights
CreditsStrategy: Jenny Spurr
Writing & Editing: Sara King-Abadi |
March of Dimes Canada partnered with Perch Communications to launch a media relations campaign to earn national coverage for its trailblazing report, A Benefit without Barriers: Co-Creating Principles and Recommendations for Canada Disability Benefit Administration, co-authored with Prosper Canada.
Read about the report in the Hill Times → |
"With support from Perch Communications, we were able to establish that we are capable of getting coverage for documents like A Benefit without Barriers, and demonstrated that we can effectively get the attention of the media and legislators as an organization."
- Amanda MacKenzie, National Director, Public Affairs at March of Dimes Canada
The Challenge: A Lack of Internal Resources and Capacity
March of Dimes Canada needed to earn national media coverage to ensure the report made an impact, but they had limited team resources and a tight schedule.
It was critical for March of Dimes Canada to get key messages from the report in front of federal decision-makers as parliament prepared to pass Bill C-22, the Canada Disability Benefit Act. Part of their strategy was to get the attention of Carla Qualtrough—then Minister of Employment, Workforce Development, and Disability Inclusion—through news clippings that were likely to come across her desk.
The March of Dimes Canada team didn’t have the internal bandwidth to develop and launch a campaign at the scale they were aiming for. Perch Communications came in with a media relations team that quickly developed and executed an outreach strategy on a tight deadline, earning March of Dimes Canada media coverage that made a significant impact on their cause.
It was critical for March of Dimes Canada to get key messages from the report in front of federal decision-makers as parliament prepared to pass Bill C-22, the Canada Disability Benefit Act. Part of their strategy was to get the attention of Carla Qualtrough—then Minister of Employment, Workforce Development, and Disability Inclusion—through news clippings that were likely to come across her desk.
The March of Dimes Canada team didn’t have the internal bandwidth to develop and launch a campaign at the scale they were aiming for. Perch Communications came in with a media relations team that quickly developed and executed an outreach strategy on a tight deadline, earning March of Dimes Canada media coverage that made a significant impact on their cause.
The Solution: A Comprehensive Media Relations Strategy
Perch Communications provided media training, strategy, and communications material, and conducted comprehensive outreach to news outlets across Canada to win coverage.
1. Putting the spotlight on community voices nationwide
The Perch Communications team provided media training to March of Dimes Canada executives as well as spokespeople with lived experience from the disability community to prepare them for print interviews and broadcast appearances. The training we provided to community members focused on strengthening their self-advocacy skills in an interview setting.
Our team also set up regional media liaisons who coordinated communication between interviewees and their local news outlets. This allowed March of Dimes Canada representatives to get their story out within a limited timeframe and secured coverage in local outlets.
“Designating regional leads for our spokespeople allowed us to be really responsive to opportunities as they came up and strengthened our relationships with the outlets in that region," says Sasha Elford, National Manager, Public Affairs at March of Dimes Canada.
2. Seizing unexpected opportunities for more impact
March of Dimes Canada was invited to participate in a televised scrum with Green Party MP Mike Morrice and Senator Kim Pate the day before the media campaign launched. To take full advantage of this opportunity, our team met with March of Dimes Canada’s Vice President, Victoria Pearson, to advise on strategy and messaging.
With our team’s support, Victoria was well prepared to take part in the scrum on short notice—her first on-camera appearance. The scrum was broadcast by CPAC, earning March of Dimes Canada additional visibility during the campaign cycle.
“Getting the call to do the scrum meant that we had the attention of Parliament Hill. We got the call at 5 PM on a Friday to join the scrum on a Tuesday. Jenny was extremely responsive, coming in at the last minute to advise on what to communicate and how to communicate it," says Amanda.
3. Delivering communications material that earned coverage
Our team created a press release for the launch of the report, complete with quotes, statistics, and boilerplate copy that streamlined publication. We translated the release into French to broaden our reach to Francophone outlets. Our team sent over 200 personalized pitches to journalists across Canada to promote the release.
We also drafted an op-ed in collaboration with the March of Dimes Canada team on behalf of Leonard Baker, CEO of March of Dimes Canada, and Elizabeth Mulholland, CEO of Prosper Canada. The op-ed was picked up by the Vancouver Sun.
“What I think had the biggest impact was the op-ed. Its publication really moved the needle and it was republished in a lot of places we didn’t expect, which I think is amazing,” says Amanda.
The Perch Communications team provided media training to March of Dimes Canada executives as well as spokespeople with lived experience from the disability community to prepare them for print interviews and broadcast appearances. The training we provided to community members focused on strengthening their self-advocacy skills in an interview setting.
Our team also set up regional media liaisons who coordinated communication between interviewees and their local news outlets. This allowed March of Dimes Canada representatives to get their story out within a limited timeframe and secured coverage in local outlets.
“Designating regional leads for our spokespeople allowed us to be really responsive to opportunities as they came up and strengthened our relationships with the outlets in that region," says Sasha Elford, National Manager, Public Affairs at March of Dimes Canada.
2. Seizing unexpected opportunities for more impact
March of Dimes Canada was invited to participate in a televised scrum with Green Party MP Mike Morrice and Senator Kim Pate the day before the media campaign launched. To take full advantage of this opportunity, our team met with March of Dimes Canada’s Vice President, Victoria Pearson, to advise on strategy and messaging.
With our team’s support, Victoria was well prepared to take part in the scrum on short notice—her first on-camera appearance. The scrum was broadcast by CPAC, earning March of Dimes Canada additional visibility during the campaign cycle.
“Getting the call to do the scrum meant that we had the attention of Parliament Hill. We got the call at 5 PM on a Friday to join the scrum on a Tuesday. Jenny was extremely responsive, coming in at the last minute to advise on what to communicate and how to communicate it," says Amanda.
3. Delivering communications material that earned coverage
Our team created a press release for the launch of the report, complete with quotes, statistics, and boilerplate copy that streamlined publication. We translated the release into French to broaden our reach to Francophone outlets. Our team sent over 200 personalized pitches to journalists across Canada to promote the release.
We also drafted an op-ed in collaboration with the March of Dimes Canada team on behalf of Leonard Baker, CEO of March of Dimes Canada, and Elizabeth Mulholland, CEO of Prosper Canada. The op-ed was picked up by the Vancouver Sun.
“What I think had the biggest impact was the op-ed. Its publication really moved the needle and it was republished in a lot of places we didn’t expect, which I think is amazing,” says Amanda.
The Results: Coverage That Captured Legislators’ Attention
March of Dimes Canada earned coverage across national print and broadcast news outlets, including an op-ed in the Vancouver Sun, capturing the attention of Parliament Hill and putting the spotlight on voices from the disability community.
In addition to the op-ed publication in the Vancouver Sun, we were able to secure coverage in several national web and print outlets including Global News and The Hill Times. March of Dimes Canada spokespeople also appeared on broadcast news including CBC Radio’s BC Today, CTV Morning Live, and CBC Radio-Canada’s Dans la Mosaïque.
“The cross-country media coverage has been great because MPs saw coverage of the report locally, keeping the issue top-of-mind after they returned home from Ottawa for the summer,” says Amanda.
Media coverage of the report and its findings, including Victoria’s participation in the CPAC scrum, played a role in putting pressure on the federal government to pass the long-awaited Bill C-22. The bill was successfully passed into law before parliament’s summer break.
“When we’ve met with members of government and politicians, they’ve told us the report has been added to the list of documents that inform what they’re doing in terms of designing the regulations for the CDB,” Amanda adds.
Shortly after the bill passed, Kamal Khera succeeded Carla Qualtrough as Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities. She contacted Leonard, March of Dimes Canada’s CEO, for a meeting three days after her appointment to discuss the report.
With the support of the Perch Communications team, March of Dimes Canada was able to generate interest from federal decision-makers and push their cause forward. Our expertise in media relations earned nationwide coverage for the report, amplifying the voices of members of the disability community and highlighting March of Dimes Canada’s innovative ideas.
In addition to the op-ed publication in the Vancouver Sun, we were able to secure coverage in several national web and print outlets including Global News and The Hill Times. March of Dimes Canada spokespeople also appeared on broadcast news including CBC Radio’s BC Today, CTV Morning Live, and CBC Radio-Canada’s Dans la Mosaïque.
“The cross-country media coverage has been great because MPs saw coverage of the report locally, keeping the issue top-of-mind after they returned home from Ottawa for the summer,” says Amanda.
Media coverage of the report and its findings, including Victoria’s participation in the CPAC scrum, played a role in putting pressure on the federal government to pass the long-awaited Bill C-22. The bill was successfully passed into law before parliament’s summer break.
“When we’ve met with members of government and politicians, they’ve told us the report has been added to the list of documents that inform what they’re doing in terms of designing the regulations for the CDB,” Amanda adds.
Shortly after the bill passed, Kamal Khera succeeded Carla Qualtrough as Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities. She contacted Leonard, March of Dimes Canada’s CEO, for a meeting three days after her appointment to discuss the report.
With the support of the Perch Communications team, March of Dimes Canada was able to generate interest from federal decision-makers and push their cause forward. Our expertise in media relations earned nationwide coverage for the report, amplifying the voices of members of the disability community and highlighting March of Dimes Canada’s innovative ideas.
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