GIFFORDS is the nationwide organization dedicated to saving lives from gun violence led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot while meeting with constituents in a grocery store parking lot in 2011. The group has helped lead the gun safety movement over the last decade by making significant investments in research and legal support, organizing a broad coalition that includes gun owners, and forging close relationships with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill and in state capitols across the country. With its tenth anniversary approaching, GIFFORDS hired SKDK to boost the organization’s public profile and help showcase what makes GIFFORDS unique within the gun violence prevention movement.
SKDK developed a comprehensive communications plan highlighting the gun violence prevention movement’s progress over the last decade and sharing the organization’s unique story with a national audience. That included securing coverage of a “Ten Years of Courage” report to track gun safety legislation at the state level. Understanding the organization’s history and its strengths, we helped GIFFORDS create unique branding to commemorate this important milestone, develop messaging around its most significant victories and challenges to win press attention, and build relationships with national media outlets best equipped to tell GIFFORDS’ story.
We pitched the “Ten Years of Courage” report exclusively to NBC News. We amplified the NBC News story, which was featured in CNN, MSNBC, Axios, and Morning Brew. Our outreach to the some of the nation’s most highly respected press outlets resulted in a joint interview with Gabby Giffords and her husband Senator Mark Kelly on ABC’s Good Morning America and a profile of Gabby and her work with GIFFORDS in the New York Times, which Politico Playbook called a “powerful read.” Additionally, we worked with Gabby on an op-ed in USA Today that ran on the anniversary of the organization’s founding entitled “Why I’m optimistic about reducing gun violence in America.” GIFFORDS’ executive director penned op-eds and participated in interviews related to political, legal, legislative, and other key coverage for the gun violence prevention movement. As a result of our efforts, GIFFORDS has stronger relationships with reporters across the country who are now calling them more frequently to participate in stories around gun safety.
