United Nations International Organization for Migration aims to stop serious abuses.

Newlink Communications, a South Florida-based public relations and strategic communications agency, was honored with the national PR News Corporate Social Responsibility Award for a hard-hitting public awareness campaign focused on the abuses and dangers of human trafficking. The initiative, created for the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM), reached approximately 79 million potential victims and opinion leaders in Central America, Mexico and the Dominican Republic with its counter-trafficking message.

Upon acceptance of the award at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., Sergio Roitberg, founder and President of Newlink Consulting Group, emphasized the urgency of informing potential victims of human trafficking of the risks involved. “The main targets of our campaign were opinion leaders as well as poor and illiterate women, who were desperate people willing to take the craziest risks for an opportunity in this country. Due to their desperation, they often fall prey to people who exploit and traffick human beings.”

Newlink’s effective communication campaign went right to the heart with raw, unedited, first-hand testimonials from actual victims of human smuggling and trafficking. Utilizing a diverse range of communication tools, including public service announcements, video news releases, editorials, the Internet and government relations strategies in each country, Newlink was able to distribute the message.

A public service campaign boosted awareness among lower-income populations about the perils of embarking on an unsanctioned journey to the U.S. with the help of “coyotes” (traffickers).

The media strategy took into consideration the illiteracy levels of much of the target audience, relying on visual and audio content to convey its information. Real-life examples portrayed victims of trafficking who were willing to share their stories.

“To see on camera a woman telling her nightmare of having lost a leg during an escape attempt from her smugglers says it all. For that reason, we investigated real-life testimonials and made sure they were included in the campaign,” said Roitberg.

The program provided press materials through news videos and PSAs, and created a website as a central database.

“One of the biggest highlights of our campaign was that instead of using flyers, Newlink developed comics whose main character was a woman who had been a victim of human trafficking and went back to her town to tell her story. This was a big hit,” added Roitberg.

“At Newlink, our corporate mantra is effective communication, no excuses. To know that our communication efforts impact behavior on this critical human rights issue is rewarding,” says Roitberg.