The Campaign

This campaign leveraged the emerging power and influence of social media to engage the South Korean population with the G20 Seoul Summit and to enable people around the world to share their thoughts and opinions about the issues that were being debated by their political leaders. A a social media landmark was created by developing the first-ever official Facebook and Twitter pages for a G20 Summit. Additionally, the team proposed the idea for the Presidential G20 Summit Committee Chairman SaKong Il to deliver updates on a blog about the global economic discussions taking place at the Summit to readers around the world. The campaign is now regarded by many multi-national organisations, including the European Commission Council, as providing a benchmark for the use of social media in engaging the wider public in this type of political summit.

The Brief

The primary goal was to harness the power of social media to increase awareness of the Summit around the world and encourage involvement and debate among the wider population, both within South Korea and beyond. In addition, the South Korean government wanted to leverage the G20 Seoul Summit to raise awareness of South Korea’s culture and its position as a leading economic power around the world.

Results

The G20 Summit successfully encouraged public involvement through social media, raised awareness of South Korean culture, and positioned the country as a leading economic power • 3,041 Facebook fans expressing interest in South Korea and its role in the Summit: “I think this summit has a purpose to unite our world and spread world peace” • 1,164 Twitter followers, generating such positive feedback that the European Commission Council now uses this as a benchmark for the use of Twitter as a political communications channel. This was the first G20 Twitter channel worldwide. • 13,650 views on Flickr • 725,574 YouTube views, first YouTube account for a G20 Summit • “Talking to the Leaders” campaign included participants from Spain, France, US, Philippines and other countries, and featured a video made by members of popular boy group “Dong Bang Shin Ki”, further increasing mainstream interest in the Seoul Summit. • SNS channels raised awareness of South Korea as the first Asia country to host a G20 Summit

Execution

In addition to traditional efforts like a welcoming event, bilateral talks, official press conferences, First Lady Programs and the International Media Center, which served as the main hub for journalists and press members, the following social media elements were incorporated: • Launch of Facebook fan page: The main channel for distributing news related to the G20 Seoul Summit and news of South Korea. It was a channel to connect with Facebook users around the world. • “Talking to the Leaders” campaign: Positioned as an opportunity for people to express their opinions to the G20 leaders • Launch of Twitter account: Positioned as a channel to post short and instant news related to G20 • Launch of Flickr: Various G20 event photos were posted to raise people’s interest and anticipation • Launch of YouTube channel: Utilized as a source to gather and distribute videos related to G20 • Digital Engagement: Monitored conversations and provided real-time responses.

The Situation

In November 2010, the G20 Summit of the world’s leading economic powers was to be hosted by Seoul. This was seen by the South Korean government as an opportunity to engage the national population and demonstrate to the wider world the country’s pride in being the Summit host, especially as it was the first time a non G-8 country was hosting the G20 Summit. Experts in Korea worried about a low level of local interest in the Summit and media networks expressed concern that ratings would be low, since the Summit is not popular with a mainstream audience.

The Strategy

The Toronto G20 Summit, which took place six months prior to the Seoul Summit, was used as a platform to spur initial interest in the upcoming Seoul summit. Branded symbols, online promotional platforms and printed promotional materials were developed in advance. A range of social media platforms was used to facilitate public participation in the G20 debates, including the “Talking to the Leaders” campaign, which allowed anyone to upload a video onto Facebook with a question or comment for the G20 leaders. After the Toronto Summit, a strategy centered around online and media ads supported efforts to increase interest and excitement for the Seoul G20 Summit.