Case Study #7: Roadmonkey Adventure Philanthropy
Roadmonkey Adventure Philanthropy is an outfitter that combines physically challenging expeditions with meaningful volunteer projects, in partnership with respected humanitarian organizations around the globe.
Situation: Founded in 2008 by Paul von Zielbauer, an award-winning reporter and former Iraq correspondent for The New York Times, Roadmonkey sought to gain a quick foothold in the industry via high-profile media coverage of its innovative brand of social entrepreneurship.
Solution: Emily Whitfield Communications began in October 2009 with targeted outreach to travel outlets as well as to travel beat reporters in the major media; another goal was to reach high-circulation publications that serve potential clients, including women’s magazines. At the outset, a feature article in Outside magazine was already in the pipeline, and its release in the December 2009 issue helped kick off a round of aggressive pitching.
| “What I appreciate most about Emily’s skill is that she knows her business, making her automatically more valuable than 90 percent of public relations people who seem not to understand how the media and reporters — the ranks of which included me for 17 years — actually work. Emily has a sophisticated knowledge of public relations and an intuitive sense of which approach best achieves her clients’ goals. She’s a quick read, and she’s consistently gotten Roadmonkey substantive coverage in the largest media markets.” |
| Paul von Zielbauer, founder, Roadmonkey Adventure Philanthropy and former New York Times journalist |
Emily Whitfield Communications developed press lists, consulted on web content, and wrote news releases about Roadmonkey’s upcoming expeditions. In addition, she gained a first-hand understanding of the organization’s unique mission as a participant in a Roadmonkey expedition to Nicaragua in March 2010. The group, which together raised more than US$10,000 from their social networks to fund the project, spent four days in San Juan del Sur learning to surf and then travelled to a remote mountain village to build a playground for impoverished children. The building project was filmed by a documentary crew for the award-winning children’s PBS Kids Go! Series Design Squad Nation, which aired nationwide in the spring of 2011.
Results: Emily Whitfield Communications quickly secured stories in The Wall Street Journal (November 2009) and USA Today’s “Kindness” blog (December 2009). A successful pitch to National Geographic’s “Intelligent Travel” blog (April 22, 2010) led to Roadmonkey being included in the magazine’s prestigious annual “Tours of a Lifetime” issue (May/June 2010); similarly, the earlier Outside magazine coverage, combined with follow-up outreach, landed Roadmonkey in Outside’s “Trips of the Year” issue (April 2011).
Emily Whitfield Communications scored a major media hit in December 2010 with full-page feature in O, The Oprah Magazine headlined, “Philanthropic Globetrotting with a Guy We Like.” The magazine later included von Zielbauer in an online “Guys Who Are Saving the World” feature.
Roadmonkey’s inclusion in these prominent outlets has helped to cement the organization’s reputation as a premiere outfitter that lives up to its motto, “Travel Different.” The media exposure has also led directly to new clients, new business, inquiries from documentary and reality show producers, and numerous other opportunities.
Roadmonkey has retained Emily Whitfield Communications to continue this work through 2012.