When I first wrote about this project, I thought the title embodied perfectly how we all felt in the agency – it’s just so rewarding to work for a good cause! Fast forward three months and with campaign results in, I’ll say it’s more than good; it’s fantastic to work for a good cause! Thanks to OMV’s customers, no less than 23,000 Euro was raised for the dyslexic community through the OMV Move & Help – Moving on With Reading programme. Since the campaign started at the end of April, almost 28,000 postcards were sold in OMV filling stations across the country, with the proceeds going to the project partner, the Romanian Association for Dyslexic Children. The Association will now be printing more educational materials for dyslexic children, including an Abecedary, and will support parents and teachers alike through seminars and advice. A small ceremony took place last week at the OMV Romania HQ and a Social Media News Release (SMNR) on this occasion was distributed. One of the things that we communications professionals miss (too) often is an evaluation of a project’s impact, beyond media coverage analysis of course. And with this programme, we are in for a treat. We knew the campaign worked, as ultimately a lot of money was raised, but we were thrilled to find out that OMV was the 4^th most visible retail brand in Romanian social media during May, according to a study by Zelist.ro. We’re also pleased that…

500 campaign support materials were displayed in filling stations

approx. 350,000 educational materials were distributed to OMV customers

the media covered the campaign in 63 stories in print, online and radio

2 TV stations announced the campaign with stories on primetime news

the Facebook cause to support fund raising counts 280 members while the Facebook page of the Romanian Association for Dyslexic Children is slowly growing as well

30 “I read better” Guidebooks were ordered online at www.dislexic.ro

Numbers aside, the feedback from the dyslexic community was great. More teachers and parents are now better informed and the first database of speech therapists in Romania is taking shape. Of course, there’s always room for improvement. And with dyslexia being such a low-profile topic in Romania, there is a long way to go. But with 1 in 10 children being affected by it in the world – we know that every step counts! As they say, in every end there is a beginning. At this time, OMV is looking past the pilot project and into potentially creating more opportunities for children to have access to equal education. As for me and my team, we are getting ready to do more of that good cause.