670,500 adults in Washington state have diabetes; that is nearly 10 percent of the population. This number is predicted to grow to nearly one million by 2025. When learning these staggering statistics, I was shocked. Of course, I was aware of diabetes and I have personally seen the hardships it creates because my cousin was diagnosed with Type I a few years ago, however, I had no idea how many people this disease affected.

So, when Communiqué received an invitation to assist with promoting World Diabetes Day Seattle, I was thrilled to take part in such an important cause. World Diabetes Day is a worldwide campaign that occurs every year on November 14, during Diabetes Awareness Month. It focuses on raising awareness for the growing number of people with diabetes and those at risk. Cities all over the world partake in this campaign, including Seattle. While World Diabetes Day Seattle pursues the global goals previously mentioned, another very important aspect of the Seattle event is highlighting the astonishing strides made by our local research community.

We understood that our role of securing coverage would be an important aspect of inviting and educating the community. Communiqué decided the best way to promote the event to the community was to attain calendar listings in local publications and news sites, secure broadcast coverage and invite people through social media. We secured 16 calendar listings, tweeted 381 times, gained 295 Facebook likes, received mentions on King 5 and Q13 Fox and attained two segments on Evening Magazine (see below for an outline of the results).
Our efforts, combined with the hard work of the entire World Diabetes Day Seattle team, led us to attract a crowd of over 300 people on November 14. Not only was the attendance high, but the event itself was inspiring and lively! Governor Jay Inslee spoke about his personal connection to diabetes and his commitment to fighting the disease and award winners spoke with passion and conviction when describing their innovative ideas and research projects. Blitz the Seahawk and Blue Thunder, the Seahawks’ drum line, brought an infectious energy to the crowd as we marched through the Seattle Center to the Zumba flash mob at the EMP.

We had an incredible time working with the more than 20 partner organizations involved, the Seahawks, the local community and the rest of our event team! We are amazed by the outpour of support we saw and cannot wait to see what World Diabetes Day Seattle 2015 can do! We hope to see you there!

Broadcast: 

• King 5
• Q13 Fox
• Evening Magazine, Nov 17
• Evening Magazine, Nov 28

Facebook Page:

• World Diabetes Day Seattle

Twitter Handle:

• @WDDSeattle

Calendar Posts:

• The Seattle Times
• 425 Magazine
• Seattle P.I.
• Seattle Refined
• King 5 News
• Capitol Hill Seattle Blog
• Kent Reporter
• Kitsap Sun
• My Ballard
• Redmond Reporter
• Auburn Reporter
• Bellevue Reporter
• Courier-Herald Newspapers
• Marysville Globe/Arlington Times
• Peninsula Getaway
• Lake Stevens Journal