INTERVIEW: Salome Tsotsoria, PR & Marketing Manager of Radisson Blu Tbilisi

In October, the Radisson Blu hotels in Tbilisi and Batumi offered guests one “ pink” room available throughout the month, a portion of the proceeds from which were donated to a regional Breast Cancer Awareness and Research charity organization. GEORGIA TODAY spoke to Salome Tsotsoria, PR & Marketing Manager of Radisson Blu, to find out more about this social campaign.

What does the campaign stand for?

“Be Blu, Love Pink” is a global program launched by Radisson Blu in order to support the global fight against Breast Cancer. In this program, in the month of October, 290 hotels were involved in the campaign worldwide. The campaign aims to increase the awareness of the disease and ways to prevent it. We decided to offer our guests a special pink room, which was decorated with pink details, accessories, and informational brochures. 10% of room sales are to be transferred to the international Breast Cancer Foundation. Additional to that, we prepared a pink breakfast corner. The breakfast included products which are recommended by doctors to combat the disease. Hotel staff also collected money to help the patients on their own initiative. The general manager, Jordi Kuijthas, then doubled that amount.

How important is Corporate Social Responsibility for Radisson Blu as an organization?

Radisson Blu hotels are deeply involved in social responsibility activities. Throughout the year we have a variety of such activities, such as the "Think Planet" in which we take care of the environment by saving energy and water, and raising awareness while doing so and “Think People” where 80% of rooms are kept non-smoking, we offer 10 accessible rooms, and an organic menu in restaurants. Our “Think Together” program involves supporting world childhood foundation, the local Red Cross society and “parent’s house” (a house for families of children suffering with leukaemia). This, of course, is not the full list.

Have you been involved before or are you going to be involved in future in similar activities?

Of course! Our campaign “Blu for Pink” is not limited only to October. According to 2015 statistics, in Georgia up to 900 people died from breast cancer this year, an alarming indicator considering the population ratio. We decided not to wait until October to work on this issue and started activities far in advance so we could think of more effective ways to help patients. From that preparation process, we launched the "#BluForPink challenge" in social media.

Which media platforms are used for popularizing social campaigns?

In Georgia social media is the most effective way to communicate products and to reach a lot of customers. That is why we launched our #BluForPink social media campaign which made it super easy to become involved in charity work- it was enough to upload the video or photo with a hashtag #bluforpink and challenge your friends to donate to the charity. Different broadcasts covered the campaign so there was also a mixture of new and traditional media. Without the joint activities of companies and the media, it would be very difficult to reach the large segment of the population we did.

Breast cancer is a sensitive issue. What is the best communication strategy for a social campaign in this case?

We always avoid negative messages in our social campaigns, or during our media presence on radio or TV. It is, of course, essential to know the statistics so that people feel more motivated find out about preventative measures. 80% of our campaign messages are positive. Pink decoration, roses, pink breakfast, motivational stories told by patients; all evoke positive feelings, rather than fear and a need to hide from the truth.

Has there been the desired level of interest from the target audience of the campaign so far?

The private sector, charitable foundations, and the government are engaged in many activities to maximize awareness in society so that everyone realizes there are ways to timely diagnose, prevent and cure cancer. We have tried to ensure that there is maximum public awareness. Radisson Blu has received the desired feedback from our actions, which makes us both proud and extremely happy.

NATIA LIPARTELIANI