The National Sikh Campaign Jan. 30 announced it has partnered with marketing firm FP1 Strategies to raise awareness of the Sikh religion in the United States.
The firm will develop and implement a strategy to improve the perception of Sikhism throughout the country, the Sikh organization said in a statement.
NSC and FP1, a Washington-based marketing firm with clients such as Facebook and Ford, will launch a major marketing campaign that will focus on increasing the Sikh American community’s presence in national and local news outlets, as well as social media.
FP1’s relationship with conservative media and organizations will also help NSC reach and educate Republican and right-of-center audiences, the NSC said.
AKPD, former President Barack Obama’s media team founded by David Axelrod and the Hart Research Associates, whose clients include the World Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Harvard University, have already been working closely with NSC to develop a media strategy to create awareness about Sikhs and the Sikh identity in America, the organization noted.
The marketing campaign is scheduled to launch in the spring through television advertisements, an innovative website, public relations efforts, targeted digital media and community events to affect change, it added.
“Engaging FP1 was a crucial decision in making our entire strategy complete, and their expertise in reaching conservative Americans will be valuable in expanding our reach beyond our target audience of millennials and progressives,” said NSC co-founder and senior adviser Dr. Rajwant Singh. “This is perhaps the first time that any U.S. Sikh community has undertaken a major, proactive effort to reach out to Americans nationwide.”
NSC was created to reduce the hate crimes and violence Indian Americans of the Sikh faith have faced since 9/11, and their mission has become increasingly important in today’s political and social environment.
Through research conducted in early 2015, it has been verified that when Americans learn about the key tenets of the Sikh religion, their feelings become far more positive, the NSC noted.
“The professional approach of our different advisers to tackle this difficult issue facing the Sikh American community is very impressive,” said NSC national outreach director Inderpal Singh. “Hiring agencies like FP1 Strategies is offering us a new way to understand and explain our religion among our neighbors.”
The National Sikh Campaign has continued to gain momentum in the past few months as it steadily reveals its sophisticated ads, website and cutting edge research to select cities across the country, it added. These materials will lay the foundation for their new, public education initiative set to launch in 2017.
