Careers

BACKGROUND:

Non communicable diseases are on the rise in Pakistan and are contributing to nearly 58% of the total mortality in the country. Excess sugar consumption is one of the major causes of obesity and its related NCDs. Sugar Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) are a significant source of intake of added sugar increasing risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, liver and kidney damage, heart disease, and some types of cancers. The evidence suggests that a decrease in the consumption of SSBs can reduce overweight and obesity and related NCDs. Imposing taxes on SSBs is an evidence-based, cost effective strategy to reduce its consumption, related NCDs and possibly increase in the revenue for the country.

Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH) was formed in 1984 in Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) under the Patron-ship of the President of Pakistan at that time. The main aim & purpose of PANAH was to disseminate information about spread of ischemic heart disease, its causative and risk factors, their control & modification so as to prevent, minimize and control the widely progressing cardiovascular diseases and other non-communicable diseases. PANAH works closely with policy makers, media, researchers and civil societies to advocate for policies to reduce NCDs. 

PANAH is seeking a digital agency that will work with their coalition, to support their digital advocacy efforts. The project will utilize social media platforms in Pakistan to educate the public and relevant interest groups about the harms of SSBs and to build an active movement of engaged citizens to help push for taxes on SSBs. The project will also focus on countering opposition from the beverage industry to increasing taxes on SSBs.

CAMPIGN objectives

The overall goal of our digital media campaign is to carry out a coordinated advocacy that leads to an increase in the surcharge and/or federal excise duty on sugar-sweetened beverages by January 2022. The digital media agency will work closely with PANAH and GHAI’s in country consultant and communication team at headquarter to seek advice, coordinate and adjust the campaign where required.

The digital media campaign will help public health organizations and partners achieve the following objectives by January 2022:

• Raise awareness of the harms of SSBs, its role in increasing prevalence of NCDs and strengthening Public support for increasingtax on SSBs.
• Leverage influencers to demonstrate support and encourage policy makers to take action leading to increasing surcharge or taxes on SSBs.
• Engage opinion leaders, celebrities and other noteworthy people on the social media platforms to ensure wide message reach and high message visibility and impact.
• Expose wrongdoings, tactics, and interference from the beverage industry in their efforts to undermine a tax on SSBs.

SCOPE OF WORK

The scope of work for this project will include building and strengthening existing digitalmedia campaign and to gear it towards mobilizing support for increasingsurcharge and tax on SSBs.

1. Engaging audience and increasing public knowledge of healthy food policy measures: The project will focus on digital strategies to continue to build awareness and mobilize the public to take action on healthy food policy, building upon work done during the first year of the project. To promote increasein SSB tax in Pakistan, advocates will need to develop a robust campaign that utilizes digitalmedia tools to raise awareness of the harms of SSBs and need for a surcharge /SSB tax, and neutralize attempts by opposition to delay or undermine the tax. Not only the campaign will raise awareness, also help develop a cadre of engaged citizens, opinion leaders, health professionals and civil society organizations who are willing to take action and raise collective voice for increasing taxes on SSBS.

2. Strengthening a Cohesive Coalition:The project over the last 14 months has been able to mobilize support and bring together the various support groups including health professionals, medical associations, diabetic associations, civil society alliances, child rights activists and various government departments.The campaign will be built on the existing support and continue engaging theexisting coalitionand expanding support groups to mobilize support for increasing taxes on SSBs, The agency will work with coalition partners, to mobilize a movement about the harms of SSBs and the need for decision makers to take immediate action for increasing tax on SSBs. The coalition organizations can integrate their social media channels with uniform and agreed digital media messages to drive their specific pieces of the agenda, as well as benefit from the steady stream of traffic generated from centrally developed and managed content.

3. Message Development: The project, in close coordination with the broader advocacy campaign, will develop six to eight core themes of content to drive interest and exposure of healthy food policy more broadly. This broad base of interest will be a resource pool for the public to take additional action that directly relates to the objectives of the campaign. The agency will ensure that the messages developed under each theme are uniform, aligned with project objectives and feedback is sought from coalition partners before finalizing the contents.

4. Monitoring & Evaluation: The agency will continually assess the project to measure impact in public engagement and involvement as well as response to calls to action. The agency will therefore set up evaluation metrics that monitor both quantitative measurements (such as public engagement, site traffic, likes, followership, retweets, number of positive mentions, page views etc.) and qualitative values, such as conversion, attitude change, track comments, note a change in tone and action taken. The monitoring and evaluating will track progress on overall activity as well as identify types of content that are most effective in driving the campaign.

Project Timeline

April 2023-January 2022

Agency Profile

The preferred agency will have proven experience and knowledge in utilizing digital and social media platforms (mobile technology, Facebook, Twitter, apps, etc.) to support social issues or policy progress (such as nutrition or other public health issues) and a documented track record of helping clients develop effective, goal-driven social media plans or campaigns. Additional criteria include:

• A strong understanding of how to use social media to not only raise awareness, but mobilize targeted audiences to express opinion or take action.
• Experience in using social media as a critical component in a political or issue-advocacy policy setting.
• The ability to transfer this knowledge to the local NGO partners who may have limited experience with digital advocacy campaigns.
• Proven ability to develop robust tracking and measurement programs to establish goals, test/optimize tactics, and monitor progress.
• Expertise in developing and implementing rapid response programs in social media.
• Experience working in coalition or alliance settings with multiple stakeholders who need to execute a consistent, unified campaign.
• Experience with social media advertising, including testing, platform compliance and analytics.

Proposal Guidelines

Proposal submissions should include the following components:

Strategy

• A 5-month social media strategy and supporting activities that cover the needs documented in the Scope of Work (above). This should include, but not be limited to, opinion leader outreach strategies; recommendations for social media platforms to be utilized; approach to utilizean existing centralized website; parameters for the frequency of content postings to social media platforms; and other necessary components. The strategy should also include traditional media and offline communications and advocacy tactics that will amplify the impact of the social media strategies.
• The strategy should identify key tactics to build an engaged audience, including detailed approach to testing and optimizing different types and themes of content for maximum public participation.
• The strategy should identify specific actions online and mobile followers can take to advance the adoption and implementation of the tax
• The strategy should also include tactics to monitor and respond to breaking news, key developments or other rapid response scenarios.
• A timeline or work plan for implementation of the strategy.

Coordination

• Specific strategies to coordinate and mobilize a group of organizations on social media campaigns and best practice.
• A plan to help organizations effectively use and collaborate on this social media campaign.

Evaluation

• A process and outcome evaluation plan with recommended indicators and metrics of success and progress.

Agency profile

• A detailed description of the agency’s capabilities in the following areas: strategic planning, graphic design, mobile/SMS broadcast, online advertising, and social media account management.
• Staff: Brief biographies of key staff who will execute the campaign.

Budget

• A detailed budget is required. All costs must be itemized to include an explanation of all fees and costs.

Submission Instructions

Please e-mail your submissions no later than 15 April 2023 topanah84@gmail.com with copy to foodpolicyprogram@gmail.com