Neil Agius: An ocean hero takes on his greatest challenge yet
ChallEnge
Neil is an athlete but he's also an activist at heart.
He planned the longest non-stop, unassisted, current neutral, open water sea swim in history.
A world record.
But he was doing it to raise awareness and push for change.
His previous swims had been tied to litter collection campaigns in the community which had been successful locally.
But he needed a new mission to take his story beyond Malta's shores.
PRSS WRKS helped manage the press attention around the swim.
The swim challenge, 100 miles (160 km in open water) also poses logistical challanges which need to be managed.
Solution
PRSS WRKS worked with Neil’s team to develop a new policy imperative for his swim.
A decision was taken that Neil would use The 100 Mile Swim to lobby governments to ratify and properly implement new United Nations rules to protect marine habitats, harnessing on the work being done by UN Patron of the Seas Lewis Pugh.
Sometimes the unforeseen happens.
Roughly halfway into his swim, Neil was forced to abandon the challenge due to unforeseen circumstances beyond his control.
PRSS WRKS had prepared a contingency press plan including press briefing packs, talking points, and sought leading expert opinions which were distributed to the press to help inform their reporting with accurate and reliable information in real time.
Speaking points for a live video and interview requests were also prepared.
Result
The new UN policy imperative positioned Neil’s activism within a global context and successfully caught the attention, not just of local media houses, but also of some global media brands.
The contingency plan prepared by PRSS WRKS informed the media.
The narrative on the jellyfish swarm also shaped the media’s coverage which reported how the presence of jellyfish proved the importance of Neil’s activism.
