Activating audiences through hope

Since joining the organization in 2018, Lyons has internalized the importance of a holistic approach that prevents viewers from feeling hopeless. As Sandy Hook Promise co-founder and CEO Nicole Hockley, who lost her son Dylan in the tragedy, urged the Biden administration to create its new office for gun violence prevention, she said the non-profit is equally committed to education and awareness. A main component of establishing shared responsibility is reframing gun violence prevention as bipartisan, she said. 

“We want to make sure that everyone who’s viewing this feels empowered to be a part of the solution,” she said. “Our organization is making sure our messaging always has that angle of hope, and it’s been incredibly powerful to see how that has worked.” 

Recent BBDO NY work for Sandy Hook Promise also includes “Teenage Dream,” which reimagines Katy Perry’s hit to draw attention to the stolen innocence of survivors.