Our Work for the US Embassy in London

Aims

The U.S. Embassy in London was keen to capitalise on the worldwide interest in the 2008 Presidential Elections, and in engaging the UK public in discussion on election themes. The Embassy’s Cultural Section approached YouGovStone to co-host a series of activities that focused on different aspects of the U.S. elections, such as media coverage, new media, and the core issues for the American electorate.

Activity

The three live events included high-profile panelists and took place at the Embassy. Members of the YouGovStone ‘ThinkTank’ and Embassy guests cutting across the spectrum of UK society attended and were welcomed by the U.S. Ambassador. YouGovStone conducted research amongst its panel to support the events and it also signed up the Financial Times as media partner and SABMiller as drinks sponsor.

Outputs

The live debates were extremely well received and well attended. Panelists included US talk show hosts, Joanna Shields (President, Bebo), Jimmy Leach (former 10 Downing Street digital adviser), Melinda Henneberger (Slate Columnist), Andrea Tantaros (FOX News Commentator) and FT journalists in the chair. Two of the events were recorded and also streamed live on the Internet, reaching thousands of additional viewers.