Flip the Script

R&R’s goal is to use its Flip the Script campaign to bring the message to and heighten the awareness level in our community to ultimately stop the cycle of bullying, especially early on in elementary school, and to provide resources for victims of bullying, parents, students and educators.

R&R’s commitment in assuring that the civil rights of all members of society are protected would lead to a number of partnerships with organizations throughout the state. A natural partnership with the Human Rights Campaign would include a number of employees of R&R volunteering to serve on the national board. Our objective would also include generating legislative or school-regulatory initiatives, or a new set of policies that provide solutions to the problem on a variety of fronts.

The Work

The name, Flip the Script, represented the idea of standing up against bullying by turning it on its head and “flipping the script,” getting a conversation started within families and among school leaders and elected officials. Our government affairs efforts would allow us to identify the need of codifying and addressing bullying through legislation.

The campaign initially launched in June 2011 with public service announcements in print publications, and on radio and TV; direct support from Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval included his declaring a “Week of Respect” to coincide with the start of the school year; collateral including stickers and posters distributed statewide so that students could embrace the campaign and feel empowered to put an end to bullying; and the development of a comprehensive website, flipthescriptnow.org, which provides a range of solutions and resources to young people, parents and educators. We also developed appropriate social media tools and organized a 90-minute statewide town hall meeting on the subject of bullying, conducted by Cox Communications; it included expert panelists, students, parents and educators who shared their real-life experiences with this issue.

In addition, we included a contest element to the campaign to encourage kids to engage in the movement and to be an “Upstander” in the fight against bullying in their own way. Contests were held culminating in high school takeovers whereby the Flip the Script campaign and our media partner, KLUC Radio, put on live concerts with popular musical artists, which helped set our Flip the Script campaign apart from all other anti-bullying efforts in Nevada. Continuing to keep the diversity of bullying on the forefront, Flip the Script would be the leading partner in GLAAD’s Spirit Day 2012, where we leveraged community partnerships that enabled us to turn the Las Vegas Strip’s marquees purple on October 19, 2012.

With support from the world’s largest reformed bully, and star of the movie The Hangover, Mike Tyson, and recording artists Hot Chelle Rae and Jake Miller, Flip the Script is keeping pop culture connected with anti-bullying messaging.

In 2013, Flip the Script launched nationally with support from USA Network’s Characters Unite and a special event, #unite LIVE: The Concert to Rock Out Bullying. With Carly Rae “Call Me Maybe” Jepsen to help kick off our national contest launch, the Flip the Script Commercial Challenge would encourage youth from across the country to use their voices to help communicate and grow awareness of bullying by creating their own 30-second PSA/commercial. The winning commercial, submitted by Lauren Bush of Dallas, Texas, was produced in early 2014 and ran on USA Network throughout that year. Among other special events, U.S. Senator Harry Reid, a strong partner in the fight for equal rights, would deliver a keynote address to a crowd of 600. Celebrity appearances included Holly Madison; Penn & Teller; Alec Mapa, cast member of Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives; Josh Strickland; Anthony Cools; Bobby Slayton; Tim Weaver, celebrity chef; Phantom cast members; and Jubilee! showgirls.

The Results

With more than 12 million earned media impressions valued at over $6.4 million, and a thriving social media presence, Flip the Script has become a powerful tool in the fight to stand up against bullying. Results achieved to date include:

  • During USA Network’s Concert to Rock Out Bullying, the hashtag #uniteLIVE would trend nationally, while @FliptheScript was tagged in most of those tweets, creating huge social media exposure for Flip the Script. The concert would create more than 41 million earned media impressions including coverage by USA Today, Seventeen Magazine, Billboard and the Hollywood Reporter.
  • R&R, in partnership with National Association of Broadcasters and Cox Communications, has, to date, secured $4.5 million in donated media, which had delivered more than 170 million impressions via TV and radio, and in leading print and digital media outlets across the state, and in regional or state editions of publications that include Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Time and Oprah.
  • Flip the Script has truly become a regional phenomenon with Salt Lake City, Utah, and its coalition partners, the Salt Lake City School District and Salt Lake City Police Department, along with Comcast and other partners joining the program.
  • Nevada Senate Bill 276 became law. Thanks to diligent work from R&R’s government affairs team, the law established Nevada as one of the toughest states in the country regarding anti-bullying legislation. We are pushing other states to pass similar legislation.
  • The law ensures every Nevada school establishes an anti-bullying safety team, managed by individual counties that partner with Flip the Script on a statewide anti-bullying council. It provides for an annual event that presents bullying prevention program recommendations.
  • R&R Partners Foundation was awarded the Governor’s Points of Light Award for its significant contributions to volunteerism in the state of Nevada through the Flip the Script Ambassador network.