Pearl S. Buck International begins a Global Marketing Campaign

This year, June 26 will mark Pearl S. Buck’s 130th birthday and the rollout of a multi-year global marketing
strategy across all of Pearl S. Buck International and our affiliate international offices. Beginning late last year during the global conference, leadership, and team members from Pearl S. Buck International, Pearl S. Buck Foundation Korea, Pearl S. Buck Foundation Philippines, Pearl S. Buck Foundation Taiwan, Pearl S.
Buck Foundation Thailand, Chongshi Girls’ School in China, and Pearl S. Buck International Vietnam met virtually to brainstorm and workshop ideas on how to better collaborate with each other and partner together under our shared umbrella of Pearl S. Buck’s cross-cultural and humanitarian legacy. Although each office serves different populations with different needs and has access to a range of human and financial resources, we are all guided by the same work and mission to bridge cultures, change lives, and create hope.

Sharing Pearl S. Buck’s Legacy with the World

Together, it was decided that one of these steps was to embark on a collaborative and coordinated global marketing strategy to not only spread knowledge about who Pearl S. Buck was and what her legacy still means today but to share with an even wider audience and future generations of the kind of work and service provided by the global Pearl S. Buck International family. Several milestone anniversaries begin on June 26, with Pearl Buck’s 130th birthday, followed by the 50th anniversary of her death on March 6, 2023, and the 60th anniversary of the founding of what is now Pearl S. Buck International on February 3, 2024. The plan is for each of these dates to be collectively commemorated with an event or marketing campaign to show that while we are an international organization, we are also connected.

Celebrating Pearl S. Buck

As part of this strategy, we will also begin adding pages this summer on the main Pearl S. Buck International website for each affiliate. These pages will share in their own language who they are, who they serve, and what they do. The discussion has also begun around the creation and design of a shared anniversary logo. In addition, each affiliate is planning its own activities and marketing within this global framework—Pearl S. Buck Foundation Korea, whose leadership and staff has been instrumental in leading much of the global marketing strategy, has already begun a local campaign to celebrate Pearl Buck’s 130th birthday. This includes a special feature in Korean Essay, a monthly literary magazine in Korea, as well as the return, after a 2-year hiatus due to Covid-19, of the Bucheon Pearl S. Buck Symposium. PSBFK will also distribute gift boxes commemorating Pearl Buck’s birthday to underprivileged children.

Bridging Cultures and Changing Lives Together

It has been exciting to lay the groundwork for increased communication and collaboration with all our affiliates, to hear their ideas and input, and to see the enthusiasm and excitement from all our international country offices as we work together—separated by distance but connected by our work and mission—to share Pearl Buck’s story with the world and continue bringing her cross-cultural and humanitarian legacy to those most in need.