Media relations on a national scale. An unprecedented legal settlement 14 years in the making. Half a million beneficiaries across the nation to inform. Over a thousand media outlets to alert.

The $3.4 billion Cobell vs. Salazar Settlement was the result of a class action lawsuit seeking an accounting for mismanaged trust funds and assets belonging to over 500,000 Individual Indian Money (IIM) account holders. A court-ordered notification plan required class members be notified of their rights to participate in, object to, or comment on the Settlement. To do this, potential beneficiaries first needed to know about the Settlement and its details.

Throughout the notification period, Desautel Hege Communications, in partnership with Kinsella Media of Washington D.C., led the media relations campaign to notify class members of the Settlement. From the initial launch and through our efforts, the campaign resulted in over 88 million impressions across the nation with a combined advertising equivalency of over $3.9 million.

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Lead plaintiff Elouise Cobell meets with President Obama prior to his signing legislation approving the Settlement.