Background
The Sovereign Order of Malta is one of the oldest institutions in Western and Christian civilization. A lay religious order of the Catholic Church, founded in 1048 and a subject of international law, the Sovereign Order of Malta has diplomatic relations with more than 100 states and the European Union and has permanent observer status at the United Nations. It is neutral, impartial and apolitical. Today the Order of Malta operates in 120 countries and major conflict scenarios where it provides assistance to people in need through its medical, social and humanitarian activities.
Objective
Implementation of a strategic communications and media relations strategy aimed at unifying, strengthening and optimizing the image of the Order of Malta, enhancing its humanitarian projects and role in supporting the international community. Promoting awareness of the Order of Malta and the activities of the Sovereign Council in Italy and highlighting in the international press the activities the Order carries out in the many countries where it is present through ambassadors, employees and volunteers.
Activities
Strategic Communications. Strategy for reorganization of the Communications Office. Strategy for engaging the global leading class, and devising a list of possible goodwill ambassadors for the Order. Implementation of special projects, including setting up and designing a photo exhibition “The Order of Malta Today” that was displayed at the UN headquarters in Geneva (to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Order’s status as Permanent Observer to the United Nations). Activities to produce talking points and other editorial materials. Support in the production and organization of the Order of Malta Ambassadors Conference and other in-person events and ceremonies.
Media Relations. Top media engagement and positioning strategy, both nationally and internationally, to publicize the Order of Malta and its projects and promote its image to the public, inside and outside the religious sphere, enhancing in the media the positive impact of its initiatives and its humanitarian mission.
Digital communication. Online positioning strategy through optimizing the presence on proprietary and third-party social channels, identifying potential collaborations with social communities and producing content of interest to the target audience.
Results
For two consecutive years, in 2024 and 2025, the Order of Malta participated in the Munich Security Conference, the event that attracts key international players each year to discuss security issues and challenges in the global geopolitical context. On both occasions, the Order of Malta organized a side event on the humanitarian situation in Lebanon, a theater where the Order has been present for decades as a reference entity for humanitarian support to the population.
With the support of Comin & Partners, the Order of Malta consolidated its media presence in Italy and in the main international press through the grounding of a strategy capable of integrating the institutional communication of a secular order with new keys and storytelling channels. Comin & Partners accompanied the Sovereign Military Order of Malta on a path of strategic positioning capable of enhancing its importance and history: the photographic exhibition held at the United Nations allowed, among others, to use the leverage of culture as a soft power to convey the Order’s key messages externally. Finally, in the long process of strategic reconstruction of its Communications Office, Comin & Partners provided support in redefining roles and activities, defining, together with SMOM’s top management, a set of guidelines and best practices.
