In an era where Cannes Lions victories are typically dominated by multimillion-dollar branded campaigns and slick viral videos, Dini von Mueffling Communications (DVMC) proved that one person can lead an earned media revolution — and make an enormous difference. When Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell survivor and activist Virginia Giuffre passed away in April 2025, von Mueffling, who had been serving as her PR representative for six years, didn’t let the fight for accountability die with her. Instead, von Mueffling and her agency launched a relentless earned media campaign alongside Giuffre’s family to take up the mantle and continue fighting for justice and accountability. The year-long effort, dubbed The Legacy of Virginia Giuffre, was awarded a Titanium Lion and a Bronze Lion in the PR category during last week’s festival in the South of France. Unlike the campaigns the creative festival has become known for, DVMC’s work for Giuffre and her family wasn’t backed by a viral video, splashy art or other “bells and whistles” typically associated with Cannes entries. Even the submission itself was “very homegrown,” with von Mueffling simply speaking into her iPhone about the efforts she and her team supported over the past year, she said. The work was done pro bono, according to von Mueffling, with a budget of $0 — making the recognition from judges even more gratifying. “We didn’t make a film, we didn’t do any of those things. That’s what was so powerful to us,” she explained. “The jury probably doesn’t deal with this kind of scenario very much.”Immediately after Giuffre died, von Mueffling and her agency launched Giuffre’s family in the media, including a trip to New York City to meet with major outlets, media training, organizing interviews and honing messaging to keep Giuffre’s work alive. Von Mueffling also helped Giuffre coordinate her memoir, Nobody’s Girl, which was released posthumously in October. The book described the scale of Epstein’s global trafficking operation and the story of Giuffre’s own life.The agency’s continued push for accountability ultimately helped pass the Epstein Transparency Act in November, forcing the Department of Justice to release millions of Epstein files. The work, which also won at the PRWeek Global Awards in May, generated 4,503 unique articles online and media coverage in 118 countries, according to the campaign submissions for Cannes Lion.“It’s very important to remember that one person can make an enormous difference. A lot of the time, people don't believe that’s the case,” von Mueffling said of the work, describing Giuffre as “extraordinary.”“One person can start the revolution,” she emphasized. “That’s the main takeaway here. There’s a lot of risk in it but, you know, no risk, no reward.”PRWeek spoke with von Mueffling after the festival to discuss how the campaign came together and what she hopes people will remember as Giuffre’s legacy.PRWeek: The Legacy of Virginia Giuffre received a Titanium Lion and a Bronze Lion in the PR category at Cannes. What does it mean for the work to be awarded this kind of recognition? Von Mueffling: For one, I think it was amazing that PR got a Titanium because this was not a campaign that was attached to a mega creative campaign. This was a purely earned media campaign. That’s significant because the majority of what wins out of Cannes is branded campaigns, usually with a lot of money behind it. It was incredible that they recognized the work on its merits, without a flashy, big-budgeted creative campaign alongside it. How were you first introduced to Giuffre?About seven years ago, someone who knew that Virginia was looking for and needed representation referred me to her because of the past work I had done with Monica Lewinsky, who, like Virginia, as a young woman, was up against very powerful and rich forces. Everything we do is through the lens of social impact. I really thought Virginia was courageous and extraordinary. We met and it was a sort of love at first sight situation. We were navigating a lot of challenges because she was in the middle of a few legal cases at the time so we had to be extremely careful about what she could and could not say publicly.This campaign is called The Legacy of Virginia Giuffre. When would you say her legacy began?It began the day she died. It began with crafting the definitive story of her life, which we did the morning that she died, working exclusively with one journalist and then referring all other journalists to that story once it posted because we wanted to make sure there was no misinformation around her death; particularly because of the manner in which she died and all the conspiracy theorists out there. It began with that day and then, shortly thereafter, working very closely with her family to get them comfortable with doing media and picking up where she left off.What were some of the tentpole moments from this work that DVMC supported over the past year?The main ones were the rallies and press conferences on Capitol Hill that happened all fall; the release of [Giuffre’s memoir]; the push to pass the Epstein Transparency Files Act; the [former U.S. Attorney General] Pam Bondi hearing when she refused to look at survivors; the introduction of Virginia’s Law in January, which would end the statute of limitations on trafficking federally; and the stepping down of Prince Andrew — the removal of his titles by King Charles after her book came out and then his subsequent arrest.Giuffre’s story has become global knowledge thanks in part to DVMC’s efforts. What were the biggest challenges you and your team faced behind the scenes that the public never saw?This has been the longest year of my life and I’m not complaining by any means. This work has been so intense. In the jury presentation, they were asking us about strategy and, in this case, there was so little strategy, only because we were building the plane as we were flying it. Every week something else would happen. It’s very difficult to have a strategy in a situation like this because you’re just constantly responding. So much would be coming at us all the time that we would just be like, “OK, we’ll just keep going.” That was probably the biggest challenge of this was feeling like every day brought something new.What was the sentiment from people on the ground in the South of France about this work? I was incredibly heartened by how everybody that I met at Cannes Lions knew exactly who [Giuffre] was. We had so many people coming up to us and talking to us about how much this campaign meant to them and that really resonated with us. It’s the kind of thing that keeps you going forward.Unlike some of the other campaigns featured this year, the Epstein files is still an ongoing conversation. Just last Thursday, a judge ordered the Justice Department to release unredacted versions of several files. How are you continuing the work around Giuffre’s legacy?There's definitely a part two to this campaign. We’re speaking on the day that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of E. Jean Carroll, which is an absolutely enormous moment. The rest of this story is not written. We are feeling very hopeful that the public has paid close attention and is demanding more accountability and explanations. We’re seeing more Republicans break ranks and agree that the truth has to come out.When people look back at this campaign and Giuffre’s life, what do you hope they remember?It’s incredibly important for people to understand how difficult it is for survivors to speak out in the first place and, if they are choosing to, they are doing so alongside all the trauma that they’ve already gone through. They’re doing it because they don’t want this to happen to other people. This is not an intention-seeking situation. The naysayers say, “Oh, they’re just looking for the limelight.” That’s absurd. They’re doing this because they don’t want this to happen again and again, as it has for so many years, and because it is time for this change to occur.This is the biggest cover-up of this century, at least, and will go down in history as probably bigger than Watergate. The survivors have gone through so much to get to this point and to get to wherever we wind up. The toll that it’s taken on them cannot be underestimated.This story first appeared on PRWeek U.S.