As much as world change may be about politics or economics, at its heart it is a creative proposition. It’s about insight, engagement and persuasion. It’s about ideas that are imagined, communicated and delivered in ways that move individuals, communities and whole societies to stop, start or change the way they think and act.
It’s about selling.
And while the currency – time, energy, money – changes from issue to issue, the fundamentals of the transactions remain constant: one party inspires another to realize a better world. And to act.
So who better to stimulate the marketing of pro-social change than The Advertising Council (www.adcouncil.org), the largest producer of public education campaigns in the United States, and the World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org), the well-respected independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders on a host of global and regional issues?
These two great organizations and others – including Ketchum– are developing an online ‘library’ of case studies to serve as a repository of effective public education campaigns addressing pro-social issues, as well as a brief “how-to” guide for organizations planning to create or needing to elicit support for initiating such efforts. We’re using the working title “Creative For Good” as we want to capture the most innovative and engaging thinkers in the marketing services industry, but the actual site’s name may change before its debut.
Over time, we hope to catalyze an active global community of social change agents, enhancing the website with live events, compelling content and original research and analysis.
The site will be in active development from late 2012 through mid-2013, with a focus on adding content and involving as many interested parties as possible. There are many ways organizations can support its development. Right now, there are five ways the PR/marketing community can get involved:
- Share content. We’re looking for good examples of any pro-social campaign that is non-commercial, non-political and that does not advocate for any particular legislation. Health, safety, education and taking care of the environment are all suitable areas for inclusion. Submission templates and an example of a sample submission are available. Questions about submissions and the project as a whole can be forwarded to George Perlov, Project Consultant, at [email protected].
- Tell us what you know. Please share experience, knowledge and ideas for developing the site further.
- Spread the word. Help us engage your employees and partners through your internal and external channels.
- Join our community. Register to stay in touch as the project evolves.
- Show the way. If you have creative ideas or content for engaging others, we would love to hear them.
