Many “Likes,” Zero Vaccinations
We give UNICEF a standing ovation for their recent fundraising campaign, which takes a shot (or two) at the value of a Facebook “like” for advocacy and social change purposes. UNICEF’s three commercials present different scenarios, but they each aim to communicate a single message: “liking” UNICEF on Facebook ain’t enough. Off-line actions (donating money, in this case) often do more to offer help where it’s needed.
Post-Oscars Ruminations on Film
Indiewire’s December interview with Cara Mertes, the new head of JustFilms at the Ford Foundation, is full of insights into the role of philanthropy in helping documentary filmmakers think about the impact of their films. Her comments are especially relevant for us as we continue our evaluation of ITVS’ Women and Girls Lead Global initiative. We’re on a mission to learn more about measuring the impact of films. APEP’s David Devlin-Foltz was a reviewer for last year’s BRITDOC Puma Impact Award. The Act of Killing won (a brilliant film!) but David’s highlight was getting to hang (briefly) with Susan Sarandon, co-star of The Greatest Motion Picture Ever Made, Bull Durham.
Messaging Confusion
On February 27th, the White House announced “My Brother’s Keeper,” a new collaboration with major foundations and corporations to improve the lives of young men of color. Or is it black boys exclusively? For a while there, this was unclear. Even The New York Times was confused. As communications professionals know, getting the right messaging can make a huge difference in achieving your advocacy goals. If an objective of the White House is to generate interest among the general public in the issues facing men of color, retooling their message is darn important.
