5 WAYS TO TRANSLATE THE WOMEN'S MARCH INTO REAL CHANGE

Boston Women's March/Courtesy Anne Zeiser

By Anne Zeiser
Founder of Azure Media 
Author of  Transmedia Marketing: From Film and TV to Games and Digital Media

The Women’s March on January 21, 2017 - the day after Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration - was momentous. Not only for the moment it represented, but also for the movement it’s unleashing. Young people are feeling their agency. Creatives are producing social commentary. Journalists are reestablishing their craft. And democracy is galvanizing populist support. 

While it’s harder to get people to show up at events than to donate money, they turned out in droves for the Women’s March. At least 500,000 marchers peacefully protested in Washington D.C., for the “protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families - recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country.”  Some 400 sister marches popped up in every major city and minor burg in the U.S., garnering 1.3 million participants. Hundreds more sprung up in Paris, South Africa, Australia, Canada, and Antarctica. In all, there were 672 separate marches worldwide, firing up 2 million activists.

By way of historical comparison, the Women’s March on Washington was the largest combined protest in the U.S. and the second largest in D.C., second to the 2013 March for Life to protest abortion, which attracted 650,000. The 1963 March on Washington, the historic civil rights rally on the Mall where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech drew 250,000 people; from 1965 to 1971 there were a series of anti-Vietnam marches, the largest being the 1969 Vietnam Moratorium, which attracted 600,000 over a week; and the 1995 Million Man Marchfor black rights drew between 400,000 (National Park Service) to 837,000 (Boston University/ABC research). 

But activism alone doesn’t automatically translate into change. Change happens from long-term organized actions that strategically exert pressure at critical pivot points. Strong movements operate both from the bottom up and the top down. Your actions matter because grassroots movements influence leaders and power brokers to make bold moves and break with party lines. The drumbeat must be unrelenting and sustained - for as long as it takes. Therefore, everyone who marched and everyone who marched in spirit must act in some meaningful way on an ongoing basis. 

You can contribute to real change by acting and participating in myriad ways. You can: volunteer, donate money, lobby elected officials, raise money, protest, contact the media, write articles, make art, spread the word. Here are five practical means to translate your energy and activism into change:

1.   Find a Group or Cause to Champion - Connect to an organization or a cause you care deeply about and stick with it. Don’t spread yourself too thin with too many causes, but rather commit to fewer things over the long haul. Whether you choose a larger organization like Planned Parenthood, ACLU, Center for Accountability, or Climate Reality or a local educational or health group, make a concerted effort to contribute in some way every week. Over time it will be a fulfilling part of your life, rather than a task.

 2.   Talk to Your Elected Officials - Elected officials represent you. You must make your opinions heard throughout officials’ terms, not just on Election Day. Your town, city, and state websites have your local officials’ contacts and the National Priorities Project has them for your Congressional representatives. Go to your officials’ offices hours. Call, e-mail, and write them to let them know how you feel about the issues of the day. Flood their phone banks and their mailboxes. Organize your own petition via Care2.com or sign onto organized petitions by CREDO Action, MoveOn.org, or Change.org. Sign the petitions, tag the links with hashtags, and share them widely on your digital platforms - Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat, blog, vlog, podcast, and website.

3.   Get Involved in Public Service - Be active in the political process. Run for office or support candidates who represent your ideology. You can start locally on school committees or in state legislatures. Virginia, New Jersey, and North Carolina have key state-level elections this year. There are 38 governors’ races in 2017 and 2018 that may affect gerrymandered districts (recarving the borders of a district to ensure a party or candidate wins). The mid-term Congressional elections in 2018 are critical to the complexion of Congress. Because the Electoral College is likely to remain in the 2020 presidential election, the best way to elect a president who represents your values may be to work in a sister battleground state such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Maine, or New Hampshire to swing those electoral votes.

 4.   Register to Vote/Get Out the Vote - Voting is the most powerful tool of democracy, yet it’s the most overlooked. If everyone eligible had voted last fall, we might have had a different outcome today. Ensure everyone you know who’s a citizen of 18 years or older is registered. Many people don’t register because they don’t know how. Work with your town hall and state to spread the word on how to register. Help voters sign up in inner cities, on farms, and on college campuses. Check out Rock the Vote’s efforts to increase voter registration and The League of Women’s Voters initiatives to make registration easier and stop voter suppression. During elections, encourage people in your sphere of influence to exercise their franchise. Drive those that need help to vote or volunteer at your local polling place. 

5.   Support Journalism and Freedom of the Press - The days of believing fake news are dead. Sound journalism - supported by verified facts - is central to an informed citizenry. That’s why freedom of the press is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. To develop a discerning eye, read various news sites, watch news programs, and subscribe to a newspaper or publication. Note the difference in how media outlets report on the same issue. Understand the difference between reporting and opinion (public affair programs and op-eds). Watch documentaries on many subjects. PBS has some of the best. Cultivate and share your trusted news sources widely on social and digital media. Hold social media sites and news outlets responsible for fact checking. Support #Truth and #Journalism and denounce #FakeNews and #AltFacts.

There’s much that you can do, but these five avenues will focus your energy in ways that matter. If you want to keep following the Women’s March thread, its organizers have outlined “10 Actions for the First 100 Days” of Trump in office. They offer 10 doable, actions with easy-to-follow steps like socializing and sending postcards to elected officials. There’s no dearth of means to sustain the momentum and make a measurable difference. Add your ideas, organizations, and links in the comments below. 

But, don’t wait to be led by others to become a change agent. 

“If something needs fixing, then lace up your shoes and do some organizing.” -- President Barack Obama

This story also appeared in the Huffington Post

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Anne Zeiser is a critically-acclaimed transmedia and social impact producer and media strategist. She’s stewarded films and iconic series for PBS, produced news for CBS, managed national brands for marketing firms, and founded Azure Media, which develops transmedia projects on air, online, and on the go that fuel social impact in communities, in schools, and in capitals. She’s the author of Transmedia Marketing: From Film and TV to Games and Digital Media from Focal Press’ American Film Market® Presents book series. Chapter 29, “Media-fueled Social Impact” outlines how to create social change movements using the media.

Follow Anne Zeiser on Twitter @AzureMedia www.twitter.com/AzureMedia

5 THINGS TRUMP'S WIN TAUGHT MY 12-YEAR-OLD SON

TomWang112

By Anne Zeiser
Founder of Azure Media 
Author of  Transmedia Marketing: From Film and TV to Games and Digital Media

My son’s middle school pre-election vote was prescient. Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton by 7%. “Could this actually happen in real life?,” asked my 12- year-old. “Yes it could.” For more than a year, I have predicted that this outcome was likely. Ask my friends and family about the heated discussions at cookouts and holiday get-togethers. Most dismissed my theory that Trump would win because of the hidden, growing trend he represented and pandered to. I suspected the polls wouldn’t fully reveal this partially underground phenomenon. 

Now that it has come to pass, what to say to a kid who heard Trump’s “build a wall” statement in real time and called him on it vehemently? A kid who formed his own opinion of who was the better candidate, landing firmly on Hillary Clinton. So, when Trump became the President-elect, what could he learn from the loss of his chosen candidate?



These are my suggested takeaways:

1. Life isn’t fair. It never has been and it never will be. The sooner and the more deeply you learn this, the better-equipped you will be to handle life. “So what?” if a kid stole your ball, the teacher blamed you for something you didn’t do, a colleague presented your idea as his, or your candidate didn’t win? The takeaway: Decide how you are you going to handle it. Are you going to blame your current circumstances on external forces?  Are you going to dwell on the fact that it’s unjust? Or, are you going to translate that ire into resolve to do something about it… starting now? 

2. Find the good in people. Are all of Trump’s supporters, bigots, misogynists, and haters? Probably not. But they’re all scared. They’re afraid of losing something precious — their economic or social standing. We know how swiftly fear brings out the worst in people. We saw the rise of fear in Nazi Europe and we saw FDR brilliantly allay it when the Great Depression descended upon this country. The takeaway: Work hard to understand what people are afraid of. Is it fear of lost jobs, diminished quality of life, or “otherness?” Once fear’s understood, you can combat it – by demonstrating how rising tides raise all boats or how we all share a common human experience. 

3. Understand that you have power.  Whether you’re a 12- or 87-year-old; a business owner or unemployed; a white male or a member of a disenfranchised group; you are powerful, especially in this country. You have rights. You have a voice. You have platforms. You have agency.  The takeaway: Every person’s actions matter. The greatest movements began with one person who inspired others to stand up for good. What you do in your life – no matter how seemingly insignificant – has a ripple effect on the people around you, and so on, and so on. Gather up your power and feel its strength.

4. Identify clearly what needs fixing. While there’s a lot to do to make the world a better place and it’s great to feel passionate about many things, you can’t fuel real change without identifying concrete problems and solutions.  What will ensure all Americans have equal rights under the law? How do we give everyone an opportunity to prosper? What measures will protect our planet from climate change? The takeaway: Find your cause(s) and identify the various ways to improve it. Some solutions involve top-down institutional or policy change. Others use bottom-up grassroots public pressure. Most use both. What elements of those solutions can you truly advance?  

5. Create a practical action plan.  Actions affect change. Your actions should be proportional to the concern you feel. If you think the long-standing future of the country is at stake, then make a long-standing commitment to getting involved. Progress requires hard, protracted work. You can sign a petition or post on social media, but will armchair activism be enough? The takeaway: Evaluate the most effective ways you can make a difference. Are you a strong writer or a tech guru? Can you lend your skills to like-minded people or groups? Perhaps you will shape your career to positively impact this world. Will you run for office? Invent something useful? Advocate for the needy?

In seeking lessons around the outcome of the recent election for my 12-year-old – a person old enough to understand what’s going on in the world, but not old enough to fully feel his agency in changing it – I learned a lot. Proof positive that parenting often teaches us more than we teach our children.  In that spirit I share what I hoped my son would learn during this exceptional time – a time that’s raw, but rife with opportunity.

This updated story also appeared in the HuffingtonPost.

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Anne Zeiser is a critically-acclaimed transmedia and social impact producer and media strategist. She's stewarded films and iconic series for PBS, produced news for CBS, managed national brands for marketing firms, and founded Azure Media, which develops transmedia projects on air, online, and on the go that fuel social impact in communities, in schools, and in capitals. With media partners from PBS and the BBC to Miramax and Sikelia Productions, Zeiser has successfully launched and marketed film studios and media organizations, feature and documentary films, television series and specials, mobile games and apps, and online video and media communities. She's the author of Transmedia Marketing: From Film and TV to Games and Digital Media from Focal Press' American Film Market® Presents book series. You can follow her at the book’s Web site or on Twitter @azuremedia.

A MORE SOCIALLY-RESPONSIBLE SUPER BOWL

By Anne Zeiser

Founder, Azure Media

Author, Transmedia Marketing: From Film and TV to Games and Digital Media

When the price of a 30-second spot on CBS's broadcast of the 50th Super Bowl costs $5 million, you'd think advertisers would use every micro-second of that spot to sell product. In last Sunday's Super Bowl they did, but not necessarily in the conventional way.  First-time advertiser, Colgate toothpaste stood out in this year's pigskin fest among a mostly tepid array of ads with animals, celebrities in strange situations, and half-baked attempts at humor. Colgate's spot, "Save Water" showed us how running water while brushing our teeth wastes up to four gallons of water -- more than most people in the world have for an entire week. It also spawned a social awareness campaign and personal pledge about our responsibility to conserve water, #EveryDropCounts.



Colgate 2016 Super Bowl Ad: "Save Water"
Credit: Colgate

Why would Colgate-Palmolive use one of the last remaining mass audience platforms -- reaching 100 million viewers -- to deliver a message about protecting the environment? Because clean water is a finite resource and we squander it mindlessly. And, because Colgate understands their audiences. They understand that demonstrating their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and appealing to our better selves is smart business.  Corporate America can espouse a symbiotic double bottom line -- to make money and make the world a better place. With audiences being more socially-conscious than ever and demonstrating loyalty to brands that conduct fair trade, advance sustainability, and produce products that embody those philosophies, attending to both bottom lines is critical to the future.

These dual impulses aren't mutually exclusive. Nor are they new. When I helped open new resorts for Marriott's Hotels & Resorts throughout the Caribbean and Hawaii, I could still care about our impact on the ocean and coral reefs. When I launching new flavors and products for Brigham's Ice cream, I could also launch "KidSpeak" a program by and for kids, whose first effort was to collect books for the child victims of Apartheid in South Africa. My work in social responsibility and cause marketing  in the early '90s was inspired by the consumer goods corporate grandparents of CSR from the '70s and '80s, Ben & Jerry's, Starbucks, and Stonyfield yogurt. Many of the current CSR leaders are tech giants, including Microsoft, Google, and Apple.  (Though there are many modern consumer brand models like Panera Bread, Legos, and Tom's of Maine).

Colgate wasn't alone in social messaging during Super Bowl 50. In addition to the requisite Clydesdales, Budweiser aired an anti-drunken-driving social message spot. Standout British actress, Helen Mirren, tersely and sarcastically admonished viewers who drink and drive in #GiveaDamn.  Both Colgate and Budweiser paid full freight for these spots, proving the intersection of meaning and money can achieve both financial and social impact success for socially-conscious companies and brands.

And in a clever anti-sexual and domestic violence spot "Text Talk," the No More advocacy group educated audiences on how to recognize the signs of domestic violence through a back-and-forth text exchange between two friends. The NFL donated the airtime for this public service announcement (PSA), a wise messaging choice for a sport that's been riddled with violence against women.

Finally, Beyonce's half-time performance was a carefully orchestrated communication, both as the world debut of the brand new song, "Formation" and as a highly visible forum to deliver a social message. The all female performers were dressed in black berets like Black Panther activists and formed an "X" in the middle of the field, giving a nod to Malcolm X.  The Super Bowl performance and Beyonce's video of the single (with graffiti saying "stop shooting us") is the latest salvo in the #BlackLivesMatter movement, which is taking cities and college campuses by storm. The media platform of music and the Super Bowl's world stage has given a new voice to the movement.

The power of media is incalculable. Nothing raises awareness or creates deeper understanding of an issue or a cause than storytelling through media. Archimedes said, "Give me a place to stand, and I will move the world." Media can be that place to stand. It can have a higher purpose. Since the first cave drawing or moving frame, media has had the power to influence and transform society. Media has affected Americans' perception of truth and justice -- from biting episodes about equality in All in the Family in the '70s to the harsh realities of the "live" Gulf War in the '90s to the sensitive presentation of gender identity in The Danish Girl this past year.

To all the world's companies and storytellers, don't stop exploring new ways to use the power of media -- from film and videogames to ads and songs -- to fuel social change.

"A More Socially-Responsible Super Bowl"appeared earlier this month in The Huffington Post 

Anne Zeiser is a critically acclaimed transmedia and social impact producer and media strategist. She's stewarded films and iconic TV series for PBS, produced news for CBS, managed national brands for marketing firms, and founded Azure Media, which develops transmedia projects on air, online, and on the go that fuel social impact in communities, in schools, and in capitals. Zeiser is the author of the new book, Transmedia Marketing: From Film and TV to Games and Digital Media from Focal Press' American Film Market® Presents book series, which explores using media for social change in the chapter,"Media-fueled Social Impact."

SEATTLE TIMES ASKS, "DOES GATES FUNDING OF MEDIA TAINT OBJECTIVITY?"

PBS's Rx for Survival - A Global Health Challenge

By Anne Zeiser

The Seattle Times recently questioned whether the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's media partnerships taint their objectivity. The Foundation's global health partnerships with ABC, PBS, NYT, The Guardian, HuffPost are neither unethical, nor novel. They are about public education on an underacknowledged issue that affects us all -- global health.

Gates' first major global health media partnership, which set the stage for these future forays, was with PBS in 2005 on a multi-platform, multi-year global health project and impact campaign, Rx for Survival - A Global Health Challenge. PBS created a global health transmedia blitz with cross-platform editorial partnerships: an Emmy award-winning PBS documentary narrated by Brad Pitt; a special global health issue of Time magazine, an international Time Global Health Summit with world leaders, content in Time for Kids; 13 global health installments on NPR programs such as "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered"; and a companion book by Penguin Press, penned by Phil Hilts. 

And to translate audiences' awareness and understanding from the high-profile media elements into engagement and action, the project's social impact campaign, Rx for Child Survival had engagement initiatives for both the public (families, communities, students) and influencers (educators, press, public officials).  It forged impact partnerships with CARE, Save the Children, UNICEF, Rotary, Girl Scouts, the American Academy of Pediatrics, John's Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Global Health Council,  GAVI, and PBS's 350 local stations. The vast array of audience participation -- from a new Girl Scouts global health patch and faith-based month of prayer to a new undergraduate course in global health and a newsroom guide for reporting on global health --  raised institutional, community, and individual awareness; spawned dialogue and engagement; and gathered resources and support for global health and child survival.

Given the Seattle Times concern about Gates' coziness with media outlets, highlighting some of the comprehensive developmental research from Rx for Survival is worthwhile. A survey of media outlets across the country showed journalists were neither equipped -- because of the complexity of the subject, nor assigned global health stories by their editor bosses -- due to the perception that global health was not relevant to domestic audiences. Global health fell through the cracks of health care (Medicare and domestic issues) and foreign beats. There was only one global health reporter at any newspaper in the U.S., covered by John Donnelly at the Boston Globe. (That beat has since been eliminated). 

So Rx for Survival and the Gates Foundation understood that one of the myriad goals of this huge project was educating journalists on how to cover the complicated subject of global health and show its relevance to U.S. audiences. Tools included a Newsroom Guide (reprinted due to huge journalist demand) that helped them interpret WHO and other statistics, editorial board meetings with top media outlets on how global health affects Americans, and a National Press Foundation journalists' educational event, filmed and posted online by Kaiser as an ongoing resource for all journalists. (In addition, the project developed tools and curricula for educators and events on the Hill with Congress and the Global Health Caucus).

Shortly after Rx for Survival's launch, Bill and Melinda Gates and Bono were named Time's people of the year, putting global health and poverty on the forefront of American's consciousness. Since then, some major global health victories have occurred due to heightened awareness of global health: 2008 saw tripled U.S. funding for AIDS, malaria and TB and the first year worldwide child deaths dipped below 10,000. With Rx for Survival, the Gates Foundation recognized the critical role of media in creating awareness and understanding -- the precursor to true engagement and action -- around an important issue. Their ongoing work in-country and with the media will only further those advances. 

(I managed the transmedia blitz and social impact campaign for Rx for Survival and many other similar projects for PBS/WGBH in my decade there. As founder of Azure Media, I develop high-profile transmedia projects that fuel social impact.)