Discussion of how to turn your cause into more than another charity...how the power of purchase pervades into the realm of activism both online and off. In this group we will discuss how different organizations have effectively used physical products, social media and online/offline organizing to build a large constituency who stands as their megaphone for the cause. We assess the use of media (film and video) and how community is built around produced content and that created by the donor base. We learn how story telling and the use of social networking, by both the organization and the individuals, produces a large market of activists who do your work for you. By getting people to "buy into" the mission of the organization through product purchase, be empowered to organize their own events offline, and connect with each other online - these organizations build a movement that makes their cause, the cause of their constituents.

Session Takeaways: 

1. Physical product development and brand symbols.

2. Utilizing story telling to provide meaning to the product and the individual.

3. How to develop a movement around the product and offline organizing.

Level: Intermediate