Events, Media & Communications

WEBINAR: The Keys to an Unlikely Alliance: GMC and Invisible People

March Webinar Shares Lessons from Big Brand/Small Nonprofit Success
Mar 7, 2012 12:00 AM ET
Campaign: Cause Marketing Masters Series
(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) March 6, 2012 - March 28, 1:30pm-2:30pm ET FREE for CMF Members or $99 Register for This Webinar Today Truck-maker GMC made quite a cause marketing splash last year when they surprised homeless advocate Mark Horvath with use of a vehicle for a year to tour Canada and the US.  In this March webinar, you'll learn how this unlikely alliance between big brand and boots-on-the-ground nonprofit came to fruition, what it took to get it "sold" internally at GM and what Horvath did so right that attracted the attention of the automotive brand.

Big brands know they need to become more transparent and engage consumers, but challenging the status quo can be quite an uphill climb.  Small nonprofits often feel they can't seem to get on the radar of big brands  In this webinar, you'll learn:

  • How to ease the pain of relinquishing control by choosing partners wisely

  • Why ROI shouldn't be measured in media hits alone

  • How brands can build credibility for a social cause

  • Why formal sponsorship proposals can be overrated

Register for This Webinar Today

Speaker Profiles: Connie Burke, GMC
In January 1985, a large group of pop stars descended upon Hollywood to record “We Are the World” for charity. Connie Burke was not among them. Instead, she hung her fresh college degrees, (in advertising, English and journalism) in the Technical Center offices of General Motors, where she honed her communications and PR chops. When GM needed to add a voice for their social media efforts, Connie decided it was time to step out of her darkened cubicle and into the light. She has 100 octane blood, collects Coca Cola memorabilia, rides a Harley Davidson Custom Sportster 1200 and both her kids are chefs (one in pastry, one a culinary dude). Althought based in Detroit, she is typically in Chicago 3-4 times/month for work, and considers herself a Chi-Troiter. While Connie hasn’t yet won a Grammy for her social media efforts, she has achieved Gold Elite travel status & doesn’t get charged for extra bags.

Mark Horvath, InvisiblePeople.tv
In 2008, Mark Horvath, now known to many as @hardlynormal, set out to film the stories of America’s homeless and share them with as many people as possible on InvisiblePeople.tv. Since then, he has become an internationally recognized activist and ambassador for the millions of individuals and families who reside in shelters, motels, tents along the streets and under highway bridges across the country.

Mark has been featured by the L.A. Times, CNN, CBS, Mashable.com and NPR. He’s spoken at a number of conferences and events, including Geneva Forum on Social Change, Blog World, U.S Department of State's Tech@State, Gnomedex, 140 Character Conference, Nonprofit Technology Conference and SxSW. The Huffington Post named him one of 11 Twitter activists you should follow. Youtube gave InvisiblePeople.tv unprecedented exposure allowing Horvath to curate YouTube’s homepage for a day. Mark was asked to speak at Twitter, Inc and at charity: water. Mark has consulted for Los Angeles Police Department and USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism among many others.

This past September InvisiblePeople.tv launched We AreVisible. WeAreVisible.com's mission is to give people dealing with poverty and homelessness the tools they need to get online and have a voice. The site teaches them how to sign up for email, open a Twitter account, join Facebook, create a blog and, in general, take advantage of the benefits of online social media. It also has the potential to become a model for virtual case management as it helps build a community among homeless people and support service providers.

  Register for This Webinar Today   For more information, contact info@causemarketingforum.com   Check out other upcoming webinars or browse our archive of recorded cause marketing courses, available on demand, 24/7.   Want to stay up to speed on all things cause marketing? Be sure to visit our newly redesigned website, subscribe to Cause Update, join our LinkedIn Group and follow us on Twitter.   ***Register for the ultimate cause marketing conference of the year – CMF12 | May 30-31, 2012 | Chicago, IL ***   CMF21151