We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits

533. Growing Red Nose Day's Impact: How to Leverage Media and Turn Moments into Momentum - Alison Moore, Comic Relief US

• We Are For Good • Season 9

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Meet Alison. She’s the CEO of Comic Relief US, which you might know from Red Nose Day (happening May 23!)🤡 Their work is serious - breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty, but they do it with so much joy and levity. Alison is back to share her insights into the power of transforming entertainment into a vehicle for social impact. Learn how Comic Relief US engages audiences across different media channels to maximize engagement and support for their mission - reaching people where they are📱 Don’t miss this heartening conversation that proves serious work can be seriously fun🎉

Learn

  • Turning missions into movements 
  • Investing in media to fuel conversations + action around causes
  • How to get activated around Red Nose Day


Today’s Guest

Alison Moore, CEO, Comic Relief US

Episode Highlights

  • Mission + history of Comic Relief US (3:45)
  • Red Nose Day (11:25)
  • Turning moments into movements (15:00)
  • Media Scales Impact (21:10)
  • How Comic Relief US reaches audiences where they are. (28:10)
  • Red Nose Day This Year + How to Get Activated (36:30)
  • A powerful story of philanthropy in Alison’s life (42:35)
  • Alison’s One Good Thing: Centering family and elevating those voices of people with lived experience  (45:10)
  • How to connect with Comic Relief US + participate in Red Nose Day (48:10)

For more information + episode details visit: weareforgood.com/episode/533.

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Speaker 1:

Hey, I'm John.

Speaker 2:

And I'm Becky. And this is the we Are For Good podcast. Nonprofits are faced with more challenges to accomplish their missions and the growing pressure to do more, raise more and be more for the causes that improve our world.

Speaker 1:

We're here to learn with you from some of the best in the industry, bringing the most innovative ideas, inspirational stories, all to create an impact uprising.

Speaker 2:

So welcome to the good community. We're nonprofit professionals, philanthropists, world changers and rabid fans who are striving to bring a little more goodness into the world. So let's get started.

Speaker 3:

Hey Becky, what's happening?

Speaker 2:

Oh my gosh, one of our favorite humans is in the house and I wore my red nose just for her and for this incredible movement that we're going to be talking about today.

Speaker 3:

I mean I was so happy. You know I'm on the family road trip across the US and I found the red construction paper because I didn't want to be left out of having a red nose this morning too. But you're right, I mean it is like such an honor to have Alison Moore back in our house. She is one of those CEOs that we look up to in the space that is bringing her talent, her insights, her wisdom from a career that to me seems larger than life. That's channeling these mindsets of media and how you create really community in a different way into the nonprofit sector. And so we love to tap Allison's brain, and she is here as the CEO of Comic Relief USA, and you probably know them as Red Nose Day. We are right upon the Red Nose Day campaign, and so go find your red noses and support this, because we're going to share a little bit peek behind the curtain but also just love tapping.

Speaker 3:

You know Allison's wisdom to understand how do they leverage a variety of channels to reach audiences where they're at, and that's going to be the topic of today's episode. But I want to give you a little bit of context If you're new to Comic Relief. They're committed to breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty and through the power of entertainment, they drive awareness, amplify voices to a lot of the most under-resourced communities. And we love this mission because they're really leaning into some of the trends that we're really encouraging you as fellow nonprofits this year and leaning into media scaling impact, like how do we actually marry those two, realizing that we're're all interconnected, whole humans that have a lot of different ways. We engage with businesses and nonprofits and so how do we kind of connect the dots of those?

Speaker 3:

But Alison is just this powerhouse. She has been with comic relief USA for a couple of years now, but before that she was, you know, had this incredible career spanning from Condé Nast to SoundCloud, to HBO, to NBC Universal. I'm probably getting those all out of order, but each of those, I feel like, just informs the way that she sees the world and the way that she walks into this space. And, alison, it is a delight to have you back in our house on nearing Red Nose Day. Welcome back to the podcast.

Speaker 4:

Oh my gosh, thank you so much. I'm going to hopefully travel with me in every meeting I go to, because meeting I go to because I'm like I'd like to meet this person, john Becky. It's so good to see y'all. Thank you for having us back on and to give a little talk around everything that we do. I just love everything about your show and kind of what you raise for folks. As you know, in the nonprofit sector, I think not everybody understands the complexities of the sector and just sort of the challenges that are, frankly, many of them same and germane to the for-profit sector, exact same issues and cycles, and I don't think there's enough understanding of that and your conversations shine light on that.

Speaker 4:

So thank you for what you do, and then also for having us here today.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, it's an honor and I mean we're going to link up your first episode on the podcast because I go back to it as just such a defining convo. So we talked about so many important things. But I'd love for you to give a little bit of context to what's happened since then. We've shared a little bit of your backstory, but tell us what's happening through your work and what you've kind of like leaned into and your growth since the last time we chatted.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, as you mentioned, comic Relief, we've been here in the US kind of reactivated in the US since 2015 with the launch of Red Nose Day here in the US, but many people in your listeners know we talked about this before, which is Comic Relief started in the US in the late 80s and started simultaneously in the UK by Richard Curtis in the late eighties. This is before the internet's, before anyone could sue anyone around the same name of anything.

Speaker 2:

Right.

Speaker 4:

So I started in the UK, started in the U? S simultaneously with very, you know, the idea of doing good through laughter and levity, but the execution of that idea very different. And so I will, while there's many people who are US listeners, you know, sitting, listening and watching with you guys that understand and remember on HBO, whoopi Goldberg, robin Williams, billy Crystal and doing something super funny for homelessness in the late 80s, what I'm going to focus on is and just by way of setting the table of what we're doing today, we are connected to Richard Curtis's comic relief that was started in the UK and he came back from a life-changing experience in Africa and, frankly, as a creative person, the writer and director that he is Love Actually, bridget Jones, diary, four Weddings and a Funeral Mr Bean for those of you who are of an age.

Speaker 4:

Just, uh, he was a creator and a maker, um, and you know, creation and making of things is tied to media too, so we'll get to that in a minute but came back and then created what was? Is this kind of rather absurd red nose, uh, launched it in the uk. It became what is. It's a national, it's the national charity. I would, if I could say that from a US perspective. And you know, it has, you know, enjoys an awareness level of like 99% of partnership with the BBC. It is part of schools. It has been part of the national culture for so, so long. When he brought it to the US in 2015 with the partnerships you know NBC and Walgreens and Mars, he kicked that off and then acquired the name of Comic Relief in the US. And so that's how we really were born.

Speaker 4:

So fast forward, you know, in the last few years, while we have had this incredible and kind of building and building momentum on the Red Nose Day campaign, we have really reintroduced over the last few years, years, the sort of broader level identity for comic relief and what can that hold, and that's where we worked very seriously on, while our just world free from poverty is our north north star of what we do. So poverty is. Our mind is focused on poverty in every nook and cranny of our work. Two elements of this really centered on children living in poverty through Red Nose Day. But, even broader, understanding the impacts of intergenerational poverty and understanding the cycles of poverty and how they work in communities for generations upon generations and how they not only produce, you know, on repeat, the root causes of poverty, but also the consequences. And so when you have that on the end to end, like, how is it that your work changes?

Speaker 4:

So since we last saw each other, there were, I think we were just in the moment of really expanding our grantee segments and kind of thinking about the kind of organizations that we were supporting.

Speaker 4:

And I would just say, you know, there's we are now around 50 organizations that we supply.

Speaker 4:

We support US and Latin America, africa and Southeast Asia and, truthfully, all around the sort of four pillars that are interconnected with multiple things but in focus empowerment, health, safety, education, a combination of all of those, together with a real eye on gender equity issues, racial equity issues, the systemic components that drive both of those, and, frankly, a very close eye on building resilient communities.

Speaker 4:

So what that has done is changed our work around including BIPOC led and community led organizations into our fold of grantee partners. And I, I, you know, I think we have a wide table that we've built through our work now through Comic Relief, and that is. We have very large organizations, like the Global Fund that we support, you know, which are doing massive things at scale and then connecting in with communities at other kinds of points. And then we have smaller organizations who are just as mighty and as and as formidable, frankly, like Brose's here in New York, just incredible work that's being done out of that organization with Kari and his team, covenant House, laureus, you know, a smaller organization called Glasswing, not small, you know diminutive smaller.

Speaker 4:

Yeah but in getting amazing work done with Selena. So I say that just to say that we've broadened our scope and to be able to kind of fulfill and move into our vision of how we're going to make that impact in the world. The other part of our space is like okay, how do we fundraise and make the dollars come to life? And the heritage of this organization is by tapping the shoulders of individual donations and public donations and galvanizing the public to do good through a common element and we use laughter and levity as our sort of through line to that right.

Speaker 4:

So, as I mentioned you know when I started here was Red Nose Day.

Speaker 4:

That was really singularly what we sort of focused on here and in the last few years we launched and I think we talked about this last time I was here, you know, keeping Red Nose Day growing in momentum and changing and dynamically sort of meeting to the times, which we'll talk about, but launching Kids Relief on Roblox last year that we did and that was the first time in a game environment, encouraging kids to help kids through gameplay. And how do you and really representative of you know having to reach people where they are and reaching the hearts and minds of people where they are, that it no longer is okay to just put up, you know, utilize digital in a banner ad, but actually, you know, create an experience and and, and I think getting back to experiences and media and how you engage and break through super, super, super important. It's just, uh, the world is too cluttered today, so kids relief is a huge and we hope to be bringing back kids relief at some point this year, so maybe we'll talk again yeah, yeah.

Speaker 4:

Well, we got some stuff cooking, um, and we have brought back comic relief. You know the idea of creating comedian, you know point of view, comedian expression, shared experience, together to kind of drive awareness for the work that we do. So we've had a few. We had an amazing gal at the end of the year last year where we had Phoebe Phoebe, the incredible, I should say, phoebe Robinson, alex Edelman and John Oliver come together with this, which was a show you know they, they performed and blew the doors down.

Speaker 4:

I have to say, um, and in between, having um, denny brown sing the most arresting and moving uh songs, just from the heart, with elaine kwan on on keyboard and then talking a few of the moments of of our work, I just have to say, like that it was a comic relief show, end to end. And so we're going to make that bigger this year. And like, how do we do that and how do we? Where do we? Where do we take comedy? Because Red Nose Day has comedic elements, but it's not comedy, right, you know. So how do we really lean back into comic relief and figure out how we bring that back into culture? So that's all brewing too, but today what's brewing is Red Nose Guy.

Speaker 2:

Okay, there's so much. Yes. I mean, alison just told us and I want to make sure that I pull them out for anyone who may have missed them all the components of building a powerful movement, and I love, love, love that you started with the creator, you started with the artist and I mean this is the creator's world and economy. Right now, we're watching that, we're living inside of it.

Speaker 2:

And the idea that someone could take a concept, something they're great at, and funnel it into something that could lift awareness, that could raise good. And then you did these incredible pairings. I mean, you put in the joy and the levity you build, giving as identity.

Speaker 2:

You talked about that inside, so people see themselves in the giving, in the red nose, in every part of it. Then you made it wholly accessible for anyone, wherever they are, whether it's like me taking my daughter into Walgreens and they're like what is that, why is that person wearing that? Like what is that, why is that person wearing that and what does that mean and it invites a conversation into a gala to playing on roadblocks Like hello, you just hit the gen alpha demographic, I feel like, which is probably going to be the most philanthropic generation that we've seen yet. So thank you for centering humanity, because I think what you said that's resonating most with me is we got to get into every nook and cranny, every corner of the world where poverty exists.

Speaker 2:

Poverty, the state of people living on the margins right now takes your breath away, and that's why I think this movement is so important. So I want to dive into that, because one of our trends this year is, if you can activate the one, you can grow a movement, and you're doing it from the one to one, so you turn these moments into momentum, and I really Paul Katz on talking about everything from influencer to how you flex media, and it's like you're creating events that are so large and small, that bring people together to create this change, so we'd love to hear just more about these moments and how they have fueled the movement that is now the phenomenon of Red Nose Day.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, I appreciate that. You know, I think, and you know I will say, Richard Curtis certainly is an exceptional creator to have kind of conceptualized and been able to take everything that his just you know resonant talent to build what was created. I think what we've been able to do through Red Nose Day is have a platform that invites all, even creators that is the power of the Red Nose Day, of the Red Nose rather, you know, that is the idea that that thing can be appropriated by anyone to kind of express how they are feeling, to join, to get involved. You know, I think this year we'll talk about it, we're launching the digital red nose which, for the first time this is the first time we actually don't have a physical red nose out and about it is digital.

Speaker 3:

Yes and so.

Speaker 4:

I think it goes back to the idea that, at our core, we do believe that everyone has an important role to play, that everyone can be a part of this collective movement, as you put it. And the truth is, sadly to say, that poverty is one of the most pervasive and insidious issues that plague and affects everything. Poverty is a through line to all ills. When you think of mental health, when you think of climate, when you think of you know fiscal health, when you think of education, when you think of housing, when you think of migration. It plays a role in all of those things. And, to your point, the numbers are shocking One in six children under five live in poverty in the US, you know, and in the US, our poverty rate has doubled since 2021. This is the United States we're talking about, you know. I just so the reason I'm, you know, and there's many more stats, sadly, to give context to that. But I think one of the challenges are on these things that everybody feels like yes, there is poverty and there's an acknowledgement, and then people move on. The power of red nose day is to kind of have a single moment where it just opens up your mind to, you know, come in and find a common space that we can all understand what that is. You know, and I think when you talk to somebody and have a moment to talk to somebody about poverty, people understand, understand that you know the economic security and what and all the ills that you know in economic insecurity brings um. There's a common understanding there, but but you have to break through first, and what the red nose does is breaks through. So to your question on the digital nose you know, one of the things that we want is in ubiquity and context, and I mean I I wish it weren't so, but these little devices are the place where you see things most these days, right, and so this year we have a digital red nose. That's actually going to be a filter that you can download and share nose, and it's not a transaction where we're charging for the digital nose like this, because for a variety of reasons although I'm still figuring out how we could Anyway, the point is we are highly encouraging a donation when you come and get your nose, but it is available on all social platforms and what I just want is ubiquitous pictures of I mean you'll see multiple ones of me with my cat, my daughter, my son, my husband, my family, my mother's getting involved. It is just and we will proliferate this kind of visualization and participation in this movement in a way that we have not been able to do for many, many years in that way. So I'm excited about the digital red nose in that way.

Speaker 4:

I think it's an invitation. It will bring people in and it makes them. You know it also kind of infuses that part of levity. Some people will be moved by the movement of fighting child poverty. But we also know that, you know, leveraging our heritage of making hard things accessible through levity and laughter. That's where we really excel. So, in addition to the digital red nose and doing that with you know a huge push and and we'll talk about like, how you just get more access to that Our partnership with NBC is.

Speaker 4:

You know that it's the largest broadcast station in the nation. You know, just being able to leverage the conversations in in NBC during the giving week around around red nose day is super powerful for us to just be able to have some of our celebrity talent and friends to kind of raise the roof if you will. But then the other part of it is like you know, how do you break through on an emotional level, like how do you connect poverty? If people are kind of turning the page on poverty when they see it, what else can make them stop and think about why childhood poverty is even more of something we need to fight against. And we've come up with a new sort of frame for this campaign, which is less childhood poverty, more childhood.

Speaker 2:

Oh that's really good, Alison.

Speaker 4:

That gave me an emotional response. That gave me an emotional response. Yeah, and it did for me too, and I think the kind of insight there, frankly, is that I think that we all can agree upon the protection and sacredness of childhood is we need to be, we need to be rallying together as a community.

Speaker 2:

Vigilant yes, vigilant yes.

Speaker 4:

And if you can pull yourself there in a moment, that we can catch you somewhere, whether it's on a you know taxi top or like a you know again back to the media, the half of a second, I have to catch you with that and you can sit with that for a second and think about your own childhood memories of the past and perhaps your own hope for either your own child or children that you know future. Right, can you imagine what must be the pressure points down on children living in marginalized communities or living in poverty today? What can we do to protect that? Because their lives are, you know, children who have experienced poverty are particularly dealing with bigger issues and that. So that moment of childhood, that protection of child, becomes this other commonality. You know, and I wish it was enough to just declare that space and then everyone just kind of come on board.

Speaker 4:

But this is to all the complications you guys talk about on this podcast. Every time, you know you have to break through. So the digital red nose is a way to break through, to engage, and luckily we've got this iconic. So when people start to see this they're like I know what that means. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, right. But then we've now got a campaign that we're in this year for the first time ever and I'm going to use my old commercial language of a direct-to-consumer, direct-to-donor, a way to kind of like get people involved. It's called Childhood Dream Stakes and we are, you know, on the theme of childhood, of childhood for children living in poverty, but also, then, how do we bring back the whimsy and fun of childhood and make that an opportunity to drive awareness and engagement? And so we've got six wacky prizes and a chance to win by driving a direct donation kind of moment and a galvanizing using laughter and levity as our entry point, and you will see that everywhere from us, this campaign.

Speaker 3:

Can I just say I just love watching y'all's evolution so much and I know you're making it sound very easy from the outside, but I know it has to be hard to change something that has been so iconic, to evolve it, to take a risk for the greater payoff, and so I'm just giving you some mad respect and props and I love watching it in real time because you're harping on a lot of the values that we talk about and something I even saw in a conversation with FarmLink, which I think is a really disruptive Gen Z-led nonprofit, that they said we believe story is actually part of our theory of change.

Speaker 3:

Like how do we actually change people's mind is so core to what we do. And like for you to interrupt in the middle of the tick tock reel or whatever it's going to be, to have someone to pause and think and start a bigger conversation, like that is part of your mission and it's always been part of the mission of showing you right that everybody has a part of this to play. So I just love it so much. I mean I want to talk about Media Scales, impact. You're like one of our favorite media friends that like knows this space well and has been.

Speaker 1:

I want to say you planted the seeds I'm wearing all the scars.

Speaker 3:

But you definitely planted seeds at least in my mind of like what Allison's thinking needs to be put in a megaphone to our sector Mainstream and this was years back and mainstream, and so for us to let media skills impact. This year, we wanted to encourage people to not only just invest but to fuel conversations and actions through the power of media, and so I want to ask you to tap your brilliant mind on this to say what opportunity do you think is out there? We have a lot of missions listening. We even have board members listening, or you know high level executives in the nonprofit space listening. Let's talk about this opportunity you know that's out there right now to leverage media to grow our impact.

Speaker 4:

You know I I I'll put a slight angle on that. Media as we knew it before is just alone, is not enough. Keep going, I think it is. You know, there's this idea of sort of media for awareness and reach and and understanding and and and just sort of cognizance, cultural cognizance, and I think that that's always helpful and never say that it's not. And, depending on people's donation model and your sort of income model, I think, and I think increasingly, you have to go a step further, because it's not just awareness, for the sadly, you know, I mean I have a whole nother side of this is like this shouldn't be required by nonprofits in some regard. You know, I have enough background in media to understand. Like you know I've said this to a few people I'm not a media organization. I actually dabble in media in order to kind of get my work out there so that we can foment change and and make an impact right. But increasingly, I think not because the, because media has become this broader, like mega platform now that incorporates, yes, traditional means of media, whether it's press or whether it's sort of a digital campaigns to for awareness, all the things I just talked about, but it's also like the expectation of experiences and engagement and entertainment and catching my attention and somehow getting me out of the drone experience of these stupid things and getting me to pay attention to something you know and that's why, if that's the kind of currency to engage now, then, wow, you know how you leverage media. You really do need to be thinking about storytelling. You need to be thinking about content creation. You need to be thinking about multi-platform experiences. You need to be thinking about, like, reaching people where they are and that is not a one-to-many, that is a customized experience that's bespoke to every platform, based on user experiences. Wow, that sounds like a whole lot of stuff that nonprofits should be focused on when they are actually trying to focus on getting do you know what I mean? Getting good support and impact into the work, but I I unfortunately, I think that's just a reality.

Speaker 4:

You know part of the thing that we offer to grantee partners that we support and you know, in varying degrees of there's varying degrees of sophistication and or kind of like utilization of what I would say is like quintessential media and marketing kind of tactics, but we we seek to help particularly our smaller organizations with that work. You know we are, we do create content here. We do have a studio of makers and creators. We do have idea generation. That is our heritage. So how can we help them to get the word out about them, even though you know what I mean? I mean, I think that is, I think it's needed. This is why we are increasingly focused on experience generation. You know how can I?

Speaker 4:

You know, the insight on Roblox is if you have the intel and you have people in your team that can understand what a good experience is on Roblox. Because this is the other thing that happens in media is that media companies traditionally although maybe not today used to have a lot of money to just build experiences. Just in case somebody bumped in and you know I'll talk from the TV side experience to get to know about a show that's launching. And then all of a sudden you spent $300,000 on an experience on a platform and then there was like two weeks that somebody experiences and then it goes to the experience graveyard because nobody the show's moved on. Everything you know, like that is a model that's so Cannot relate as an old right, right, right, right. So what? You know, if you're going to build experiences on these platforms, they have to be evergreen and kind of um, that they can last the test of time and they also have to be utilizing experiences that people want to come and engage with. So if you have the, the sort of skill set to be able to do that, it's money to do it.

Speaker 4:

But we made that. You know, we actually had some supporter that helped us underwrite that and took that bet and like, well, let's, we think we know what we're doing. Let's, you know, we've got some exceedingly good, smart digital minds here at this organization partnership with Wonderworks, which who were brilliant, we built it and we were blown away by the numbers of engagement numbers. So now I have to continue to refine how I make that donation. And this is where you know, strengthen the donation, because just because you get engagement doesn't mean you get donation, and I think this is why media for non-profits it can't just be awareness and engagement. It's got to be down the funnel, which is like conversion, engagement and conversion and then rinse and repeat. Right, that is a quintessential kind of engagement funnel. That subscription businesses, e-commerce businesses and all these kinds of businesses. You know they sleep and drink that Right, we have to too, because if that's the currency to create experiences out there. It's got to turn into something actionable for us. It can't not.

Speaker 2:

It can't not. And I'm looking at the world right now and I mean you said it not only is poverty at its highest level in our generation, but it's also like the noise that we're seeing on our phones is at an all-time high, and the way that currency has shifted to me is very, very interesting, because influence is currency. You said this Connection is currency, activation is currency, and so for nonprofits, we really have to do that left-handed move, which is we got to embrace the tension, and you've got to embrace the tension and you've got to release control of your message. And I love what you said about engagement doesn't equal payment, because I think what you're saying about the experience is a key component to movements.

Speaker 2:

You cannot just have one incredible video that goes viral, that everybody loves, to keep somebody coming back and reminding them about why your mission is so important. And I don't think this is a stretch for us y'all in nonprofit and social impact, because I think what Allison is saying is one yes, we need a new trade media, we need to be able to get in there and get our messages out, but I also think that there's this opportunity that exists, because we already know how to cultivate. We already know how to steward, and so experiences are going to be about that storytelling, that stewardship, that coming back and sharing impact and seeing the one person remembering their name. Remember the Michael J Fox Foundation? They were talking about building this movement by just getting to know people and saying their name and reflecting out their gift last time, and so this is the future.

Speaker 4:

I appreciate that I think that is the slippery slope of the sort of like movement into media. It is such an elixir from an awareness perspective and I think, like I said, it's necessary. It's just that conversion, conversion, conversion, conversion. And how do you do that in a place where people's minds are just, you know, fractured and we're in an election environment where people just really for all of the things that we know, what that's doing to people? I think, when I think about conversion and so much about you know, it's interesting to hear you talk about the stewardship piece. You know, with our gala this year and with the last two, three years, we've really started to build a practice which is more familiar and nonprofit of, you know, cultivating community for an experience like a gala which has all the process.

Speaker 4:

That's a little bit different than building a big media expression in a campaign. Right, the mechanics to get both of those things up are almost the inverse. All needs to end in conversion. But when I think about, you know, the things required to sort of just build the big experiences and pull people in and get them connected and get them to act and then to act on repeat, it's just, you know, that's why scale is important because you need to be able to reach as many people as you possibly can. And you know cause I, I love so many people say to me like well, it just takes one viral piece of video. I'm like no, no, no, that it's, that's ephemeral, it'll, it'll hit, it'll go in the ether and then never be seen again.

Speaker 2:

Yes, and it'll go into the ether.

Speaker 4:

You need like 50,000 of those viral things in order to kind of yield, you know, x, y, z amount of donation, and that's the sort of the yin and yang of the media promise, I think.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and I just think that the way that you all engage that media and I think the way you do it across different media channels is very, very interesting, and I also think that's where a lot of nonprofits get tripped up is they feel like they have to be on every platform, they have to be posting a multimedia like. Talk to us about how you maximize that engagement and it's really. I want to take it back to something you said earlier, which is meeting your audience right where they are. What kind of suggestions would you have for those who are really exploring different channels and places to hang out where maybe their community is that they've never hung out before? What would be your advice?

Speaker 4:

Yeah, I, um, I wish I could tell you the you know that moniker of of we need to be on every platform. I kind of think you need to be. I wish I could say, like, look, there are, in truth, audience segments. I mean, if you're going for Gen Zs and you've determined that that is the sort of audience that you think is your prospect base for awareness and engagement, and you know there's all kinds of reasons why that's a tough prospect base, first and foremost about their donation capability. But they are all interconnected with some sort of credit card, be it their parents or otherwise, to be able to do anything online. So I just say that, and a lot of them have a lot more freedom to do to act on that than than some. But you know, if you're, if that's your base, you're going to go to TikTok. You would not spend any time customizing anything for Facebook, right Period, full stop, right.

Speaker 4:

So we are in a moment of cultivating and, from our perspective, a user base that feels like millennial, gen X, some boomer that has come in through Red Nose Day. From the way that we've engaged with Red Nose Day over the last 10 years to really starting to cultivate younger audiences, you know, as evidenced by Roblox, as evidenced by our Roblox initiative and Kids Relief, and activating and thinking around that, thinking about different ideas for Red Nose Day that brings kids and parents together, you know. So every initiative has a kind of target cohort, if you will. That is a little bit of a couple layers deeper than what we say is the high level of our nonprofit goal, which is like a broad audience of you know and I think that's very much a media marketer's mindset which is like okay, for this initiative, this is our cohort, here's what we're going to lean into for this one. It's this for our gala. We're going to, you know, for this year we'll have another gala at the end of this year.

Speaker 4:

I'm excited about our sort of like digital media strategy, for that should be different, because our outreach is is totally different and our ask and our conversion is different. You know our level of engagement. So I don't that's not probably very helpful, because it's not, but that's the approach, right? I don't think one size fits all, but I do think you need to contemplate every platform, whether you execute against every platform. That depends on what your goals are and your capacity, because the other piece that you asked about is that I, you do need people that know what they're doing in house. Yeah, you do need people that are, you know, digitally native and not look at their Instagram seven hours a day. I mean that understand like content and narrative and storytelling, and particularly social media platforms, and then how you you publish that out in a way that doesn't create chaos for your team, because none of us have huge bandwidth, you know.

Speaker 2:

And that just takes people that know what they're doing in digital. Sorry, no, I don't think it should be.

Speaker 4:

I really don't yeah no offense to the intern thing, but it is too important it really is, and our digital team is an integral part of that. And it's not just social. You know I'm talking about social media out there and you're putting out sort of messaging out into the world again to delight and engage, to bring that in. But that also, you know, is in regard to your sort of transaction platform on your site, right, and the user experience as you go. What are they coming into? Is your site mobile optimized? If it's not, that's a problem. You know, if nobody's all that stuff too.

Speaker 3:

It's just good, because you're leading us of, like, not what is your comfort level to go on that social platform. Where's the community that you're trying to build? Who is who's this community that you're trying to build? Who is this cohort that you are have in mind? And that's informing your strategy. And I just love the investment in team Like this sector, like we should be at this beacon for attracting. You've got such incredible purpose. You've got such incredible opportunity to shift the world. Like I love the idea of attracting that kind of team into our missions. Like that's what this is all about, the idea of attracting that kind of team into our missions.

Speaker 3:

That's what this is all about. So let's talk about activation as we start to wind down. I mean, Red Nose Day is right upon us. You've dropped some breadcrumbs.

Speaker 2:

I'm seeing this. We're looking at the TikTok feed here and your content with kids is so joyful and so fun.

Speaker 3:

Tell us about how we can get involved. We've got young kids too, so kind of getting involved.

Speaker 2:

Plenty of red noses to go around. We've got young kids too.

Speaker 4:

So kind of getting plenty of red noses to go around, right, I know, I know. So, you know, as I mentioned this campaign that we're doing this year in the first time, I just, I think, really engaging and thinking about getting back to our getting back you know, we haven't left them but getting back into the roots of, you know, using levity and laughter, if we think about, you know, that kind of creed of less childhood poverty, more childhood, how do we build an expression moment that is, you know, feels accessible to everybody? And so I would say the range is the digital nose. You'll see this push out and we're doing a campaign. We're having some of our celebrity friends kind of help us launch it. This is a chance for people to. You know, no matter what platform Snap, instagram, facebook you will be able to access the digital red nose. You know, stop and make a donation, like the digital red nose is, and then you can and then encourage others. You know, this is a moment where a shout out like I donated because I've got this funny red picture of me on my story, uh, a funny picture of me in a red nose, like that's what we want. That's one way to get involved and it's just fun for kids and it's easy to do.

Speaker 4:

And you know what. And the donations matter. You know small donations mean to a lot. You know one, five, 10 does not need to be a thousand dollar donation here. It doesn't need to be a hundred dollars, it doesn't need to be a $10. It doesn't need to be five. I mean, I'll take a five over a one, of course. But this also be launching is this you know childhood dream stakes. Let's add some whimsy and fun. And you know the prizes that we are going to have, that you can enter to win, are things that might tap into resonant memories of your childhood. So maybe there'll be an opportunity to put your face on a hot air balloon. That would be kind of fun, right. Maybe you could build a giant model volcano in your front yard and watch it erupt. Or maybe you'll be able to build a castle out of cotton candy and sit in it, or eat a life-size version of yourself as a chocolate chip cookie.

Speaker 2:

So you guys corner the market on whimsy. It is so joyful.

Speaker 4:

We're trying to tap into that moment again. You know these are wacky prizes, but it is a very serious mission. And so how do you? You know, if we spend a moment hitting you in the gut about more childhood and you recognize your own memories and the future state of all childhood, how do we kind of keep that sticking with you is by sort of finding things emblematic of childhood and joy and laughter to remind us to get engaged. And between the digital red nose and our childhood dream stakes, we think we're going to have a little fun on this one.

Speaker 2:

And it's all to do good.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, we need to raise the roof. We need to get the message out, which is why I'm so grateful for sitting with you all.

Speaker 2:

That's what I was going to say is you're going to have a lot of fun, but you are going to move the needle significantly. I feel very deeply that this is the way, and I think integrating community, integrating story, making it more than just the nose, or the fact that my favorite celebrity showed up and asked me to you know, and that gives me influence, and I really think that adding the kid thing in is so dang brilliant, because that's what we're fighting for.

Speaker 2:

We're all fighting for the protection of that and who better? And I just have to share the story very quickly. I know I've shared it on the podcast before, but you know, when I went in and did the career day at my daughter's kindergarten years ago, you know we I had a little experiment for them to go put dollar bills. You know I gave every kid two $1 bills to put in one of three little Mason jars and we put a dog on one, we put food on another and we put a house on another one and it was just super simple and it was like well, you got some money, you can't get to everything. And overwhelmingly these kids wanted to give to the house. And I remember them looking at me saying no, kid should not have their own bed. They couldn't even put their heads.

Speaker 2:

I thought for a hundred percent that they would pick the dog. I was just going to say that and it did not, and the hunger was second, and I just think kids get this and I think that activating the family around this makes it more of a community movement anyway.

Speaker 4:

I totally agree.

Speaker 2:

Because all hands should be on deck on this, and teaching our kids to care about it now is such a brilliant long tail play for what can happen when they have their own families or when they grow, and that is how philanthropy becomes systemic. We don't want these issues to be systemic we don't want poverty, we want generosity to be systemic.

Speaker 2:

So I just, I want to just say what you all are doing, the joy in it. We've said joy is a vibe, is a trend for this year, like that is trending in content, and so thank you for taking this.

Speaker 4:

That's how we feel. That too, I know. Well, thank you for that.

Speaker 2:

I just think it's so fantastic and you all have taken this very difficult topic and I think there are a lot of nonprofits out there working through some very difficult missions and you juxtapose it with the exact opposite, which is lightness, joy, humor, and it somehow works together, and so I love that you have brought such incredible story to this to this podcast. You've done it multiple times. I still remember the story about your dad, alison on the last.

Speaker 2:

I honestly think about it every time I see you and I we're just wondering is there a moment of philanthropy, generosity that has just stuck with you in your life? Maybe it's in Red Nose campaign, Maybe it's in another project. What's sticking out to you?

Speaker 4:

You know, entering this space from you know, the reformed media executive category I didn't have an appreciation for the shoulder to shoulder camaraderie and collaboration that this sector engenders across everybody. And I just feel like what amazes me in our 50 grantee partners and while we're providing support and help, that's I can understand what that is right. They are coming and coming back to us. How can we help? How can we can get like it really is a community of mutual support? I mean that that sounds sort of funny and like Dr Phyllis, but it really is that and I can you know.

Speaker 4:

So our organizations that are a quarter of our size are like let us help, how can we help get involved? And it's out of the desire to kind of make impact together, not because they're trying to hit their bottom line or their quarterly blah, blah, blah, blah blah. It's about the recognition of when, while together, we can build more impact in a stronger way. And that is that continues to move me about even being in this sector in general, because there are good people in every sector, everywhere, but the the whole commonality of that in this sector is I come back to that a lot- yeah.

Speaker 3:

I mean yeah, we really like you. Does that come through? You said this early in the episode, but I think it's a through line. This conversation of that representation to through that story is that we need all of us you know like we need you with your experience that's coming in and helping.

Speaker 3:

We also need who can pick up their phone and just get active, and I think those of us that are leaned in and realize that's the power that we can do in this moment is activating the one, like this is literally how we can actually change things, is actually all of us getting involved together is really powerful it's timeless and I have chills just talking about it. You know it's, it's the only way.

Speaker 4:

So um, I so appreciate the time to well, thank you, I, you guys, you, you guys are so brilliant, um, just in terms of the way you unpack things. Um, so it's such a joy to talk to y'all always.

Speaker 3:

Well, we have to get your one good thing before we close out. You know, we can't have an episode without asking for your one good thing. This could be a piece of advice, a hack, a mantra, what you feeling today, allison?

Speaker 4:

What am I feeling today? I, you know, I guess I I have been really wrestling with myself. The just overstimulated cacophony of too many things, like so many things on the plate, like how do we, you know what, what is it that just, uh, keeps me centered so that I can get done all the things I need to get done. And I I've got two things, and they're intertwined with my work. You know, I go back to my family, my family, my family. It ties into what you said about my dad, my family, my daughter, my husband. Like family is a rooting factor for me, so that's very important. But then I also tie it into this work elevates the voices of people who are impacted and things that I can't, even, I don't have the liberty to experience, and I am, I am by the sheer element of luck.

Speaker 4:

I've not, I have not experienced it. So what can I be doing? You know, keep the path simple, like that's important. You know it's important to be doing that, like that's the North star too. You know, it's like this intertwining between family and this commonality of supporting others and their lives and their families, Like that common thread. I don't know, that's good. That's what I was thinking this morning.

Speaker 3:

That's really good.

Speaker 4:

I might think something much more basic tomorrow. So tune in tomorrow when I come back and wonder if almonds are really that fattening.

Speaker 2:

I mean, you're every one of us, because it turns out they are, by the way.

Speaker 4:

I'm sorry.

Speaker 3:

Breaking news on we Are Forgotten. Today I found that out the hard way.

Speaker 2:

That's a hell of another podcast I don't know Put a pin in that for future, but I think that that's how most of us are feeling right now. Everything's too loud I'm living in the space of too much. Too much is the phrase at our house and, I think, pulling back to the simplistic version of our why personally in this work? Thank you for talking about your privilege, because I think we just have to own those pieces and give them up and share them.

Speaker 2:

I'm just so inspired by you and I just want to say to everybody, because we're going to talk about how people can get activated I believe in this as a movement. I believe not just in Allison. I believe in Red Nose Day, I believe in Comic Relief US, I believe in no poverty for children, that they can be love and light and joy and live in peace, and so, if this is resonating with you at all today, I hope you'll join me in making a gift on May 23rd, because we want more people giving to this cause, if nothing more. Watch the experience that you get friends, watch it and mark it down, because this is how nonprofits can get into movements. This is how they start to flex media, this is how they start to build digital community and this is, ps, how you find your people who care about the same things you care about.

Speaker 2:

So grab your nose, put or grab the digital nose and please come join us as donors, because this is too big to just scroll past, so I'm going to pass the mic to you, allison. Like, tell us how people can connect with you, how can they connect with Red Nose Day and throw it down? What do you want people to do on Red Nose Day? What will be the most helpful?

Speaker 4:

Yeah, I love it. I love it. All right. So Red Nose Day is May 23rd. We will have a lot of fun kind of little moments around on NBC. We will have a couple of things sprinkled in during that week, and we have a lot of different partners that are activating in the month of May. So, you know, from today on, you'll be getting opportunity to go get your Red Nose Day filter. Go get your Red Nose filter, take a look at all of your fun pictures, take a new picture, look at old pictures and just start posting and donate, and, and you know, we will have copy there for you to be able to say, like what it's about children, you know, and and alleviating child poverty.

Speaker 4:

I can't think of a. Well, I can. There's many things, but this is one of the worthy causes for sure, and so that's a way to get involved. We just need more voices out there. It's the community that is that is fighting for the preservation of all children's childhood, and that's how we get you involved. Rednosedayorg www, of course, comicrelieforg. Come see us, follow us. We're on every social handle. We're on TikTok, we're on IG, we're on Facebook. We'll be out there, you'll be able to see stuff and just come join us. Such a blast.

Speaker 2:

I appreciate it. I appreciate it.

Speaker 4:

Y'all are great, thank you, thank you.

Speaker 3:

Thanks so much for being here. Friends, and you probably hear it in our voices, but we love connecting you with the most innovative people to help you achieve more for your mission than ever before.

Speaker 2:

We'd love for you to come join our good community. It's free and you can think of it as the after party to each podcast episode. Sign up today at weareforgoodcom. Backslash hello.

Speaker 1:

And one more thing, if you love what you heard today.

Speaker 3:

Would you mind leaving us a podcast rating interview? It means the world to us and your support helps more people find this community. Thanks so much, friends, Can't wait.