The media has never been more important than in today’s rapid-fire, corporate-owned news cycle where fact checking and veracity are mere annoyances to getting immediate clicks. We read many, many, (too) many articles and often bang our heads on our keyboards. But every so often, we read articles that give us that ecstatic face emoji.
Here are the three best articles we read this week.
Screenshot from Bloomberg’s Hampton Creek article
Bloomberg’s report on Hampton Creek (written by Olivia Zaleski, Peter Waldman and Ellen Huet), another health/food startup besieged with negative scrutiny, hits hard and peeks beneath the layers of PR obfuscation that enables companies to go unchecked.
It also casts a potentially negative light to the company that Luckey founded, despite its sale to Facebook. Will conscientious consumers think twice before shelling over their hard-earned dollars for an Oculus Rift device?
Screenshot from Tim Kawakami’s article on Mercury News
We’ve always been a big fan of Bay Area sports journalist Tim Kawakami. For one, he doesn’t act like other sports journalists. He’s never been a “homer” like a lot of embedded sports reporters are. Plus, he’s one of the few Asian-American sports journalists. While many sports reporters are frothing at the mouth to vilify Colin Kaepernick because the quarterback dares to care about the troubling spate of black Americans killed by police officers, Kawakami writes this thoughtful article. Thoughtfulness in sports journalism is the true miracle on ice, so thank you, Tim. And don’t block us on Twitter.
This blog post is part of a series focusing on emerging brands, startups and small businesses that are just beginning their marketing/PR efforts.
How are we defining a small business? Although the Small Business Administration typically defines a small business as less than 500 employees, this series focuses on businesses that are even smaller than that.
Photo by Mike Petrucci
By now, social media is so ubiquitous that it feels like an everyday part of one’s life, no different than email (which, umm, why has no one disrupted this yet??). Yet the majority of small businesses (or even Small to Medium Business – SMBs) still lack basic social media strategy, with some lacking even a presence.
This series will focus on which social media platforms are optimal for a small business brand. This is NOT for social media advertising (which will come later) but for organic marketing on social media. We’ll discuss content, advertising and integration in later blog posts.
This particular series will focus on U.S.-based small businesses/startups that caters to consumers (not B2B), and that don’t have the budget to hire folks like us. They’ll have to start scrappy and do it for themselves.
With all of that out of the way, which social media platforms should a brand new small business catering to consumers focus on? Given that the small brand will have to DIY their social media marketing, and resources are extremely tight, only one or two platforms can be tackled for optimal ROI.
Photo by William Iven
Facebook
Facebook is still the #1 platform in the U.S. and will likely remain at that top spot for a while. There are few businesses and brands that Facebook doesn’t make sense for. However, Facebook is now pay-to-play (gotta justify that stock price!) so if you aren’t routinely “boosting” posts, then you’re SOL. Even spending $5 on one post per month will see your engagement skyrocket, compared to not spending any money at all. Does this suck for brands with extremely limited budgets? Absolutely. But we all knew that the free ride wouldn’t last, especially when Facebook went public.
While $5 for, say, a weekly post won’t break any budgets, it can add up. Unfortunately, depending on organic reach is a thing of the past. How can a small business get around having to pay-to-play? Hashtags have become as critical to audience growth on Facebook as it has on Twitter and Instagram. So #hashtag the #shiz out of that #ish (<–don’t actually do that – that’s really dumb). Another way to grow an audience is to tag/mention other pages.
But ultimately, content is still king. Videos can still “go viral” without plugging in your credit card number. And sometimes, a brand can just get plain lucky. Look at the Kohl’s Chewbacca mom video for proof of that. Treat your customers well and you might be surprised how they will reward your brand on social media.
Photo courtesy of FreeStocks.org
Twitter
For many B2C brands, Twitter will be as important as Facebook. We have found Twitter to be the best platform for local brick & mortar businesses, in particular. The best businesses that thrive on Twitter are still ones like Kogi taco truck (the brand that revolutionized local social marketing on Twitter), that can tweet out a location, or a special deal, for customers who might be wandering nearby.
Be warned, however. Twitter has become a customer service platform, with customers routinely tweeting complaints to brands. B2C brands in particular bear the brunt of Twitter complaints. If you don’t have a way to address customer service complaints on Twitter, you’ll be digging yourself a hole that will be difficult to crawl out of. Even before you set up your Twitter page (or Facebook, for that matter), make sure you have customer service response plan in place. Whether it’s merely responding to a tweet with an email address to contact, or actually addressing issues directly, have a plan and don’t be caught unaware. Unlike Facebook, you can’t delete or hide criticisms on Twitter. It’s the most transparent of platforms.
Photo courtesy of Toronto Eaters
Instagram
If you have even a somewhat visually appealing store or product, then Instagram is your best option. The engagement on Instagram is significantly higher than any of the other platforms; however, that doesn’t mean it translates into sales. If you’re suddenly rewarded with hundreds of likes for your photo, don’t get *too* excited. Instagram is not great at driving sales or traffic, primarily because it doesn’t easily allow for links. But what it’s great for is showcasing your brand in a visually compelling way.
The businesses that it’s particular great for: Consumer products, especially fashion brands; entertainment brands; stores such as bookstores and consumer goods; travel and luxury brands; restaurants/food brands.
Because so many Instagram users will take photos of your business, it’s important to acknowledge them (favoriting/liking their photo, via the heart icon, is a good start), and then engage and occasionally reward them (we’ll talk about engagement and rewards later).
When regramming a user’s photo/video, be sure to tag them and credit them (better yet, ask for permission first. Most users are more than happy to see their photos be picked up).
There are so many ways to be creative on Instagram. Leverage the layout, for instance, with a photo collage. Use the video function to drive traffic outside of the app, etc. It’s one of the best marketing platforms for any brand that can take a simple photo.
We’ll discuss the other social media platforms in part II of our series. Check back on bethechangepr.com/news. Hit us up on Facebook or Twitter as well.
It’s not easy launching an alcohol brand. We’ve experienced the rigors of alcohol brand marketing and PR ourselves with our previous alcohol clients like Pinky Vodka. In addition to the need for serious marketing and sales costs, alcohol brands have hurdles to jump through for marketing that others don’t. In the U.S., alcohol brands’ customer base has a hard minimum age of 21 and they have to warn about the dangers of overindulgence of their product. There’s also more and more competition each day, as small and craft products emerge and become local favorites, and behemoth conglomerate brands leverage big budgets to overwhelm startups.
Where some companies might see walls, these brands saw opportunity. Here’s a look at some of the more interesting alcohol brands today and how they offer cool refreshment through marketing.
Budweiser
Though Budweiser is owned by Belgian conglomerate Anheuser-Busch InBev, the flagship beer brand knows how to best use the stars & stripes. In time for the presidential election, Budweiser scrapped its own branding on cans and bottles in favor of America.
Cheesy? Sure, but this is a savvy move for Budweiser. Who wouldn’t want to take a big, cold swig of America? This bold decision is the latest in a bigger marketing campaign that thumbs its nose at the rise of trendy microbreweries. Budweiser is a brand that knows what it is and who drinks it – people who don’t want something small-batch or artisanal, but truly heartland American.
Bud Light has also gotten into the discussion this election season. They’ve formed the satirical Bud Light Party, chaired by comedians Amy Schumer and Seth Rogen. Much like the Democrats and Republicans, the Bud Light Party is going on the road to meet with constituents.
Takeaway: Know your customers. Budweiser knows that the people who drink their beer didn’t mistake it for your local pumpkin spice craft summer IPA. They also tapped into the sentiment of unease with a two-party political system by creating a fictional third party. It’s a smart way to latch on to what’s shaping out to be a historic election for our nation.
Stone Brewing Co.
This San Diego-based craft brewery excels at social marketing without a Budweiser budget.
At the onset, Stone took pride in having a non-existent marketing budget. Their fans are more than happy to spread the word without much prompting. While Stone has a marketing team, most of the influence comes from those who drink the product.
Stone, which has produced popular brews such as Arrogant Bastard, created a social marketing hit with their Enjoy By IPA. The beer’s label is adorned with a date, telling the customer when the beer should be consumed for maximum freshness.
This created immediacy (instead of letting a couple of bottles languish in the back of the fridge, customers know they need to drink the beer soon) and gave consumers a cool subject for Instagram posts.
http://www.instagram.com/p/BHydI6QAYm7/
The posts seem to perk up around the time of landmark dates, such as April 20 or July 4.
Takeaway: You don’t need a social media guru or a huge advertising budget to grow your company. With smart labeling and clever marketing, Stone Brewing Co. has become one of the biggest craft breweries, thanks to plenty of word-of-mouth.
Pappy Van Winkle
Haven’t heard of this brand? You’re not alone. This bourbon made by the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery doesn’t have a verified presence on Facebook or Twitter.
It is the anti-Fireball. Instead of trying to be everything to everyone, with a full-on marketing blitz, Pappy Van Winkle knows that its customers are hardcore whiskey fans. That’s good enough for them.
More importantly, they’re whiskey fans who will tell their friends. Pappy’s been described as a cult liquor. It’s probably not available at your local watering hole, but the scarcity of the product has only led to overwhelming demand.
Since it’s such a small batch bourbon, it’s very hard to find. Bottles sometimes hit the secondary market, commanding thousands of dollars. People are even forging bottles of Pappy Van Winkle.
Pappy’s appeals to lovers of quality bourbon, and the lack of availability only helps it grow more popular. They know they’re not in the same market as mass-produced brands such as Jim Beam.
Takeaway: Be authentic. As the Ron Swanson chair of the liquor market, Pappy Van Winkle excels at being a premium and exclusive brand. They don’t try to compete with the Jack Daniel’s and Fireballs of the world, since they know they have a different customer base. Less is more.
As many alcohol customers look for price point or quality, these brands have found a way to stand out among the crowd. Even if you don’t have the instant name recognition of Budweiser or cult following of Pappy Van Winkle, you can use creativity to get fans on board and sharing with friends.
Need help with your alcohol brand’s PR? We love to drink and we do it well! Contact us today.
Alt-weeklies used to be a reliable staple. When I lived in L.A., the LA Weekly was my social bible. From the news to cultural events to movie listings, the LA Weekly was informative, stimulating, educational, and most of all, wrote compelling articles highlighting misdeeds, the voiceless, injustice and corruption.
Since those halcyon days, most alt-weeklies have either folded, been absorbed by larger media conglomerates or are mere shells of their former selves. Alt-weeklies used to be exactly what their name implied – the alternative, independent voice to the bigger corporate (and oftentimes, toothless) publications like the L.A. Times or the San Francisco Chronicle. Like most print publications, alt-weeklies (and the reporters whose work fuels the interest) have been thinned out by a lack of advertisement dollars and funding.
That doesn’t mean they’re all dead. In our hometown of San Francisco, the SF Weekly has turned out some of the best San Francisco reporters – bylines by the likes of Rachel Swan, Chris Roberts, Joe Eskenazi and Julia Carrie Wong (with the exception of Roberts, all have moved on to bigger outlets) have played a big hand in spotlighting issues that San Franciscans should care about. Along with the SF Weekly, there’s another alt-weekly across the Bay that has consistently turned out excellent journalism.
The East Bay Express has always been a powerful voice but their work in the past two weeks investigating and exposing the beleaguered Oakland Police Department and their exploitation of a teenage sex worker has been on another level. The scandal itself is stomach-turning and not only involves abuse of power but a cover-up of a possible murder disguised as suicide. No one’s hands are clean, not even the wife of a former police chief. The whole thing is despicable and encapsulates everything that is wrong with not only the OPD itself, but the infrastructure and power dynamics of police departments in general, a narrative that we’ve all been seeing play out on a national level.
The investigative reporting of East Bay Express reporters Darwin BondGraham and Ali Winston has even led to the OPD spokesperson inadvertently outing one of the police officers previously unnamed in the scandal. They’ve made the entire department that flustered. It’s investigative journalism at it’s absolute finest.
If you can swallow your disgust at the abuses committed by these men (and a few women) in power, read the entire series that EBX has published. Their work deserves to be read, and changes demanded.
We’ve been pretty giddy to show off our client, Drift Innovation‘s new wearable camera, the Compass, and now the day has come for us to post endless photos of our cats #ShotWithDrift.
I mean, just look at it! It’s wearable tech that actually looks good – good enough to win the 2016 Red Dot Product Design award already – and won’t make the wearer self-conscious (unlike my Crocs, which have been banished to the back of the closet).
Wearing a Drift Compass is guaranteed to give you a good hair day
The Compass is all kinds of rad for a couple of reasons:
It’s so tiny and cute! The fact that it packs so much technology and features in a sleek little design makes me think Elon Musk is right and this is all some sort of joke. The camera weighs just 1 oz and can fit on my wrist if I wanted it to, without making my arm feel like I’m training for the CrossFit Games.
I’ll never make it as a hand or wrist model 🙁
The battery is great and can shoot up to 2 hours of 1080p HD video (which is about how long I will be shooting my cats for), or I can film 50 days of timelapse video on a single charge.
Once you download the free Drift Life app on iOS or Android and boot up the built-in WiFi, you can livestream whatever you want (in my case, it’s cats. Lots of cats).
The Compass comes just in time for wanderlusters to partake in summer travel. Instead of viewing your vacation through a smartphone, the Compass lets you be hands-free and enjoy #LifeUnfiltered. Besides travel adventures, here are a few other things I’m looking forward to shooting with my Compass.
I already started! Check out my first cat video clip on my Drift Life page.
Cats. Yup. Lots and lots of cat videos. I’m a proud crazy cat lady and my entire Drift Life page will likely be filled with cat videos. That’s just how it’s going to be. DEAL WITH IT. The Compas is so lightweight that I can easily clip it on to the one cat (yes, I have more than one cat – I’m that lady) that tolerates collars and bow-ties, and score some sweet cat POV videos.
Film For Safety. I’ll be clipping the Compass to my top while I walk and bike around the streets of San Francisco. I love to walk around my beautiful city, but it’s crowded and no matter how many times I look twice, many car drivers don’t. Pretty much every single time that I go out for a walk, I nearly get hit by a car doing something illegal. It’s like the wild west on the city streets and having my Compass record while I do my thang should result in extra evidence for San Francisco’s #VisionZero pedestrian safety program.
Livestreaming events. When I officiated a friend’s wedding a few years ago, I saw the photographer struggling to get a good shot of the bride and groom’s teary-eyed faces as they were facing me. I had the best angle of all and was tempted to reach out, grab the camera and snap a few pics for her. The officiant always has the best seat in the house, so why not clip on a Compass and livestream the wedding for friends and family members who can’t attend, especially destination weddings? The chic design won’t clash with the formal wear and friends and family who didn’t hop on a plane will still get to experience love…from a livestream.
There’s a lot more I can do with my Compass and I’ll be happily sharing all of my adventures on the ole social media. Be sure to follow @DriftInnovation on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and tag #LifeUnfiltered or #ShotWithDrift so I can see all of your cat photos and videos as well!
Don’t be afraid of Twitter’s latest changes – they actually help you say more in a tweet.
Twitter recently updated how it counts out the 140-character maximum within a tweet. Now, @names and media attachments will not count against the limit. This is a huge help for businesses, who can now respond to questions on Twitter more efficiently.
These changes are rolling out over the next few months, so if that cat GIF still takes away from your character limit today, try again later.
Twitter will also allow you to re-tweet yourself and the company has simplified the way in which a reply can be seen more publicly, but the changes to the 140-character limit are the most relevant to marketing.
Twitter has been working to provide more value within the 140-character frame. Earlier this year, rumors swirled about Twitter bumping the character limit all the way up 10,000, possibly as a way to combat blogging platforms like Medium and WordPress. CEO Jack Dorsey even entertained the possibility of making 140-character tweets a thing of the past.
Why is this an issue? Try reaching out to your (least) favorite airline, especially if you have a longer username.
Odds are, if your query is more advanced, you’ll get a multi-tweet reply or a response filled with abbreviations, making it look like a text message from your Gen Z intern.
Sam, apologies for the delay! Can I help with rebooking any flts? If so, pls follow/DM your confirm #. *KM
Shortening words like “please” and “flights” were necessary to get that tweet out, but it looks weird coming from an established brand like Delta.
While these changes don’t solve the problem completely (and to be fair, many companies use direct messages for longer interactions), it allows the 140 characters you choose to matter more.
If you’re still looking for a way to get the most out of those 140 characters, try using Twitter’s video feature to add a personal response to a customer question. While you can still respond via text, the 30-second video allotment is a way to surprise and delight customers while humanizing your brand.
Even better, once these changes go into effect, the video won’t eat up characters.
This is something that change evangelist Brian Fanzo does occasionally, as a way to enhance responses.
Soon, when you respond to someone like @NoahSyndergaard or @KimKardashian (or one of your well-named customers), the character count will start with your first letter, not their handle.
Unlike your favorite local coffee shop or restaurant, cannabis brands and medical marijuana dispensaries can’t freely advertise their awesome deals on Facebook or show off the newest hot products on Twitter.
But social media still plays a major role in how those in the cannabis industry grow their business.
Here are three ways cannabis companies can spark up their social media marketing on a platform that can be tricky to navigate.
Have a plan A, B, C, D, E!
Since social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram operate on federal law, many medical marijuana-based pages are quickly shut down. Even if you’re based in a state where marijuana is legal, your social following can easily go up in smoke.
Dixie Elixirs, a Denver-based producer of legal cannabis products, saw its Facebook page shut down in February with 11,000 fans vanishing. Joe Hodas, the company’s marketing director, told Fortune Magazine that Dixie followed Facebook’s terms of service and did not post publicly about products.
One solution: Multiple pages and accounts. Mona Zhang, editor of cannabis industry newsletter Word on the Tree, said that a common solution is for business owners to be prepared for a shutdown at any time by creating several social accounts.
Lock it up
Zhang said that many businesses are looking at social networks where you can have a private presence. Instagram is a major one for medical marijuana shops, where they can engage with patients and customers but set their account to private.
While doing this still could put the business at risk of a shut down, it helps ensure that only those who want marijuana-related content will be able to see it.
Many cannabis brands on Instagram (such as Bloom Farms) still mix in product-based posts with more engaging content about the local community or the industry. However, Zhang warned that posting product photos can be risky.
Ephemeral social networks, such as Snapchat or Periscope, where content disappears after 24 hours, could be another way to spread awareness without leaving a permanent footprint.
For businesses who still want to have a public face on social media, Zhang said that posting news and educational material about medical marijuana while engaging with local enthusiasts is a way to legally grow awareness of your business on social.
Seek marijuana-friendly networks
Silicon Valley has taken note of the legalization movement.
There are a growing number of cannabis-friendly social networks that industry leaders are flocking to. MassRoots, a social network for cannabis users and companies, was founded in 2013 and boasts more than 775,000 users. The company, listed on NASDAQ as MSRT, is continually growing and plans to launch targeted advertising this quarter.
There’s also Duby, which is more like a hybrid of Instagram and Klout for the marijuana community, available on iPhones and Androids. Other apps and networks, such as Social High and Leafly, are valuable resources for dispensaries and patients.
While they lack the wide reach Facebook or Twitter offers, these platforms allow businesses to connect with those who can legally buy their products.
By Justin Lafferty
Need PR to grow your cannabis brand? We’re happy to help. Contact us today.
This is not how we read these articles. This is how we wish we read these articles.
We read. A lot! Sometimes we feel like 95% of PR is reading (the other 5% is weeping in a corner of a room). A lot of the articles we read are depressing (mostly because they’re about Donald Drumpf), some of them are funny and an even smaller handful are compelling and useful. So we’ve gathered those small handfuls for you, so that you don’t have to suffer like we do. Here are the five best articles that we read this week. Warning: it was a pretty slow news week.
Just F@$%king Do It. #EqualPlayEqualPay
It’s Time.
OK, this isn’t actually an article, but a video clip from The Daily Show. But we loved it so much that we decided to subvert our own rules and include it in our roundup (and like we said, it was a slow news week!). As big fans of sports, women’s sports and equality, it’s pretty appalling to us that the #1 women’s soccer team in the world is still paid significantly less than their male counterparts. Three World Cups and four Olympic gold medals have still kept the U.S. Women’s National Team from being paid what they deserve, let alone what the U.S. Men’s National Team (World Cups: 0. Olympic gold medals: 0) makes. Like the video says, Just F@#$king Do It.
The move is annoying Twitter users, but remains to be seen if their ire translates to votes against the Uber/Lyft-supported proposition. The lesson for Uber/Lyft (and other apps like it) is to not abuse your access to your customers’ data.
SFWeekly Sheds Light on SFPD’s Sexaul Assault Case Failure
The beleagueredSan Francisco Police Department, who had an officer accused of covering up another officer’s rape allegation, has a serious backlog of sexual assault kits waiting to be tested. The SF Weekly sheds light on the severity of the situation, and the trauma that it inflicts on rape survivors awaiting justice. Beyond the backlog, the entire process is in need of serious overhaul. The SF Weekly, and its friend across the Bay, the East Bay Express, have continually written excellent investigative articles exposing flawed processes and injustices like this, highlighting the importance of alt-weeklies.
An Oldie But A Goodie
Alright, we’re cheating by including this article from 2015, but hey, Hamilton recently received record-breaking Tony nominations and a Pulitzer, so we think it’s still relevant. We only recently discovered this pseudo-oral history of the genesis of Hamilton from The New York Times, and we loved it. Now if we could just get someone to hook us up with Hamilton tickets…(c’mon, someone? Anyone? Dad?).
Pacific Community Ventures (PCV) is hosting their annual luncheon on Thursday, April 14, 2016 at 11:30am at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco. We’re excited to support PCV and their amazing mission to invest in entrepreneurs and small businesses in underserved communities. Beyond the great work that PCV does, including providing mentorship and small business loans to create jobs in local communities, here are three other reasons that you should join us at Hotel Nikko on April 14.
From 2015’s Luncheon; photo from PCV’s Facebook page
Network With Inspiring Leaders
Networking at PCV’s 2015 luncheon; photo from PCV’s Facebook page
You don’t want to miss the opportunity to network with impact investors, professionals in economic development and some of the Bay Area’s best and brightest small business owners.
Have Your Mind Blown
At the luncheon, a panel discussion moderated by Professor Kellie McElhaney of Haas School of Business will focus on identifying what quality jobs are and how concerned business leaders can create more of them. Esteemed panel members include:
Fred Blackwell, CEO of the San Francisco Foundation
Jose Corona, Director of Equity & Strategic Partnerships, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf
Krystell Guzman, Owner, La Plazita Preschool
Johnny Travis, Owner, FAZE Apparel
Learn More About PCV’s Mission
PCV’s sole vision is to assist underserved communities by engaging impact investors, policymakers and local small businesses in order to strengthen local economies and create much-needed quality employment. The San Francisco-based nonprofit provides mentoring and working capital to new businesses in these communities, as well as access to a healthy network of banking, business and investment professionals. To date, Pacific Community Ventures has helped to create an impressive 14,850 new quality jobs and has provided assistance to an additional 1,097 companies since the recession’s end in 2009.
Led by President and CEO, Mary Jo Cook, Pacific Community Venture partners include notable business and economic leaders such as Kiva Zip, PG&E, Silicon Valley Bank, the World Economic Forum, Nerdwallet, The California Endowment, Charles Schwab and more. To help impact investors and policymakers measure outcomes and increase the impact of their investments in the community, PVC further provides each one with customized research and key advisory services.
Annual Luncheon Tickets and Information
The opportunity to network with noted economic development professionals, impact investors and the Bay Area’s most distinguished small business owners doesn’t come along every day. In fact, this is Pacific Community Ventures’ only fundraiser of the year! So, mark your calendars for Thursday, April 14th at 11:30 am and plan to be at Hotel Nikko located at 222 Mason Street in San Francisco. Tickets are $150 each and we’re hoping for a sold-out event, so reserve your place at the table by visiting Eventbrite right now!
For more information or media passes, contact our own Katy Lim at [email protected] or by phone at (415) 375-0663.
Good people of the Bay Area, you know what you should be doing on Saturday, April 2? Joining us at the Uptown Nightclub in Oakland for HipHopForChange‘s 3rd Anniversary Show.
The guest list for the big anniversary event includes:
Kev Choice
OPIO of Hieroglyphics
2nd Floor Samurais
BPOS
Ren the Vinyl Archaeologist
And maybe a special guest or two will also make an appearance as we join together in celebration of the organization’s three year fight on the front lines of important cultural and social justice issues.
Who is HipHopForChange?
Photo of co-founder Khafre Jay, from HipHopForChange’s Facebook page
Founded in Oakland by activist and local hip hop artist Khafre Jay in 2013, HipHopForChange works to counteract negative stereotypes too often portrayed within the mainstream media. The brand of hip hop widely celebrated within the music industry is of particular concern to the organization.
According to its founders, negative associations with hip hop culture play a role in criminalizing minorities and, in particular, young people. An unbalanced portrayal of the culture is largely depicted through music glorifying violence, sexism, materialism, drug abuse and a host of other negative images. HipHopForChange actively works to educate young people on the full, rich history of hip hop culture, including the much more diverse and positive role that it plays in society beyond mainstream music.
HipHopForChange further uses hip hop culture to actively address issues of misogyny, homophobia and other socio-economic injustices prevalent in everyday life. Working directly with young people at schools and within communities, the 501(c)3 organization also regularly showcases conscious hip hop artists at live events in an effort to spread messages of unity and social change.
From HipHopForChange’s Facebook page
HipHopForChange has helped young, often disadvantaged, students draw upon hip hop’s influence to pen their own lyrics as a way to interpret and express their own realities. Educating young people on these issues and inviting them to lend their voices is why the organization also hosts fundraising events to support other local programs with similar agendas, as well as public discussions. HipHopForChange even canvasses the streets providing people with CDs, which deliver messages of equality and justice for all.
In just three years of organized activism, HipHopForChange has received awards from the Zellerbach Family Foundation and the Bill Graham Foundation. More than 5,000 people have also given financial support to this most worthwhile non-profit through various fundraisers and through direct donations toward their CDs. Now, you can also show your support of their vision by attending the April 2nd anniversary party and cheering HipHopForChange on into the future!
HipHopForChange Anniversary Information and Tickets
Mark your calendars for the anniversary celebration which will be held on April 2 at 9p at the Uptown Nightclub located at 1928 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland. Get your tickets right now through Eventbrite or contact us if you need more information. If you are a member of the media and would like a VIP pass, we’re happy to hook you up. Last, but not least, be ready to seriously party on April 2nd and we’ll see you there!
Written by Laura S.
HipHopForChange is a pro bono client that we are proud to be assisting via our University of San Francisco Communications class
