charities and the genius in the crowd - chris cox
DESCRIPTION
Hi, I’m Chris Cox and I first presented this at a CharityComms event in early 2014. I’m the Digital Communications Manager at Mind - and used to be at another mental health charity called Rethink Mental Illness, which is where I was when the events I describe here happened…TRANSCRIPT
The genius in the crowd
How charities can be an amplifier, not a mouthpiece
Chris Cox (@chriscox75), Digital Communications manager - Mind
mind.org.uk
The genius in the crowd
How charities can be an amplifier, not a mouthpiece
Chris Cox (@chriscox75), Digital Communications manager - Mind
mind.org.uk
Hi, I’m Chris Cox and I first presented this at a CharityComms event in early
2014. I’m the Digital Communications Manager at Mind - and used to be at
another mental health charity called Rethink Mental Illness, which is where I
was when the events I describe here happened…
Hi, I’m Chris Cox and I first presented this at a CharityComms event in early
2014. I’m the Digital Communications Manager at Mind - and used to be at
another mental health charity called Rethink Mental Illness, which is where I
was when the events I describe here happened…
We won't give up until everyone experiencing
a mental health problem gets support and respect
We won't give up until everyone experiencing
a mental health problem gets support and respect
When I joined Mind after my four years Rethink Mental Illness, one of the
things that really excited me was the vision “We won’t give up until
everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets support and
respect”. This is not a passive vision, it’s compelling and ambitious.
To me, key word is ‘everyone’ because its not just about the people that
come to us. It implies that we reach out…
When I joined Mind after my four years Rethink Mental Illness, one of the
things that really excited me was the vision “We won’t give up until
everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets support and
respect”. This is not a passive vision, it’s compelling and ambitious.
To me, key word is ‘everyone’ because its not just about the people that
come to us. It implies that we reach out…
25 September 2013
25 September 2013… sometimes we find things which aren’t either supportive or respectful
You may have heard about the outcry over ASDA’s ‘mental patient’
costumes around Halloween 2013. Here’s a clipping from the website at
the time. But what happened on Twitter next wasn’t just the usual
‘outcry’…
… sometimes we find things which aren’t either supportive or respectful
You may have heard about the outcry over ASDA’s ‘mental patient’
costumes around Halloween 2013. Here’s a clipping from the website at
the time. But what happened on Twitter next wasn’t just the usual
‘outcry’…
Managing risk
• Source: Sky News online
Managing risk
• Source: Sky News online
When this originally broke in the evening of 25th I was on my way home,
had a call from a colleague while walking through the station.
And seeing various angry tweets about this costume, felt the need to respond right
away, but also to keep eye on risk - so I didn’t deliver a direct accusation
(for all I knew Asda’s website could’ve been hacked) but instead a challenge, a
question “Please explain ‘Everyone will be running away from you in fear
in this mental patient fancy dress’ which is how it was described on the website.
When this originally broke in the evening of 25th I was on my way home,
had a call from a colleague while walking through the station.
And seeing various angry tweets about this costume, felt the need to respond right
away, but also to keep eye on risk - so I didn’t deliver a direct accusation
(for all I knew Asda’s website could’ve been hacked) but instead a challenge, a
question “Please explain ‘Everyone will be running away from you in fear
in this mental patient fancy dress’ which is how it was described on the website.
ASDA posted that on 25th
September. By the morning
of the 26th a huge amount
of people who’ve had
experience of mental health
issues were
posting selfies with the
hashtag #mentalpatient
here’s just a few of these…
ASDA posted that on 25th
September. By the morning
of the 26th a huge amount
of people who’ve had
experience of mental health
issues were
posting selfies with the
hashtag #mentalpatient
here’s just a few of these…
…for some of these people
we think,
this may have been
their first public declaration
of having had mental health
problems…
…for some of these people
we think,
this may have been
their first public declaration
of having had mental health
problems…
And that use of irony,
‘here’s me in my mental
patient outfit’ really gave lie
to the notion that this was a
po-faced protest.
It used humour to tackle
serious issues.
And that use of irony,
‘here’s me in my mental
patient outfit’ really gave lie
to the notion that this was a
po-faced protest.
It used humour to tackle
serious issues.
It was real genius, and an
amazing day to be working
in mental health.
It was real genius, and an
amazing day to be working
in mental health.
• Approx. 20k negative tweets about Asda • #mentalpatient used 7k times in period• £25k donation from Asda• Mind got 1,629 pieces of coverage • 9 media volunteers shared their stories• Celebrity supporters!
The spread…
• All those tweetshttp://bit.ly/asdatweets
• The first onehttp://bit.ly/firstmptweet
The spread…
• All those tweetshttp://bit.ly/asdatweets
• The first onehttp://bit.ly/firstmptweet
So who was the genius behind it all? This is
Bexatron, she was the very first to tweet this idea,
and she is not the ‘Head of Viral Awesomeness’ at
Mind. She is someone with an interest in the issues,
a twitter user and a genius.
And I just want to point out this is not so much viral
content as viral concept - more powerful! Like when
Apple make a new product, they produce a single
Keynote speech which inspires tons of articles,
blogs, videos, and conversation
They use remarkably little effort to promote this
launch because others do it for them.
So perhaps sometimes it’s better to inspire and
amplify than to generate?
So who was the genius behind it all? This is
Bexatron, she was the very first to tweet this idea,
and she is not the ‘Head of Viral Awesomeness’ at
Mind. She is someone with an interest in the issues,
a twitter user and a genius.
And I just want to point out this is not so much viral
content as viral concept - more powerful! Like when
Apple make a new product, they produce a single
Keynote speech which inspires tons of articles,
blogs, videos, and conversation
They use remarkably little effort to promote this
launch because others do it for them.
So perhaps sometimes it’s better to inspire and
amplify than to generate?
The next day…
• we can help educate your audience (email Rethink received from a digital agency)
• …charity took to Twitter to encourage users to post pictures (HuffPo)
• …charities have taken their own action against the costumes - on Twitter (Mirror)
• …giving a voice (Various)
The next day…
• we can help educate your audience (email Rethink received from a digital agency)
• …charity took to Twitter to encourage users to post pictures (HuffPo)
• …charities have taken their own action against the costumes - on Twitter (Mirror)
• …giving a voice (Various)
But this decentralised genius was not reflected in the
coverage the next day.
We at Rethink got an opportunistic email that
referred to the events and talked about ‘educating
your audience’
…when it was them who educated us
The media gave charities credit for originating the
idea, when we didn’t.
And even charities in general often say “giving a
voice” when our supporters and our beneficiaries
may already have them, on social media.
But this decentralised genius was not reflected in the
coverage the next day.
We at Rethink got an opportunistic email that
referred to the events and talked about ‘educating
your audience’
…when it was them who educated us
The media gave charities credit for originating the
idea, when we didn’t.
And even charities in general often say “giving a
voice” when our supporters and our beneficiaries
may already have them, on social media.
Strangely, the Asda #mentalpatient events
were very quickly followed by another similar issue
- Thorpe Park had an attraction called the
Asylum…
Still running Rethink’s digital media at the time,
I wanted to take a quick (and admittedly not
precise!) poll to find out if followers felt Thorpe
Park were out of line, so used these hashtags
#AsylumOK and #AsylumNO - a ‘hashtag vote’
Strangely, the Asda #mentalpatient events
were very quickly followed by another similar issue
- Thorpe Park had an attraction called the
Asylum…
Still running Rethink’s digital media at the time,
I wanted to take a quick (and admittedly not
precise!) poll to find out if followers felt Thorpe
Park were out of line, so used these hashtags
#AsylumOK and #AsylumNO - a ‘hashtag vote’
And the AsylumNO hashtag ended up
being adopted by a campaigner called
Katie, getting 6,000 people to sign a
petition and some media coverage. I
cannot take credit for inspiring this as I had
not the slightest intent of sparking
something like this off!
I underestimated our audience. And this
seems to be happening a lot.
[NB This presentation pre-dates the
#nomakeupselfie phenomenon that also
created by users!]
Here’s another more recent example of a
slightly bigger brand who underestimated
their audience…
And the AsylumNO hashtag ended up
being adopted by a campaigner called
Katie, getting 6,000 people to sign a
petition and some media coverage. I
cannot take credit for inspiring this as I had
not the slightest intent of sparking
something like this off!
I underestimated our audience. And this
seems to be happening a lot.
[NB This presentation pre-dates the
#nomakeupselfie phenomenon that also
created by users!]
Here’s another more recent example of a
slightly bigger brand who underestimated
their audience…
…this is a protest about Coke’s
failure to use their power as a sponsor of the
Sochi Olympics to speak out against Russia’s anti-
gay legislation. It’s using a web app that Coke
made for people to ‘personalise their own Coke
can’
There is an old world that is being left behind
here…
…this is a protest about Coke’s
failure to use their power as a sponsor of the
Sochi Olympics to speak out against Russia’s anti-
gay legislation. It’s using a web app that Coke
made for people to ‘personalise their own Coke
can’
There is an old world that is being left behind
here…
This is the old world, where digital marketing was all about getting clicks
Let them come to us, we said, as if sat on a digital throne…
This is the old world, where digital marketing was all about getting clicks
Let them come to us, we said, as if sat on a digital throne…
The power of story
• Blogs as a way of helping someone accept a life event
The power of story
• Blogs as a way of helping someone accept a life event
People coming to us is not a bad thing of course
and we at Mind use personal stories to help
people who come to our website.
Perhaps after they or someone they know has
been diagnosed with a condition
to help show the human side,
show that there is life after diagnosis
People coming to us is not a bad thing of course
and we at Mind use personal stories to help
people who come to our website.
Perhaps after they or someone they know has
been diagnosed with a condition
to help show the human side,
show that there is life after diagnosis
But sticking to one-way engagement is fatal.
Conversations are happening everywhere.
And this is more like the modern world of online
engagement… Terrifying isn’t it?
But this is where the power lies, in countless
conversations that span various different social
platforms …Conversations we may need to get
involved in.
But sticking to one-way engagement is fatal.
Conversations are happening everywhere.
And this is more like the modern world of online
engagement… Terrifying isn’t it?
But this is where the power lies, in countless
conversations that span various different social
platforms …Conversations we may need to get
involved in.
What’s the answer?
What’s the answer?So how do charities stay visible,
deliver on their mission and
use the benefits of having a respected brand
in this scary, decentralised conversation?
The word curation is used a lot about user-
generated content, but perhaps that sense of
simply finding and presenting is too passive, too
high-handed considering what’s really
happening out there?
We need to find a way of thinking and talking
about digital contact with our supporters
which respects them and helps unlock their
genius…
So how do charities stay visible,
deliver on their mission and
use the benefits of having a respected brand
in this scary, decentralised conversation?
The word curation is used a lot about user-
generated content, but perhaps that sense of
simply finding and presenting is too passive, too
high-handed considering what’s really
happening out there?
We need to find a way of thinking and talking
about digital contact with our supporters
which respects them and helps unlock their
genius…
What’s the answer?
So my model for the future is to do with this woman…So my model for the future is to do with this woman…
The choir
• Not giving a voice - making them all bigger and bolder
• Collective strength
• Support, respect and nurture
That’s Sam Stevenson from the Military Wives
choir in 2011. And choirs are used a lot in
metaphors for good reason. It is a community
and the collective strength is emotionally
binding….
That’s Sam Stevenson from the Military Wives
choir in 2011. And choirs are used a lot in
metaphors for good reason. It is a community
and the collective strength is emotionally
binding….
The choir
• Not giving a voice - making them all bigger and bolder
• Collective strength
• Support, respect and nurture
But most importantly culture of empowerment
is absolutely essential. As I see it, confidence is
possibly the most important commodity. Leaders
don’t just dictate, they coach and keep the
group on track.
And that is the power that charities have…
But most importantly culture of empowerment
is absolutely essential. As I see it, confidence is
possibly the most important commodity. Leaders
don’t just dictate, they coach and keep the
group on track.
And that is the power that charities have…
The choir
• Not giving a voice - making them all bigger and bolder
• Collective strength
• Support, respect and nurture
Not simply by getting more people to respond to what we say
Not just kindly ‘giving supporters a voice’
Not by acting as picky curators of their best efforts
But by giving supporters the skills tell their own stories…brilliantly
…and then why not equip them to help others to tell their stories?
Not simply by getting more people to respond to what we say
Not just kindly ‘giving supporters a voice’
Not by acting as picky curators of their best efforts
But by giving supporters the skills tell their own stories…brilliantly
…and then why not equip them to help others to tell their stories?
The choir
• Not giving a voice - making them all bigger and bolder
• Collective strength
• Support, respect and nurture
If we can nurture confidence and ability in people affected by the issues that
drive our missions, our supporters could be inspired to give us something
tremendously valuable back…
To donate to us the trust and strength that it takes to stand up and sing.
We all have choirs - they all have voices - let’s help them to take the stage.
If we can nurture confidence and ability in people affected by the issues that
drive our missions, our supporters could be inspired to give us something
tremendously valuable back…
To donate to us the trust and strength that it takes to stand up and sing.
We all have choirs - they all have voices - let’s help them to take the stage.
Thank you