BBlog
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Black Arts Organizations & End-of-Year Giving

...uminal Theater http://www.luminaltheater.org/support.html National Black Theatre http://www.nationalblacktheatre.org/donate Classical Theatre of Harlem https://cthnyc.kindful.com/ The New Black Fest http://www.thenewblackfest.org/donations Studio Museum Harlem https://www.studiomuseum.org/join–give...
WWriting Beyond
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Where Culture Matters In The Brand Plan

...ting the perceived or real value of those attributes. For example, if your company competes based on its customer experience, but the overall bar for customer experience is now higher, what does that mean for your brand? Is what used to be an advantage now just table stakes? Tactics Being smart about culture helps ground your brand in the language and sensibility of the present. This kind of fluency can enable more effective outcomes around messag...
BBlog
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VIDEO: Weeksville on TheRoot.com

...t it has been fulfilling and humbling to see the outpouring of support that we’ve received: Approximately $250,000 in 8 days from over 4,000 donors from 7 countries! It’s incredible. To be honest, this doesn’t solve our problems, but it gives us room to breathe and plan for how to come out of this situation as a stronger, more stable institution. That’s the next thing we have to work on. More to come. In the meantime, enjoy the video! Shout outs t...
BBlog

Digital Music Forum: Michael Robertson founder of MP3.com

...on music was the nail in the coffin for DRM music from Best Buy or Napster.com Lockersync: Autosyncing.  Anytime you download a song, it gets zapped to your locker.  His device is connected to that locker. Demos his autoplay.  With the creation of playmix, you can create a radio type experience.  Now, is he building a business on the backs of the intellectual property of others? Here’s how he uses personal locker. Same level of security as banks N...
MMarketing
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#FutureOfFood: What’s The Scenario (Plan)?

...d function, and our meals for experience and socialization.” Soylent isn’t coming for our Sunday potlucks. It’s coming for our frozen quesadillas. If you’re a QSR or a grocery brand, you should be factoring this into your scenario plans. Be honest: If your products are primarily in the ”meals for utility and function” category, Soylent or products like it could pose a problem for you. What happens to products that comprise these forgettable meals?...
BBusiness

2008: The year of the digital download?

...ird of brand and agency executives say their companies now offer customers free digital downloads as a promotional incentive." Some stats: Half of the respondents were unsure of how music or ringtones could be leveraged to promote their products Nearly 60% felt they weren’t leveraging digital media effectively Metrics remain a barrier to greater adoption, since nearly half are looking for alternate means to track loyalty and incentive program succ...
CCulture
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“We Do This ‘Til We Free Us” by Mariame Kaba

...of things. I want to try a bunch of things. And maybe the resources will be there this time to actually make that work. In fact, Kaba’s Project NIA has set up a site called One Million Experiments, designed to provide “snapshots of community-based safety strategies that expand our ideas about what keeps us safe”. Interested in reading We Do This ‘Til We Free Us? Order your copy from Bookshop. Important links: Project NIA One Million Experiments...
CCulture
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Now on The Huffington Post.com: Dash’s Blakroc disses black rock

...three years championing on my blog. The conflation of the two is offensive. There’s too much history there. It’s like he’s acknowledging the existence of black rock with his middle finger. Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-fields/dashs-blakroc-disses-blac_b_326420.html Read the full article here. If you’re inclined to share your thoughts on this subject, please do so over at the HuffPo....
BBlog
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Now On Forbes.com: Culture As Competitive Advantage

...lse is transmitted or carried on.” Culture is the medium through which all communications travels, and it’s what complicates marketers’ efforts. Just as water bends light, culture changes—sometimes slightly, sometimes to a great degree—the direction, impact and meaning of communication. The message can vary greatly depending on who’s sending and who’s receiving. That’s why slang in the wrong hands is cringe-worthy: Even though all of the words may...
BBlog
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How to Build Resilient Black Arts Organizations

...er support) leads to organizational self-doubt. This is why, in my case, a committed community board of a 50-year-old legacy organization was exhausted, couldn’t see a way forward, and was considering merging. Lack of trust and money means you can’t hire the full staff you need, so Black executive directors are required to be good at everything: executive leadership, programming, community engagement, fundraising, budgeting, and finances. This bre...
MMarketing

Dispatches from the 2005 PMA Annual Conference

...e, my main interest in attending the conference was the unveiling of the research study I’ve been project managing for the last seven or so months. The study, a joint effort by the PMA and Northwestern University, is entitled “ROI of Integrated Marketing,” and is focused on two key areas: First, what are some best practices around the way brands develop, execute and measure integrated marketing programs? Second, the study looked at the organizatio...