If you were inspired by my last post on working with Hollywood writers to do social marketing “product placement,” you’re in luck. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has just published a report called Your Issue Here: Working with Hollywood to Deliver Your Message to Millions (download pdf or order hard copy).
Based on interviews with many of the Entertainment Resource Professionals Association members, writers Karen Brailsford and Andy Goodman have identified 14 principles to guide causes that want to reach out to the entertainment industry. Briefly, they are:
- Build your Rolodex and work it relentlessly.
- Deliver a strong pitch by keeping the facts hard and the sell soft.
- Immerse yourself in the Hollywood community.
- Become an indispensable research assistant.
- Let the writers do the writing.
- Even when they say yes, be careful.
- Look beyond the Nielsen Top 20.
- Keep it light to shine a light.
- Partner with proven experts in entertainment outreach.
- Aim high by approaching networks, not just specific shows.
- Capitalize on network initiatives already in play.
- Make the most of storylines that touch on your issue.
- Put a very recognizable face on your cause.
- Reward the entertainment community.
Read the report yourself to get the meat behind these tasty bites and benefit from this collected wisdom.
Technorati Tags: rwjf, television, health, marketing, media
Nedra helps nonprofits and public agencies create positive change on health and social issues through social marketing and transmedia storytelling strategies at Weinreich Communications since founding the company in 1995. She helps organizations make a difference for the populations they serve by strategically designing programs that draw on state-of-the-art behavior change techniques, digital media approaches and the power of stories. 
