It's Not Just "Idol" Entertainment Anymore

Alison DaSilva, Executive Vice President, Cause Branding ^SM, Cone

 

Take a popular show with a vast, attentive audience, align it with significant social issues, add a menagerie of eager corporate sponsors, and what do you get? A commanding communication platform capable of harnessing the “power of many” to foster significant social change.

 

American Idol’s IDOL GIVES BACK has forever redefined the traditional telethon by successfully leveraging the immense influence of entertainment to raise nearly $70 million for children living in poverty in the United States and Africa. Comparable only to the Celebrity Telethon that raised $129 million to benefit the victims of September 11th, American Idol has served as an influential catalyst to raise social consciousness among a massive audience.

 

Much more than a gathering of A-list entertainers, three critical best practices underlie the success of IDOL GIVES BACK that should serve as models to others:

 

It provided an easy call-to-action
We are all too familiar with the increasing segmentation of audiences as they pursue a growing array of media channels. Idol has a unique platform in its ability to reach a large audience through a single outlet, but wisely, the show did not stop there. According to Cone’s 2006 Nonprofit Research, 68 percent of Americans say an easy and convenient way to donate is important when they select a cause to support. American Idol received a record number of votes (more than 70 million), which translated into charitable donations, by offering a simple call-to-action for millions of loyal viewers with mobile devices and computers at their fingertips. After the show, viewers could download content from iTunes with the proceeds benefiting the charity or visit the Web site for more opportunities to get involved beyond donating money.

 

It humanized the issues and the American Idol brand
For a brief moment, Simon Cowell actually made people cry…in a good way. For a show too often centered around Sanjaya’s latest hairstyle or Paula Abdul’s personal life, Idol did a remarkable job of shedding light on issues of global importance and offering a glimpse into the day-to-day plight of children and families in the U.S. and Africa. Video diaries of Cowell and Ryan Seacrest visiting families in Africa, as well as a children’s choir taking to the stage, served as poignant reminders of the show’s intent.

 

It highlighted tangible impacts
Millennials are a generation largely tuned into American Idol, and they also have an incredible desire to see the impact of their actions. The 2006 Cone Millennial Study indicates that while 63 percent of millennials will donate money to a cause, fewer than half (30 percent) actually believe it will make a difference. Idol turned this notion on its head by offering explicit descriptions of the impact each donation will make. For example, a mere $3 can buy one dose of antiretroviral drugs for an HIV positive mother and child. Three dollars toward saving a life and a family; it does not get much more tangible than that.

 

To truly be perceived as authentic and trustworthy, American Idol and its partners now have an obligation to provide evidence of the continuing impact of the program and their ongoing commitment to these social issues. If they can fulfill this obligation, we may one day credit America’s preeminent reality show with successfully harnessing pop culture to drive true social change.