AssessingCreativeMedia’sSocialImpact

PresentedbyTheFledglingFundDecember2008

ByDianaBarrettandSheilaLeddy

Forcommentsorquestions,pleasee‐mailSheilaLeddyatsheila.leddy@thefledglingfund.org

TheFledglingFundwelcomescitedreferencestothispaper.Whenthispaperiscited,pleasesendcompletedworkstosheila.leddy@thefledglingfund.orgsothatwemaytrackitsusage.To

citethispaper,pleaseuse:

Barrett,DianaandSheilaLeddy.“AssessingCreativeMedia’sSocialImpact.”TheFledglingFund.2008.http://www.thefledglingfund.org/media/research.html.

©CopyrightTheFledglingFund2008

Media has become an increasinglyeffective tool for social change or so wewouldall liketothink–particularlythoseofus who fund film and other creative media.From The Fledgling Fund’s perspective, itseems intuitive and logical that awell‐madedocumentary film—especially one with acompelling narrative and well‐craftedoutreach plan, would serve as a catalyst tochange minds, encourage viewers to alterentrenched behaviors and start, inform orreenergize social movements! Likewise,compelling photographs, short videos, radioandweb‐basedmediaappeartobekeytoolsinraisingawarenessandengagingviewersinsocialissues.

Weare,afterall,accustomedtotheheavy

hitting and ubiquitous world of advertising,another visual medium and one thatpervadesour culture.Weassume that if adscan sell products, visual imagery linked to asocial justicenarrative can sell social action,or political conviction. Who can forget thepower of the Aflac duck,which has boostedbothbrand recognitionandsales2orGeico’slizard and its cavemenwho have raised theprofileandsalesofthatautoinsurer?3

In fact, however, The Fledgling Fundhas

found that it can be surprisingly difficult tomake a firm connection between the powerof a film or other media and social change.Nevertheless, we believe that films can anddo have social impact, and obviously,wouldnot be funding in this area if we thoughtotherwise.However,wealsobelievethatthesocial impact of media, particularlydocumentary films, needs to be better 2 http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199‐2846151/The‐mighty‐duck‐Aflac‐is.html#abstract3http://www.post‐gazette.com/pg/07002/750670‐28.stm

understoodanddocumented.Thepurposeofthis paper is to explore in greater detail theuse of documentary films that are linked tocoordinated outreach efforts as changeagents. To that end, we are focused on thefollowingquestions:

• Are all documentary films in fact calls to

action?Shouldtheybe?• What do we mean by outreach and

community engagement campaigns andhowcantheyleveragethepowerofafilminsuchawaythatitcanindeedserveasacenterpiece of a broader socialmovement?

• How can emerging distribution modelsandweb technologies enhance the socialimpactofmedia

• What examples, or case studies, do wehave that illustrate how compellingdocumentary films can be effective toolsfor social change andwhat canwe learnfromthem?

• Whatcanwelearnfromotherswhohavestudiedandwrittenaboutthisissue?

• Andultimately,whatkindsofmetricscanbeusedtoassessimpact?

Our goal is to both inform our own

fundingdecisions and also add to the largerdialogue surrounding the impactof filmandothermedia.

DocumentaryFilmsasChangeAgents

It is important to note that not alldocumentaryfilmsareintendedtobeagentsof social change, nor should they be. Some,such as Grey Gardens, are simply lovely,moving storieswhoseprimarypurpose is toentertain and share a compelling story.However, given The Fledgling Fund’s socialchangemission,wearefocusedinthispaperonthosedocumentaryfilmsthatareintendedtobeagentsofsocialchange.

To provide some context perhaps it

would be useful to place the documentaryfilm within the ultra competitive mediaenvironment with many content choices.Fewpeople choose to spend theirmoneyortheir time in the theater viewing adocumentary film. In 2008, for example,88Minutes opened inNewYork City andmade$71millionduring theopeningweekend;21made$24millionduring the sameperiodoftime. At the same time, Academy Awardnominee War Dance and Academy AwardWinner, Taxi to the Darkside, bothdocumentary films, made approximately$100,000 and $13,000 respectively on theiropeningweekends.

Even those films enjoying box office

success and heavy media publicity, such asAn Inconvenient Truth, draw relatively fewpeople.Only4%ofadultAmericansactuallysaw this film.4AndasMatthewNisbetnotesin his introduction to “Documentaries on aMission: How Nonprofits Are Making Movies

4 LosAngelesTimes/BloombergSurvey(2006,Aug.3).AmericansWorriedaboutClimateChange,BushNotDoingEnough.Availableathttp://www.latimes.com/media/acrobat/2006‐08/24711743.pdf

for Public Engagement”5 it’s interesting thatthe audience for this, and likely for similarfilms,waslargelyselfselected.Viewerswerealready interested in the issue of globalwarmingandtheiropinionswereunlikelytochangeasaresultofhavingviewedthefilm.The same comment could be made aboutmany of the other “blockbuster”documentary films, a term that is somewhatof an oxymoron when compared with trulyblockbusterfilmssuchasTitanicorTheLordoftheRings.

How then, can a documentary film,

whether designed as a theatrically releasedfilm that does the festival circuit and alimited theater run, or onemeant for publictelevision or for cable release, or even onethat uses an alternative formof distribution(i.e. online downloads or On Demand) havethe kind of impact that changes minds,inspires action, and ignites social change?Perhapsweneedtobroadenourdefinitionofthe word “impact”. David Whiteman, forexample, argues that we tend to focus ontraditionalmeasuresusedbystudiosthatarefarmore relevant to largebudget films. Wefocus on box office receipts and the size ofthe audience, which are really measures ofsuccessful film marketing or promotion.Instead, we might do better to think of thefilmasonepointonacontinuum,witha lifebefore broadcast and a life, perhaps quite alonglife,afterbroadcast.6Inotherwords,thefilm making process itself may changeperceptions and attitudes, facilitated

5http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/docsonamission/6Whiteman,D.(2004)Outofthetheatersandintothestreets:AcoalitionmodelofthePoliticalimpactofdocumentaryfilmandmedia.PoliticalCommunications21(1):51‐70

screeningsmightleadtoagreaterawarenessof the issue and an increasedwillingness tobecome involved in the issue and in thecommunity. Increasingly,wealsoareseeingfilmmakers and other media makers useweb‐based strategies to involve theiraudiences in theproject’sdevelopment. Forexample,BraveNewFilmsusesanation‐widenetwork of volunteer videographers andresearchers to compile their online socialaction campaigns. Thebeautyof thismodelis that each film already has a built‐innetworkofviewerswiththeirownindividualnetworks with whom they can share thevideo.The“life”ofthedocumentarycanalsobe extended far beyond the traditional firstyear of festival/theatrical release orbroadcastanditsimpactenhancedwhenitislinked with a strategic communityengagementoroutreachcampaign.

The Role of Emerging DistributionStrategiesandWebTechnology

Perhapsthemostexcitingdevelopmentin

the last several years is the emergence ofnewdigitaldistributionoptions thatprovidemultiple channels for distribution, allowingfilmmakers to tailor their films for differentaudiences in diverse settings. Importantly,many of these new distribution channelsallow for and encourage interaction andengagement of viewers that enables a film’smessage to be amplified and shared moreeasily than if the onlymodes of distributionremainedtheatrical,broadcastorcommunityscreenings. For example, digital filmscreening “theaters” (Snag Films ‐www.snagfilms.com‐isincreasinglypopular)transformintoforumsfordiscussion,sharinganddebateassoonasthefilmhasended,oreven during the screening. This allowsfilmmakers to harness the energy,

compassionandexcitementthatfilmsevoke,without the watering down that happens intraditional screening venues as audiencesleavetheaters.Thisforumservesnotonlyasan organic community‐builder around socialissues,butalsoallowsthefilmmakertotracktheimpactthattheirfilmhashadonviewers,and the impact they are making in theircommunitiesandtheworld.

For many filmmakers, offering their full

film online is still not an option, given themethod’s limited monetization to date.However, these filmmakers are maximizingthe social networking and community‐buildingpowerof the internet todrive theirsocial action campaigns. After audiencesviewafilmatafestival,communityscreeningor other traditional venue, they areencouraged tovisit the film’swebsite. Moreimportantly, filmmakers are using websitestobuildacommunitybeforethefilmhasevenbeen completed. Building excitement for afilmbeforeitsreleaseisincreasinglyacriticalstrategy to deepen the reach and impact offilms.This“pre‐release”communitycanalsoserve as a vital resource to filmmakerswhoareseekingideasandfeedbackaboutthemes,storylines and dialogue featured in the film.Engaging a pre‐release audience in thestorytelling deepens their investment in thefilm and, logically, increases the likelihoodthat they will see the film, and moreimportantly,takeaction.

The best of these websites include, at

minimum, the following components inaddition to the more general informationaboutthefilm:• Factual information about the issues

raisedinthefilm

• Links to organizations, movements orcommunities that are working on theissuesraisedinthefilm

• Concrete ways for people from alldemographicstogetinvolvedinmakingarealchangeintheirownlives,communityandworld

• A forum for people to share theirexperiences of social change and actionandcommentontheactionsandideasofothers

• A place to sign up to receive e‐mailcommunications about the issues raisedinthefilm

Again, one of the most important

resourcesthatthesewebsitesprovideisreal‐time and constant feedback for filmmakers.Instead of the traditional model where afilm’s action campaign was sent out to theworld to be digested by audiences, andfilmmakers rarely learned of the impactfootprint, these complex and interactivewebsitesallowfilmmakerstomonitor,adjustand re‐engage audiences throughout the lifeof the outreach campaign. For example, onthemostbasiclevel,ifawebsiteisnotgettingasmanyhitsasanticipated,a filmmakercanreadjust toensure thatpeopleareguided tothe film’sonlineresources. Or, ifpeopleareblogging on thewebsite that they are angryorpassionateabouttheissue,butfewpeopleareabletoidentifyhowtomakechange,thefilmmaker can offer additional solutionsonline that will help keep the actioncampaign alive longer. Also, importantly, asso many films are about current andconstantly evolving social issues, the film’swebsiteanddigitalcommunicationstrategiescan provide timely updates, which oftenencouragepeopletotakefurtheraction.Forexample,theremaybenewcallstoactionin

which people can participate and add theirvoicestoachorusforchange.

Film Promotion versus CommunityEngagementandOutreachCampaigns

During the past decade, a number oforganizationshaveemergedasexpertsinthefield of community engagement andoutreach, designing and implementingcreative and strategic campaigns aroundfilms. Outreach campaigns do not all looklike. They can be short or long term, local,nationaloreveninternational intheirscope.Based on our research, however, successfuloutreachcampaignshaveanumberofthingsincommon:clearobjectives,aspecificactionplan, appropriate resources over the lengthofthecampaign,andleaderswhomakearealattempt to measure progress towards theirgoals. Tactics can include TV and printadvertising, theuseofdigitalandconsumer‐driven media, repurposing footage, socialissue partnership development, celebrityinvolvement, facilitated discussions, aneducational strategy, penetration into newvenues, and clear calls to action. Asdescribed above, a hearty online presencethrough the film’s website is imperative forfilms seeking to engage audiences insustained and meaningful social action. Inaddition, filmmakers should be expandingthis digital outreach to social networkingsites such as Facebook, Myspace, Youtubeand Twitter to draw in new audiences thatmayhavenotseenorevenheardof the filmbefore. Each campaignwill have a differentset of “moving parts” and will thus becustomized and unique. However, fromourpoint of view and based on our research todate, the most effective outreach andcommunity engagement campaigns movebeyond the goal of increasing audience size

andsalesandseektousefilmsasvehiclesofsocialchange.Astrategiccampaigncanmovepeoplefromawarenesstoactionandinsomecaseshelptobuildorstrengthenbroadsocialmovementswhich in turn can lead to socialchange.

While there are many examples of

successful outreach campaigns (SeeAppendix for a sample list), there are threethat come to mind as particularlyinformative: Blue Vinyl’s My House is YourHouse Campaign, National Legacy OutreachCampaignandTheNewAmericansCampaign.Each of these projects illustrates howeffective community engagement andoutreach campaigns can magnify the socialimpactofdocumentaryfilms.Blue Vinyl: The My House is Your HouseCampaign7

ThefilmBlueVinylandaccompanyingMyHouse is Your House campaign byWorkingFilms has been hailed by filmmakers andactivists alike because of the real change itcreated in individuals, institutions and themarketplace at‐large. Judith Helfand, thefilm’s co‐director, has a strong record oflinking her films to creative activism andstrategic grassroots organizing. Blue Vinylexposes the toxic life cycle of PVC plastic,startingwiththeinnocent‐lookingbluesidingon Helfand’s parents’ home in Long Island.Blue Vinyl has been dubbed the “greenbuilding movement’s first cult classic” andhas been instrumental in translating andexplainingthetoxiclifecycleofPVC–fromitsproductiontoitsdisposal.

7www.myhouseisyourhouse.org,

Thecampaign,whichcostabout$420,000oversixyears,hadasoneofitscomponents,the development of organizationalpartnershipsandaclearplanofaction.Earlyon,whenthefilmwasstillbeingresearched,the producers reached out to the ComingClean collaborative, an umbrella oforganizations at the forefront of health andenvironmentaljusticeadvocacyintheUnitedStates. Through a series of feedbackscreenings of the 18‐minute trailer, therough‐cut, and finally the 94‐minute finalproject, members of the Coming Cleancollaborative informed the film’s narrative,assuringthatthefilm’smessagingdovetailedwiththeirorganizingcampaigns.Inaddition,the filmmakers partnered with WorkingFilms, a national nonprofit co‐founded byHelfand, that links documentary film witheducation, activism, and grassrootsorganizing. Working Films convened andfacilitated a two‐day strategy summit,bringingtogethertheproducerswithComingClean activists, environmental healthadvocates, green builders, and scientists toshare insights in response to the fine cut ofthe film and develop an outreach strategyaimed at building and advancing the PVC‐Freemovement.

The summit meeting was designed toidentify thekey issues the campaignneededto address including target audiences, and atimeline of opportunities that linked thedistribution of the film to the ongoingworkof the organizations in the room. The fivestrategicconstituencies identifiedfortheMyHouse is Your House campaign included:Sundance and HBO broadcast viewers,professionals in the design and buildingindustry,collegesanduniversities,affordablehousingprovidersandhouseholdconsumers.Foreach,aplanwasdevised to leverage the

film’s impact from its premiere at the 2002SundanceFilmFestival to itsHBOBroadcastandbeyond.

From the start, the campaign has

achieved clear results. At its Sundancepremiereviewerssignedandsentover1500,“Greetings from Sundance”, postcards toIntimate Brands (the parent company ofVictoria’s Secret and Bath and BodyWorks)that, in conjunction with a push fromGreenpeace, resulted in 6000 emails.Withina month, Intimate Brands made acommitment to completely phase out PVCfromtheirpackaging.

Theoverallgoalof theMyHouse isYour

House campaign, which is ongoing, is tosupportthegrowinggrassrootsmovementtotransform the PVC industry so that it is nolonger of source of persistent toxins thatthreatenhumanityandtheenvironment. Tothat end, it has focused on the followingobjectives:

• To push professionals within the designandbuildingindustrytobePVC‐free;

• To motivate architectural and designstudents on university campuses wheremajor construction and renovationprojectsareintheplanningstages;

• To inspire faith‐based institutions in themidst of capital campaigns and majorbuilding and renovation projects to linktheirphilosophical/spiritualcommitmentto the preservation of environmentalhealthandjustice;,and

• To support affordable options to toxicbuilding materials, including supportingHabitatforHumanityeffortstobuildwithhealthyandsustainableproducts.

WorkingFilmsledoutreachtochaptersofAmericanInstituteofArchitects(AIA),whichwere awarded Continuing Education Credits(required in most states to maintainlicensure)forviewinganddiscussingthefilmand its relation to the field of architecture.Building professionals learned more aboutthe dangers associated with PVC and havebeen inspired to commit to using “green”alternatives. Screenings of Blue Vinyl havebeen hosted by AIA member firms andchapters in over 15 states, with manyarchitectsanddesignerscommittedtogreenbuildingbysigninga“PVC‐free”pledge.

Blue Vinyl has screened at over 100

colleges and universities, over 30 of thesescreenings led tocampuspolicies insupportofsustainablebuilding.Forexample,CornellUniversity committed to reducing negativeenvironmental impacts of construction oncampus through its “Green BuildingInitiative.”, Tulane now has an institutionalcommitment to purchase green buildingmaterials.SimilarexamplesofimpactofBlueVinylscreeningscanbeseenatBatesCollege,Bowdoin College, University of SouthernMaine, Case Western Reserve University,OberlinCollege,SUNYBuffalo,andUniversityofUtahamongothers.

In 2004, capitalizing on the widespreadsuccess of Blue Vinyl and the surge of anti‐vinyldiscussionwithinthebuildingindustry,Greenpeace and the Healthy BuildingNetwork spearheaded the design andconstruction of the first affordable,environmentally sustainable PVC‐freeHabitatforHumanityHouse–withBlueVinylused as a key component in garneringstakeholder support. Located in a historicNew Orleans neighborhood not far frommany PVC plants, the house proved to

affordable housing providers and the publicthatyoucouldbuildanaffordablehomeandstill meet an affordable pricing baseline of$60,000.

The campaign also targeted large

companies and institutions with impressiveresults.Forexample,afterscreeningthefilmfor 1000 construction and procurementemployeesatKaiserPermanente(thelargestnon‐profithealthcareorganizationwithover30hospitalsand400medicalcenters),Kaisercommitted to eliminating PVC in theirbuilding and renovation projects, includingcarpet backing, corner and wall guards andchangeditsbuildingstandardstoalsoincludeaswitch toPVC‐freeresilient flooring. AfterKaiser asked their primary carpetmanufacturer to provide PVC‐free flooring,the factory introduced new PVC‐freecommercialproducts–akeymarketshift.

Inspired by a closed‐door City Council

screening of Blue Vinyl organized by theHealthy Building Network and theWashingtonToxicCoalition;theSeattleParksand Recreation office cancelled an order for34,000feetofPVCpipesandsentthembacktotheirdistributor.SanFranciscoinitiatedaPVC‐free procurement policy with ascreening of Blue Vinyl for city departmentheads,withmanycitiessincesigningsimilarcommitments after screenings, includingNewYork,BostonandBuffalo.

From the outset, the My House is YourHouse campaign, with thousands ofscreeningsofBlueVinyl,wasgearedtowardshelping consumers understand that there isnosuchthingascheapwhenthemanylong‐term problems associated with a productthroughout its lifecycle are considered. Thefilmhasbeenleveragedtocreatedemandfor

alternativematerialsthatinturnlowercosts.The availability of Blue Vinyl to health andenvironmental justice organizers and greenbuilding proponents provides an invaluabletool that allows them to translate scientificdatawith pop‐cultural appeal. MyHouse isYourHousehasbeenstrategicallypositionedintotheorganizingeffortsaimedatcreatingahealthyandsustainabletoxic‐freefuture.

Legacy8

A documentary film by Tod Lending,

Legacy tells the inspiring story of howmembers of the Collins family broke free ofwelfare,recoveredfromsubstanceabuseandescaped the specter of violence in theircommunity. Family members succeeded ineducation and job training, securedemployment,moved to a safe neighborhoodandgainedself‐respect.Itsmulti‐phasedandmulti‐platform outreach campaign wasdesigned and organized by OutreachExtensions, a national consulting firm thatspecializes in comprehensive, high‐profileeducational and community outreachcampaigns formediaprojects. Theoutreachcampaign, supported by the Annie E. CaseyFoundation, The John D. and Catherine T.MacArthur Foundation, W.K. KelloggFoundation and HBO, was designed toexpandpublicawarenessanddialogueandtowork in partnership with key organizationsonthegroundthatfocusedonstrengtheningyouth,familiesandcommunities.

The overall outreach plan comprised a

numberofcomponentsincluding:theLegacyCommunity Action Toolbox, the Legacy 8FormoreinformationonLegacy,pleaseseehttp://www.pbs.org/legacy/documentary/index.html,http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/archives/online_features/triumph.phpand

website, screenings and events, customizedmaterials for the faith community, and localpublic television station engagement.Importantly, it also involved nationalpartnerships with social issue organizationsthat could bring the film to communityaudiences. These organizations focused onfamiliesandchildreninpublichousing,youthdevelopment, and grand parenting andintergenerationalissues.

Outreach Extensions advanced a dual

strategy to utilize the strengths of bothHBO/Cinemax (audience reach and mediapower) and PBS (targeted audiences,community outreach expertise and on‐the‐ground activities, role of stations as neutralconveners, and itsonlinepresence) to reachandservecommunities.Thisstrategyhelpedto build a seamless campaign for the July2001 Cinemax premiere broadcast and thelaterNovember2002PBSbroadcast.

By all accounts the campaign was very

successful and can point to a number ofpositiveoutcomes.AnevaluationbyAppliedResearch&ConsultingLLC(ARC)foundthattheoutreachcampaignwas“highlysuccessfulin achieving all of its four major goals,including:

• utilizing media in innovative ways to

stimulatecommunityaction;• engaging and supporting organizations

thatworkwithnewandspecialaudiences(e.g.,familieslivinginpoverty,individualsin substance abuse prevention andrecovery, grandparentswho are primarycaretakers for their grandchildren, high‐riskyouth)

• raising awareness and understanding ofpressingandcomplexsocialissues;and,

• encouraging coalition‐building amongcommunity organizations and helpingthem develop sustainable resources andstrategiestoimprovethelivesoffamiliesincitiesacrossthecountry.”9

ARC’s evaluation also reported that the

campaign had reached more than 562,000individuals through outreach activities,publications, and broadcasts of localproductions; had 33,600 web site visitors;and distributed more than 5,300 Legacy ofFaith videos, 4,800 Legacy of CommunityAction videos, almost 2,500 copies of theLegacy Community Action Toolbox, andabout11,250separateToolboxsections.Thenational campaign facilitated over 1,000community and faith events and screeningsand organized 103 appearances of Collinsfamily members at events and screenings.Local public television stations involved inthe campaignhelped to customize campaignresourcestoservetheiraudiences.

The campaign’s production of two short

videos, Legacy of Community Action andLegacyofFaith,repurposingfootagefromthedocumentary,createdaspringboardforlocaldiscussion and action. The Legacy of Faithvideo opened the door for congregations tobegin to use media effectively in conveningaudiencesandgeneratingsustainableaction.OutreachExtensionshasengaged this targetaudience in subsequent faith‐basedcampaigns including Faith Into Action andOmarandPete.ThelatteralsopenetratedtheFederalBureauofPrisonstoassistprisonerswho were reentering their families andcommunitiesfollowingincarceration.

9http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/documents/legacy_eval.pdf

Legacy can also point to a clear policyimpact directly linked to the film. Thecampaignsuccessfullyusedthedocumentaryfilmasaplatformforsocialaction, includingefforts to achieve federal housing legislationon behalf of grandparents rearing theirgrandchildren.TheTransportation,Treasury,and Housing and Urban Developmentappropriations bill signed into law onNovember 30, 2005 included $4 million forLEGACY Housing Demonstrations (namedafter the film). Along with OutreachExtensions, Generations United, one of thenationaloutreachpartners,wasinstrumentalin this unprecedented outcome.Congressional sponsors cited the film as aninspirationandaneffectivetoolingarneringsupportforpassage.

WhileLegacywasahighdollarcampaign,about $1.3 million over its five‐yearduration, outreach and communityengagement campaigns funded at lowerdollar amounts can achieve substantialimpacts.

TheNewAmericans10

Aseven‐hourPBSminiseriesproducedbyKartemquin Films and that premiered in2004, The New Americans focuses on thesearch for the American Dream through theeyesoftoday's immigrantsandrefugees. Itscommunity engagement campaign was theresult of a partnership among the ITVS‐Community Connections Project, ActiveVoice, The National Issues Forums Instituteand Outreach Extensions. The fourorganizations created resources to help

10http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/newamericans/http://www.itvs.org/outreach/newamericans/

public television stations, educationalinstitutions and community organizationsdevelop partnerships and grassrootsinitiatives that support newcomerintegration. The civic engagement outreachcampaignhadthefollowinggoals:• Improve student and faculty cultural

sensitivityonimmigrantissues• Encourageprofessionaldevelopmentand

sensitivity training for service providersand business leaders who work withimmigrants

• Recognize and cultivate leaders inimmigrantcommunities.

• Develop and strengthen coalitions,resourcesandactivities.

• Convene public forums and previewscreeningsonrelatedissues.

• Build awareness of the series usingelectronic networks, newsletters andwebsites.The outreach campaign enlisted a range

of national partners and developedmultipleresourcestargetedtowardspecificaudiences.Active Voice and Kartemquin Productionscollaboratively developed 15‐20 minutetheme‐based video modules, that focus oncivic engagement, sensitizing educators, andyouthaswellascompaniondiscussionguidesandtrainingpackagesforadvocatesteachers,human resources professionals, youthorganizers, and inter‐group facilitators.Active Voice also partnered with a range oflocal organizations across the countryprovidingtechnicalassistanceandsupporttoorganizations actively involved in launchingthe New Americans Campaign in theircommunities. They provided staff supportfor managing local campaign activitiesincluding screenings, trainings andpromotionofthemodules.

According to an evaluation conductedby

the Association for the Study andDevelopmentofCommunityforActiveVoice,the campaign had impact at the individual,organizational and community levels.Individuals reported increased knowledgeand awareness of immigrant related issuesand became more involved in activities toaddress them. Organizations formed newrelationshipswith national and local groupsworking on similar issues, enhanced theirprogramming to address immigrant issuesand expanded their membership. At thecommunity level, new relationships wereformedandtherewasincreasedadvocacyfortherightsofimmigrants.11

In addition to Active Voice’s videomodules, ITVS developed classroom andcommunity discussion kits. The NationalIssues Forum Institute created a companiondiscussion guide for civic and educationalorganizations interested addressing publicissues in local forums. Finally, OutreachExtensionsfocusedontheneedsoftheLatinocommunity developing a workshopcurriculum(inEnglishandSpanish)toassistparents and caregivers of young children.Overseen by Outreach Extensions, selectedpublic television stations received funds tojoinwith local partners to conduct activitiessuch as educational workshops, screeningevents,publicforums,museumexhibits,localpublic affairs productions, teacher trainings,and resource fairs ‐ all of which weredesigned to facilitate discussions and raiseawarenessaboutthechallengesfacedbynew

11 FinalReportfortheEvaluationoftheNewAmericansCampaignpreparedbyAssociationfortheStudyandDevelopmentofCommunityforActiveVoice,July29,2004.

immigrants among diverse audiences andcommunities.KeyLessons

Each of the campaigns, discussed verybriefly above, was unique and used asomewhat different approach. In addition,each was spearheaded by a differentorganization. While they all use a film as acenterpieceofa largercampaign,theytargetdifferent audiences and the goals of thecampaignsmovewellbeyondtraditionalfilmmarketing, incorporating goals that arelinked to social change rather than simplybuildingaudiencesize.Analysisoftheseandother case studies as well as variousconversations with key outreach providersincluding Working Films, OutreachExtensionsandActiveVoice,pointtocertaindeterminantsofsuccessfulcampaigns.Theseinclude:• Clear Goals that are realistic and linked

to the narrative and to the needs of themovement. The goals canbe focusedoneducation and raising awareness amongkeyaudiences, grassrootsorganizingandclear “take action” steps, movement andcoalitionbuilding,aswellaslargerpublicpolicygoals.

• A Specific Plan that is based on an

understanding of key target audiencesandhowbesttoreachthemwhetheritbethrough traditional avenues, keypartnerships or a methodical onlineoutreach plan. Online plans shouldinclude clear strategies to engage eachtargetaudienceinaction,toolstomonitorand report on this action in order tofurtherengagethecommunityaroundthefilm. The film’s website and broader

online presence should be seen as farmorethanaparkingplaceforinformationabout the film. Instead, each filmmakershould be thinking strategically, and asearly as possible, about building andsustaining a community of activistsonline.Thisactioncouldbeameaningfuldiscussion and dialogue or action‐oriented requests, such as hosting ascreening, donating to a cause,engagement in direct advocacy aroundtheissue.

• Flexibilitythatallowstheprojecttotake

advantage of new opportunities andpartnerships, to implement action stepsover time and to alert audiences todevelopments that may have occurredfollowing the completion of productionsuchasa change in circumstance relatedto one or more of the characters, newlegislation, or new issues related to theprojectthatarebeingaddressed.

• Appropriate Level of Partnership with

key organizations that have content areaexpertiseandthatarealreadyworkingontheissuesaddressedinthefilmandhaverelationships with key audiences.Partnerships are key to a campaign’ssustainability beyond the release.Partnerswhosemissionsarealignedwiththe issue can carry action forward. Vitalcampaign resources such as guides,educational materials and materialrepurposed for community/educationaluse can support screenings, discussionandactionplanning. Thesepartners canfeature the film and the associatedcampaign on their own website and indigital communications to theirmembershiporcommunity.Thiscanbeacriticalfactorindrivingnewpeopletothe

film’s website and broader onlinepresence.

• Sufficient Expertise and Resources

including management, technical andfinancial. Successfuloutreachcampaignsrequire ongoing coordination andcommitment. In some cases, thismeansthat outreach can be coordinated by thefilmmaker or an outreach coordinatorworkingoutof the filmmaker’soffice. Inother cases an external organization likeWorking Films, Active Voice or OutreachExtensions canbe enlisted to design andmanage the campaign. However,regardlessofthemodelchosentomanagethe outreach activities, sufficientresources are required to support theplanning and implementation of theoutreachcampaign.

• Defined Timeline which can reflect

differentphasesofaproject. Thiscanbefocused around the film’s releases, suchas pre‐broadcast and post‐broadcastactivities, or festival, theatrical, digital orDVDreleasesorlinkedtothetimetableofongoing grassroots campaigns. A clearstartandendtovariousphases,however,providesanopportunitytoreflectonkeylessons,impactandevolvingneedsofthecampaign. Importantly, an outreachstrategy should begin long before theactual release of the project to helpensureabuilt‐incommunityforthefilm’sreleaseandactioncampaign.

• Plan to Track Impact that is linked to

the campaign’s specific goals and whenpossiblemovesbeyondprocessmeasuressuchasnumberof screeningsorwebsitehits, toward outcome measures such asviewer action and policy change. This

deeper‐level impact canoftenbe trackedthroughonlineaudienceengagementandanecdotally through the stories andreports that people post on a film’swebsite.

Obviously, all of these factors are

dependentonthetypeofoutreachcampaignbeing undertaken and they all need to fittogetherintoacoherentwhole.Forexample,theabilitytoachievethestatedgoalswillbeguided to a great extent by the campaign’stiming, having the right partners on board,and the appropriate level of resources.Likewise, measures of impact need to flowfrom the goals, plans for each targetaudience, and the phase of campaign.

Figure1.OutreachVersusFilmPromotionprovidesanoverviewofsomeofthedifferenttypes of outreach. We make a distinctionbetween traditionalmarketing,which inourviewhasrevenueasthekeygoal,andtheuseoffilmasavehicleofsocialchange.

As a funder of outreach, The FledglingFundpaysparticularattentiontothegoalsofa film, where the issue is in the publicconsciousness,whataudiencesit istargetingand what kind of change is reasonable toexpect. For each project, we strive todeterminewhattypeofoutreachwillbemosteffectivegiventheissueaddressedinthefilmandthefilm’snarrative.

Figure1.OutreachVersusFilmPromotion FilmasVehicleofSocialChange

FilmPromotion

EducationalOutreach

Take ActionCampaign

CommunityEngagement

Goal Revenue: Increasesize of “paying”audience

Education: Increaseawareness amongviewing (and non‐viewingpublic)aboutakeysocialissue.

Individual BehaviorChange:Usethefilmasatool to raise awarenessand spur individualbehaviorchange/action

Long Term Social Change:Embedfilminlongtermsocialchangeeffort.

CharacteristicsofPlan

Classic Marketingto“sell”themovie

Classic Marketing toSell the Issue. Morecomplex plan that usesmovie as keycomponent of largereducationaleffort.

SocialMarketing. Seekstomoveindividualsfromawareness to action.Such as donating to acause or advocating forparticularpolicychange.

Community EngagementInitiatives. Seeks to use thefilmas tool foradvocateswhoare already working on theissue and to strengthen andgrowthatmovementaswaytoachieve sustainable socialchange.

Level ofPartnershipwithActivist/NGOs

None Consists of workingwithpartners to gatherinfoforthemessage.

Involves partnershipwith key organizationsaround specificcampaignactions.

Requires long termpartnershipwithorganizationswhoworkontheissue

Expertise andResourcesNeeded

PR/MarketingFirm,Distribution Expert,understanding oftraditional andnontraditionaldistribution.

Strategic Communi‐cations/PR w/issuearea expertise.Screening orcurriculum guide,Ability to utilize web‐basedmedia.

PR/Marketingwithissuearea expertise andnonprofits with “TakeActionPlan”Ability to utilizenontraditional web‐basedmedia

Build and manage long‐termcollaborative relationships w/nonprofits; has the expertiseto work with both traditionaland nontraditional media, candevelop initiatives and bridgecampaigns.

Length/Timing Timed to film’sfestival, theatricalandDVDreleases.

Can be long termparticularlyifeducationmarket is accessed andif online strategy isrobust

Timed to window foraction (i.e. electionfundraising effort, , keylegislation

Long termeffortofwhich filmisonlyonepart.

TrackingImpact

Box office, DVDSales

Box Office, DVD Sales,Media stories on theissue that mention thefilm. Use of film ineducational setting andchanges in knowledge,attitudesandbeliefs.

Box office, DVD Sales,Media stories on theissue that reference thefilm, participation inspecific action(donationsetc.).Specificonlinetoolscanbeused,such aswww.zazango.com toprovide widgets forsocialimpacttracking.

Box office, DVD sales, mediastories on the issue thatreference the film, # andstrength of NGOs using film.Participation in NGOscreenings/discussionsSpecificpolicychanges,changeinthewaytopicisportrayedinmedia.Specificonlinetoolscanbe used, such aswww.zazango.com to tracksocialimpact.

Examples New Americans,War/Dance

Murderball, Born intoBrothels

Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, BlueVinyl, Legacy, Aging Out, KingCorn, The Return of NavajoBoy,AJihadforLove

AssessingImpactPerhapsmoredifficult thanassessingthe

structureofanoutreachplan,isassessingitsimpact.Thisofcourseiscriticalinjustifyingfundingandinformingfoundationboards.Totheextentpossible,wewanttomovefromanintuitive sense that documentary films havesocial impact to more concrete measures.Whilewedorealizethatmakingacausallinkbetween a film and broad social change isincredibly difficult to do, we know thatfilmmakers, funders and others focused onsocial change and performance evaluationhavedoneanenormousamountofworkthatcan and has informed our thinking.(Appendix B includes a list of variousresources in these areas.) Based on ouranalysis of work within the fields of socialmedia, social change and advocacy, andevaluation, several key lessons haveemerged.Theseincludetheneedto:• Think Beyond Box Office Success.

BecauseTheFledglingFund is interestedinsupportingfilmsthathavethepotentialforsocialimpact, it isimportantforustomove beyond thinking of just box officesuccess and instead look at the overallimpactofthefilm.Forexample,whileweare interested in the number of peoplewhosawthefilm,wearemoreinterestedin how many people better understandtheissuebecausethefilmwasmade.

• Use aRangeofData toAssess Impact.

Inanidealworld,wewouldliketobeableto point to hard outcome measures orstatistically significant measures ofchange to assess the impact of a filmand/or itsoutreachcampaign. Inreality,we understand that this is not always

possibleorfeasible. Thus,webelieveit’simportant to look at a variety of datasources, such as survey results, casestudies and anecdotal data that whentaken together can provide a nuancedpictureofaproject’s impact. Inadditionto different data sources, it is alsoimportant to look at a combination ofboth process/output measures (e.g. thenumber of screenings) and outcomemeasures(e.g.whathappenedasaresultofthosescreenings).Thistrackingcanbedone through a film’s website wherepeoplecanreporttheimpactthefilmhashad on their own lives and, in turn, theimpact they are making on theircommunity

• Set Realistic Expectations for Impact.

After reviewing case studies as well asmodels of individual and communitychange, we believe it is criticallyimportant to understand the state of themovement and where an issue is in thepublic consciousness in order to setrealisticexpectationsforimpact.Itisnotreasonable toexpectbroadsocialchangeif there is little public awareness that aproblem exists. In some cases, justgettingaudiencestoseethefilm,connectwith the story and better understand anissue is enough. This awareness is thefirst step to social change. If an issue isincredibly complex or not wellunderstood, the goal of the film and itsoutreach campaign may focus simply onraising awareness and stimulatingdialogue.Ontheotherhand,ifanissueiswell‐understood and there are clearsolutions,wewouldhopethegoalsofthecampaignwouldshift tosomethingmoreconcrete than simply dialogue. There

needstobeaninfrastructureinplacethatencourages individuals, organizations,and/orcommunitiestoact.

• Work Collaboratively with Key

Stakeholders toDevelopGoals and anAssessment Plan. Clearly, settingexpectations for impact needs to be acollaborative process that involves thefilmmaker, outreach/communityengagement professionals, funders, aswell as key organizations that work onthe film’s issues on a day‐to‐day basis.Fromthestandpointoffunding,itmaybe

that a small planning grant can facilitatethisprocessbybringingkeystakeholderstogether to develop a plan that isstrategic,focusedandmeasurable.

DimensionsofImpact

In an attempt to apply these lessons toour efforts to measure the impact of ourwork,TheFledglingFundhasidentifiedsome“Dimensions of Impact” (See Figure 2) thatweuseasaframeworktoassessthevariousprojectsthatwefund.

Figure2.DimensionsofImpact

The core dimension is a quality film or

mediaproduct that can functionasa jumpingoffpoint forcollaborationandaction. By thiswemeanafilmthathasacompellingnarrativethatdrawsviewersinandcanengagetheminthe issue and illustrate complex problems inways thatstatisticscannot. Webelieve thataquality film is the foundation for strongdistribution and can lay the groundwork forinnovative and high profile outreach andcommunity engagement strategies. For thisdimension, we look at measures such asfestival acceptance, theatrical success,broadcast, internet streaming, online “buzz”,internationalandnationalDVDsalesaswellastraditional film reviews and awards. All ofwhich, we believe, create buzz around a filmand begin the process of building awarenessaboutboththefilmandtheissue.Thisinturncan make it easier to engage partners inoutreachandcommunityengagementefforts.

The next dimension that we consider is aproject’s ability to raise awareness around aparticular issue since awareness is a criticalbuildingblock forboth individual change andbroadersocialchange.Hereweconsiderboththe audience size and the diversity of thataudience. By diversity we think of thegeography,age,faith,politicalviews,aswellasracialdiversity.Forexample,wasthefilmabletoenergizethoseconcernedaboutaparticularissue and involve them in even deeper andmore meaningful ways in advocacy efforts?Or, did it reach beyond those who alreadyknowandcareabouttheissueexploredinthefilm? In addition to audience,we also look atthings like press coverage both on and offentertainment pages and online discussionforumsandblogs. Aswementionedabove, arelatively small percentage of people actuallysawTheInconvenientTruth,butamuchlarger

percentage heard and read about the filmgiven the publicity and press that the filmgenerated.12 More and more, potentialaudiences are not reading traditional filmreviews,butdoingasimpleinternetsearchforthe film and reading postings about the filmfromviewersaroundtheworld.

Nextwe lookatpublicengagement,whichindicatesashiftfromsimplybeingawareofanissuetoactingonthisawareness.Wereafilmand its outreach campaign able to provide ananswer to the question “What can I do?” andmore importantly mobilize that individual toact?Toevaluateaproject’ssuccessalongthisdimensionwecanlookatparticipationinandresponse to facilitated dialogues andscreenings,blogs,activityonsocialnetworkingsites, and participation in Take ActionCampaigns. We can also look atwebsite hitsand view generated opinion and editorialpiecesandresponseletters.

Movingbeyondmeasuresofimpactastheyrelate to individual awareness andengagement,welookattheproject’simpactasitrelatestothebroadersocialmovement.Weareinterestedinunderstandingifaprojectcanstrengthen the work of key advocacyorganizationsthathavestrongcommitmenttothe issues raised in the film either byenergizing, building or growing activeparticipationinthatmovement,orperhapsbyspurring collaboration among keyorganizations. Wecan lookat suchmeasuresasthenumberofadvocacyorganizationsusingthe film in their strategicwork and increasedviewer participation in the movement as

12http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/docsonamission/

indicators. In addition, we are interested intheroleofthefilminlargerpolicydebates.Isitmentioned in policy discussions and thelegislative press? Have there been screeningswithkeydecisionandpolicymakers? Bothofwhich can indicate the film’s usefulness as atoolforpolicychange.

Ultimately, of course, social change is thegoal. Andwhileweunderstand that realizingsocial change is often a long and complexprocess, we do believe it is possible and thatfor some projects and issues there are keyindicators of success. For example, in somecaseswecouldlooktokeylegislativeorpolicychanges that were driven by, or at leastsupported by the project, such as the Legacyproject. Inothercases,wecanpoint toshiftsinpublicdialogueandhow issues are framedanddiscussed.

An overview of these dimensions withsome samplemeasures is shown inFigure3.It is important to emphasize that this isframework for evaluation and we do notexpect that every project will result inconcrete policy change. The goals of theprojectandourexpectationswillbedrivenbywhere an issue is in the public consciousnessandtheroleafilmcanplay,givenitsnarrative,intheprocessofsocialchange.Itmaybethatfilm can play a key role in raising publicawarenessandeducatingkeytargetaudiencesaboutaparticular issue. Inothercases, thereis the potential for substantive policy change.The key for eachproject is to understand thestate of themovement and how the film andoutreach initiative can move it to next level.Inotherwords,weneedtobeclearastowhattype of outreach is most appropriate and setreasonableexpectationsintermsofimpact.

Figure3.SampleMeasuresforDimensionsofImpact

QualityFilmorMedia

Project

WhyImportant? SampleMeasures

IncreasedPublic

Awareness

IncreasedPublic

Engagement

StrongerSocial

Movement

SocialChange

Foundationfordistribution,outreach

andcommunityengagementstrategies

• FestivalAcceptance• TheatricalRelease• Broadcast/Internet• Awards• FilmReviews/Online“buzz”• Sales

Criticalbuildingblockforindividualandsocialchange

• AudienceSize• (ByDistributionSegment)• DiversityofAudience• (geographic,age,faith,etc.)• PressCoverage

(includingonline)

• Participationin/Responseto:• facilitateddialogues• Blogs• Socialnetworksites• TakeActionCampaigns

• WebsiteHits• Op/Edsandresponseletters

• #ofadvocacyorganizationsutilizingfilm

• Collaborationamongorg.• ViewerPart.inmovement• Screeningsw/decisionandpolicymakers• MentioninPolicyDiscussionsandlegislativepress• Longevityofthefilm/media

• Policy/LegislativeChange(international,national,state,andlocal)• BehaviorChange• Shiftinpublicdialogue

Indicationofchangeinattitudes,beliefsandbehavioranda

shiftfromawarenesstoindividualaction.

Evidencethatfilmormediacanmove

individualstocollectiveactionandstrengthencapacityofadvocacyorganizationsintheir

strategicwork.

UltimateGoal

It is also important to recognize thatlarger campaigns may have different layers ofevaluation. For example, evaluative measuresmay emerge from campaign actions that occuron the local level by public television stationsand their local partners. These may includeviewership of local documentaries or publicaffairs segments (radio or television) thatexplorelocalperspectivesandsolutionsrelatedtoanationaldocumentary.MovingForward

The Fledgling Fund views the frameworkabove as a model to help structure how wedevelopandevaluatetheprojectsthatwefund.Asweconsider fundingproposals,weconsideraseriesoffactorsthatarealllinkedbacktoourdimensions of impact and the lessons that wehavelearnedtodate.Theseinclude:

• Quality: This is a first criterion that we

consider. We look for projects that centeraroundahighquality film,websiteorothermedia that tells a story with a compellingnarrative, strong characters that we careaboutandaclearstoryarc.Weaskwhetherthe project tells a universal story andwhetherittellsitwell.

• Potential for Social Impact: We askourselves the following questions: Does itadd tooradvanceourunderstandingof theissue? Is it a unique perspective? Is thisproject likely to make a difference? Is itlikely to change attitudes and perhapsbehavior?Willsomethingbelostisaprojectdoesnotmoveforward?Istheissuesociallyripe for change? In otherwords, given thestateof themovementorthe issue,canthisprojectmovetheissueforward?

• Strong Outreach Plan: We seek projectswith clear and strategic plans thatincorporate the key elements we discussedearlier in this paper. And, while we arethrilledwhenaprojectcomestouswiththisclearly defined with a strategic outreachplan,werecognizethatinsomecases,theseplansevolveovertime. Criticaltousisthata project’s director has thought about theoverall goal for the film or project, its keyaudiences and constituencies, and hasdeveloped or is willing to developrelationships with the key organizationswho understand and work on the issue.Giventhatstartingpoint,weoftenworkwithfilmmakers to develop a morecomprehensiveoutreachstrategytotaketheprojecttothenextlevelofsocialimpact.

• Strong Leadership. We look for a

filmmaker or project leader who iscommitted; one who really cares about theissue and either has or can develop keyrelationships with activists, outreachproviders and others to create andimplementareallyinnovativeoutreachplan.

• Learning Potential. We believe that

evaluationprovidesfunders,filmmakersandsocial justice organizations importantinformation. Itprovidesanopportunitynotonly to determine if goals were met andobjectivesachievedbutalsowhyacampaignwas successful and how it could have beenimproved. We view evaluation as a criticallearning process rather than a punitiveexercise and believe both successes andfailures can inform our efforts. We havelearned that assessing the impact of ourmediaprojectsandcontinuingtoaddtothedocumentation that exists will buildconfidence among key stakeholders in thefield that film and other creative media

projects can catalyze social change. Inaddition to applying this framework to ourown grantmaking, we will continue toincorporate new learning to strengthen it.Ourhopeisthatthispaperwillproveusefulto a range of stakeholders interested inusingmediatoachievesocial impact– fromfilmmakers and other media makers toactivistsandfunders.Wealsorecognizethat

ourwork inthisarea isonly justbeginning.We view this as a working model that willcontinuetoevolveasourworkandthefieldevolves. Now more than ever, we believethat film and other media can havetremendous social impact and can indeedignite social change. We welcome yourcomments and suggestions.

AppendixASampleListofOutreachCampaignsAgingOutAHealthyBabyGirlBeyondBeatsandRhymesBlueVinylTheDoulaStoryEverything’sCoolFarmingvilleTheForgetting:APortraitofAlzheimer’sTheNewAmericansReentryNationalMediaOutreachCampaignTremblingBeforeG_DTwoTownsofJasperWagingaLiving

AppendixBResourcesRelatedtoImpactDocumentariesonaMission:HowNonprofitsareMakingMoviesforPublicEngagement.ByKarenHirschwithanintroductionbyMattNisbethttp://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/docsonamission/MakingTelevisionMatter:Howdocumentariescanengageandmobilizeviewers.http://www.benton.org/publibrary/mtm/index.htmlUsingGrassrootsDocumentaryFilmsforPoliticalChange,June26,2001OutreachTipsforNonprofitsandActivistOrganizationswww.mediarights.org/news/articles/using_grassroots_documentary_films_for_political_changeReassessingtheImpactofDocumentaryFilm:Filmmakers,ActivistCommunityOrganizations,andPublicPolicyTheImpactofTheUprisingOf’34:ACoalitionModelofProductionandDistributionhttp://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/jc45.2002/whiteman/uprisingtext.htmlCommunicationforSocialChange:AnIntegratedModelforMeasuringtheProcessandItsOutcomes,byMariaElenaFigueroa,D.LawrenceKincaid,ManjuRani,GaryLewis,2002TheChallengeofAssessingPolicyandAdvocacyActivities:PartII–MovingfromTheorytoPractice,TheCaliforniaEndowment,October2006