XCOM-710 - Celebrity Cause Engagement
Course Description
Celebrities and influencers of all types play a special role in helping to advance social impact in all corners of our society. Because of their distinct platforms and ability to command attention, they have the potential to not only drive awareness about issues but also real action across platforms and attention spans. From gender inequality to environmental degradation and more, celebrities and the organizations that wish to engage them are increasingly seeing that these influencers must use their voice for philanthropic benefit.
Georgetown University’s Certificate in Celebrity Cause Engagement prepares social impact professionals of all types with the skills needed to strategically connect, engage, activate, sustain and measure partnerships with both name-brand celebrities and more locally-based community influencers. With curriculum developed from Georgetown University’s renowned Center for Social Impact Communication, the program provides you with opportunities to learn from expert faculty and industry insiders within this rapidly growing field through a fully online classroom with a cohort of fellow changemakers.
The Fundamentals of Celebrity and Influencer Cause Engagement
Celebrities and influencers of all types play an increasingly significant role in helping to advance social impact in all facets of society. Because of their distinct platforms and ability to command attention, they have the potential to bring real movement to an organization’s mission. This module provides students with the foundational knowledge about the entertainment industry and explores the “why” working with celebrities matters to an organization. Students will also begin to learn and map out a celebrity engagement strategy developed by Georgetown University’s Center for Social Impact Communication that they will utilize and build upon throughout the program.
Linking Your Organization’s Goals to the Entertainment Industry
Celebrities and influencers of all types can help achieve real impact for an organization. There are manyincredible people in many different types of industries with which to align. Before identifying who would be the right fit, you need to fully understand your organization’s needs and goals. In this module, students will dive deeply into their organization’s goals as a starter for their celebrity engagement strategy. From there, students will gather an understanding of the different industries within the entertainment sector – from actors and actresses to musicians, athletes and more – to begin mapping out a plan of action.
Bringing the Engagement to Life: Different Opportunities for Partnerships
Now that students have an understanding of the industry and the core needs of their organization, the next step is creating substantive, worthwhile opportunities for celebrities and influencers to engage in order to reach your target audiences. This module explores the different types of engagement opportunities to achieve impact – whether that’s raising awareness, inspiring action or donating. This module also explores the benefits of one single tweet.
Insider Insights into the World of Celebrities and Influencers
While each celebrity and influencer engagement opportunity will be very personal and unique to the individual you’re engaging, there are some formalities and consistencies that are good to understand when engaging a celebrity. This module offers some insights into the specifics of day-to-day management of a celebrity campaign that students might encounter once they hit the ground running.
Using Data to Measure and Evaluate an Engagement
While we might anecdotally believe that celebrities have a positive impact for social good, how do we know for sure? It’s not just about likes, shares and comments – but beyond that basic level of engagement, it’s critical to assess if a celebrity is activating the right audience and converting them into supporters of your organization. This module outlines the best ways to track and measure if a celebrity or influencer campaign has been a success.
Continuing the Celebrity and Influencer Relationship through a Human Focus
Now that you’ve engaged a celebrity for your organization, what comes next? This module explores how to keep the relationship strong and beneficial for both the organization and individual celebrity.
Strategic Advising Session with Instructor and Cohort
Your celebrity and influencer engagement strategy is nearly complete with topline goals, audience breakdown, tactics and measures of success. Additionally, you’ve potentially identified the celebrity or influencer with whom you wish to work. In this module, join the instructor and your fellow cohort members for a robust advising session to do a deep dive into your near-final strategy to bring it over the finish line.
Special Topics in Celebrity and Influencer Cause Engagement: Going Beyond Individual Engagement
Individual celebrity or influencer engagement is impactful, and yet there are a variety of other ways an organization can connect with the entertainment sector to raise awareness and make a positive impact for its mission. This module explores additional opportunities, such as product placement and TV/Film partnerships, lobbying on Capitol Hill and more, that can help move the needle for social good. This module also shines a spotlight on other important trends happening in the entertainment space, including #timesup and #metoo, as well as outlines how to prepare for any risk associated with celebrity engagement.
Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of the program, you’ll be able to:
- Understand how celebrities and influencers can be used as a force for good in society
- Use insider knowledge about the business of celebrities and talent for the benefit of a social impact organization or company
- Assess how future trends within celebrity and influencer cause engagement could apply to your own work
- Apply connections with program experts and fellow students for the betterment of your work
- Develop a strategic celebrity cause engagement strategy for professional usage