Episode Details

Most social impact campaigns are built on two ingredients: information and emotion. The data makes the case. The storytelling makes people care. But caring, on its own, has a shelf life. Saralynn Finn, founder of Sett & Sley Consulting, joins Eric in the studio to argue that the third ingredient, what she calls "the hands", is where campaigns succeed or quietly die. Not more awareness, not more storytelling, but actionable pathways that give audiences something real to do with everything they now know and feel.

Episode Highlights:

[00:01:30] The head, heart, and hands framework for social impact campaigns 
[00:05:00] "the hands": actionable, attainable pathways that create real impact 
[00:06:00] Why "the hands" breakout at Skoll World Forum was the most well-attended 
[00:10:00] The celebrity collaboration that drove 30K subscribers but didn't change healthcare 
[00:15:30] Vote by mail in 2020: same message, radically different messengers 
[00:26:00] The end-of-year fundraising campaign that 5X'd revenue

Notable Quotes:

Saralynn Finn [00:06:00]: "It's the piece of most campaigns that's missing, that people are trying to break the nut of and figure out: how do I create a pathway?"

Eric Ressler [00:13:00]: "Campaigns need their own little mini theory of change."

Resources & Links:

• Skoll World Forum — https://skoll.org/skoll-world-forum/
• Represent Us — https://represent.us/
• Saralynn's LinkedIn article about the AI documentary in Rural America.

Hosted by Eric Ressler, Founder & Creative Director of Cosmic, with co-host Jonathan Hicken, Executive Director of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. New episodes every Tuesday.

→ Subscribe: designingtomorrow.show → Work with Cosmic: designbycosmic.com

Listeners, now you can text us your comments or questions by clicking this link.

*** If you liked this episode, please help spread the word. Share with your friends or co-workers, post it to social media, “follow” or “subscribe” in your podcast app, or write a review on Apple Podcasts. We could not do this without you!

We love hearing feedback from our community, so please email us with your questions or comments — including topics you’d like us to cover in future episodes — at podcast@designbycosmic.com

Thank you for all that you do for your cause and for being part of the movement to move humanity and the planet forward.