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Participant Media, the acclaimed film and television production company whose mission was to inspire social justice and humanitarian action through powerful storytelling, recently announced its closure.
Launched in 2005 by philanthropist and eBay’s first president, Jeff Skoll, Participant helped usher in a new era of widespread awareness by leveraging film and television — a genre that came to be known as activist entertainment.
Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to spend hundreds of hours in conversation with Jeff and absorb lessons on how to use social enterprises to build movements and create positive impacts in the world, all while generating sizeable profits to further the cause.
1. Leverage influence to amplify your offering
A simple but brilliant concept underpinned the Participant’s mission: leverage the film industry’s influence and reach to raise awareness and affect positive change on a massive scale.
In retrospect, it seems like a straightforward model, but the world was a very different place in 2005. While today, films that focus on activism are common, back then, such movies were outliers and not typically successful at the box office.
Participant helped change that by leveraging the Hollywood machine and giant stars like George Clooney, Matt Damon and Charlize Theron to tell inspiring stories that enlightened, educated and entertained audiences. The company produced critically acclaimed (86 Academy Award nominations and 21 wins) box office juggernauts, with over $3.3 billion in revenues worldwide.
Clearly, not all businesses can cue up Hollywood icons to help amplify their work, but if your product or service is tied to a social impact, my experience is that you can always find someone willing to help raise the profile of your offering. It could be an athlete from a local sports franchise, a political leader or a high-profile business person in your community. When there is an identifiable cause to support, people will help out.
Engaging someone with influence to help your cause adds credibility and consumer confidence.
I recall Jeff sharing that he was initially nervous about his new venture and what ultimately turned out to be one of its greatest successes — the documentary film “An Inconvenient Truth.” On paper, it was not the kind of project that excited Hollywood executives: a slide show about climate change delivered by a politician (former U.S. Vice President Al Gore) who was not a great orator. But, he was well-known and respected, which added instant credibility to the cause.
Ultimately, Jeff’s fears were unfounded, as it became one of the most successful documentaries in history. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary and grossed almost $50 million against a production budget of $1.5 million.
The company went on to raise awareness of the terrible abuses of children in the Catholic Church in Best Picture winner “Spotlight,” took on draconian minimum sentencing laws in “Snitch,” and shed light on the shady practices of the oil industry with George Clooney in “Syriana.”
Related: The Power of Social Influence
2. Read the room
Participant’s films often generated a national discussion on compelling social issues. I used to joke that Jeff had a crystal ball because he could always predict what people would be talking about in six months. In reality, the timing was rarely a coincidence.
For instance, the film “North Country” with Charlize Theron – based on a true story about the terrible harassment endured by female mine workers – was timed for release just before the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which was set to be voted on by Congress in 2005.
North Country earned Theron a Best Actress nomination, and her media tour to promote the film resulted in the topic and the upcoming vote on the Act, getting daily attention on shows like “Ellen,” “The Today Show” and “CBS News.”
The film and Theron were what the public saw on screens, but Jeff and his team were doing heavy lifting off-screen, applying pressure to members of Congress and driving a national dialogue that led to the reauthorization and expansion of the law.
While you do not need to approach it the same way Participant did, your campaigns and offerings need to be sensitive to current issues. Presenting products and services that acknowledge the societal challenges of the moment will help businesses and social enterprises amplify their relevance and impact.
Related: Should Your Brand Embrace Social Issues?
3. Leverage partnerships regardless of size
Beyond collaborating with major Hollywood stars, Participant actively partnered with charities, schools and faith groups to expand awareness of the messages in its films. I was fortunate to get an inside look at their advocacy and awareness strategies. The scholastic arm of my organization (Legacy+) worked with them on several campaigns that brought powerful messages on bullying, women’s empowerment and diversity directly to students.
For the film “Wonder,” a moving story about a boy with facial deformities, the lead actor Jacob Tremblay toured schools and arenas to screen the film and speak to children about bullying and acceptance. Meanwhile, “He Named Me Malala,” a 2015 documentary that shared the powerful story of Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, was partly filmed at our schools in Kenya when we hosted her on her first visit to Africa in 2014.
These partnerships were designed primarily to educate but also significantly expanded awareness of the films and movements.
Similarly, this lesson can be applied to smaller businesses and social enterprises by engaging individual schools and partnering with other businesses, community leaders or faith groups. There might not be an obvious profit outcome to doing so, but any opportunity to amplify your offering will pay off in the long term.
Participant helped show us that telling difficult stories can be a critical tool in moving society forward. Its success at the box office demonstrated that consumers value entertainment that educates and informs. Its films will be missed, but its lessons will resonate for generations to come.
