July 23, 2025 • 37 mins
What happens when a 115-year-old organization decides to reimagine EVERYTHING, from brand to fundraising model – in the wake of a global pandemic?
In this episode recorded live at SubSummit, I’m sitting down with keynote speaker Trovon Williams, SVP of Marketing & Comms at the NAACP, to unpack the organization's sweeping transformation.
Trovon shares how the NAACP leaned into the urgency of the moment to pivot its approach to advocacy, storytelling, and monthly giving.
You’ll hear why leading with solutions (not just problems) drives deeper emotional investment, how internal “inside baseball” campaigns are essential to getting leadership buy-in, and why being consistent (not performative!) is key to building successful partnerships and sustainable movements.
Resources & Links
Learn more about the NAACP on their website and YouTube channel.
Connect with Trovon Williams on LinkedIn.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today's guest is someone who took the stage by
storm at SubSummit.
Subsummit is the largestsubscription conference in the
US and I was so excited to bethere with about 20 plus
nonprofits this year.
We definitely made a prominentpresence.
I was so excited and theopening keynote wasn't by a
(00:20):
Fortune 500 brand or a buzzy D2Cdirect-to-consumer company.
It was the NAACP.
And the man behind thatpowerful moment was Trevon
Williams, SVP of Marketing andCommunications, and I was so
thrilled.
Subsummit was part of theMonthly Giving Summit this past
(00:41):
year and they heard Trevon speakand then they brought him to
lead the keynote.
How awesome is that.
So this is a live conversationrecorded at SubSummit.
Trevon and I did a live podcastrecording on site and he really
shares the bold journey of theNAACP's brand rebirth, how this
115-year-old civil rightsorganization embraced
(01:04):
transformation, really in thewake of a global pandemic, and
leaned into innovation to meetthe moment.
So we get into everything fromtheir really powerful campaign
blend of DRTV and digital to thevital importance of monthly
giving and how for-profitsubscription models can and
should collaborate moreintentionally with nonprofits.
(01:26):
So I love this conversationwith Trevon.
I think it's exactly what weall need to hear as we build
sustainable movements.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Leading with what you're helping to solve is
something that we have found, orwhat the data has found, to be
a rewarding opportunity for oursubscription model in many cases
.
So, not beating people over thehead with the the problem.
Leading with what it is thatyou're gonna help us saw first
empowers you and then, now thatI've empowered you, I can say
well then, I guess what this iswhat we're contending with.
(01:57):
Well, now I've empowers you,now you're helping me to be a
part of it, so I can now takeyou on the journey with me.
It just takes on a a differentlevel of investment If we lead
with that.
Lead with what you're helpingus to solve, versus saying this
is egregious, this is terrible,do?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
you see what's happening.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
I've made you feel more powerful.
And not only do I make you feelmore powerful in that moment.
Now I'm telling you.
Dana might say well, I want to.
What else could I do that Ifeel more empowered?
Right?
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Good morning everyone .
We are very excited to have alive recording of Missions to
Movements today.
Trevon, I am so excited thatyou are number one here at
SubSummit, the largest gatheringof subscription businesses with
nonprofits in the house growingrecurring giving programs.
(02:46):
Yesterday, during your keynote,you talked about really the
NAACP's evolution in brand andhow you really work as an
organization due to the changesduring the pandemic.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Right.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
How difficult was that transition internal growth
process?
Because I'm sure there areothers where we recognize a
change might need to happen, butit's not always easy to
actually make the changes.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Yeah, can you?
Speaker 1 (03:27):
explain a little bit about how that shift actually
took place.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
So you know, I think it's in some cases and thank you
so much for having me as well.
You framed it perfectly, firstand foremost Because what I
think we learn very quickly isthat that and I think I may
mention to this yesterday isthat as an organization we had
to evolve Right.
There was no doing it the waywe've always done it, and sort
(03:57):
of the gift in some respectsfrom the pandemic was that doing
things the way the organizationhad done so for over a century
was just not going to cut it onbehalf of the community.
And so all of the what-ifs andI wonder if we could.
We had to make those thingsreal and we had to turn them
into substantial opportunitiesfor the community that we serve.
(04:18):
And so there was no more thinktanks and just say, okay, that's
a cool idea, let's put it onthe board, like, no, let's make
these things real.
We have a as I think we'vetalked about this before we have
a very, very large board ofabout 66 members.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
I can't imagine.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
It's a beast, but in some respects I think what we
benefited immensely from is fromour leaderships sort of giving
us the creative opportunity tojust say we've got to try
something, we've got to dosomething different, and the
result of that was really usfostering a technology, a
emphasis on technology and anemphasis on digital that we
(05:00):
hadn't done previously.
I came from I think you knowthis is what came from a
marketing background intechnology spaces as well.
So in some cases it felt like,especially in the nonprofit
space I think you could attestto this is that in some cases,
nonprofits felt like they wereway behind in sort of adopting
some of the communicationsmechanisms.
So for me it was like, wellgood, I get to turn on some of
(05:20):
the bells and whistles that I'mmore you know.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Digital became important.
It became very important.
A priority and essential whereit had not been before 100%,
100%.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
So we had to adapt, and I think our community let us
know in real time that this iswhere we needed to be, and so we
leaned into it and we continueto lean into it.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Part two of this question.
And we continue to lean into it.
Part two of this question Ifthe pandemic had not happened,
do you think that there wouldhave been a shift in all the
amazing content and all thecampaigns that you have focused
on?
Do you think it would havehappened eventually?
Just maybe not as quickly.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
I think it would have probably happened, but it
probably would not have happenedas quickly, I think.
There we, like I said, I thinkwe had to move, given some of
the maneuvering and sort of theenvironment that we're sitting
in.
But to your point, there was,you know, there's no rush to do
anything when there's no urgencybehind it, and the pandemic
forced our hand.
I think there's a Martin LutherKing quote talking about the
(06:27):
fierce urgency of now, and sothe pandemic provided us with
that, the fierce urgency of now.
We have to do somethingdifferent.
And so, no, I don't think wewould have moved this quite as
rapidly.
I think we'd have probablygotten there, but it would have
been a lot more inside baseballand sort of getting people
adapted to what we were tryingto do, versus us just being able
to just kind of go and do it.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
So and you had this quote adversity births
innovation.
So for an organization thatwants to move faster, there is
no.
I mean, I would say there is asense of urgency right now, but
they're not, let's just saythey're not feeling it.
How would you help somebodyaddress and talk to leadership
when they want to see movementshappening, but there isn't a
(07:09):
national pandemic necessarilythat's happening to influence it
?
Speaker 2 (07:13):
I can only speak for this from a marketing
communication standpoint.
I think some of the bestmarketers and creators are
horrible at marketing andcreating their own work
internally Inside baseball isprobably the hardest thing to do
within communication space.
And so how do we get theorganization on board?
Is there an internal campaignfor some of these efforts to get
(07:37):
the adoption necessary beforewe try to turn on all these
bells and whistles?
Educating your internalaudience, getting your
stakeholders on board for whatit is that you're ultimately
trying to do?
On all these bells and whistlesEducating your internal
audience, getting yourstakeholders on board for what
it is that you're ultimatelytrying to do, showing them the
data.
I cannot stress this enough.
Being able to tell the storydata-wise is so key.
Being able to sit with myleadership and explain to them
(07:59):
what these numbers actually mean, what engagement actually
results in, as I mentioned toyou yesterday, that's being able
to redefine what advocacy meantin a pandemic.
Well, as I said before, it usedto be signing a petition or
going to a town hall or simplyvoting.
I've reimagined that now in apandemic where I can say you're
(08:19):
retweeting or reposting.
Now I'm redefining whatadvocacy looks like and so I've
changed someone's mindset aroundwhat this looks like.
But it took us doing a littlebit of inside baseball and
communications campaign workinternally so that we can get
the key stakeholders inside sothat we can go do what we needed
to do quickly.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
So good.
So in the same sense for insidebaseball, on sustainers.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
The importance of sustainers.
Now we are literally at thesubscription conference.
How important, or was theemphasis on sustainers important
before and or and?
Or did it grow after and duringthe pandemic?
Was there always an importanceon having recurring support, or
(09:01):
did that change and shift?
Speaker 2 (09:03):
I think it was always important.
I think the mechanisms or howwe went about sort of
cultivating or starting thatsort of changed We've always
been.
You know, nacp is a nonprofitorganization.
We're an advocacy organization,so we don't receive any federal
funding, so all of our fundingcomes from donations from those
(09:24):
who are willing to believe inthe vision and mission of the
organization itself, and solong-term sustainers of the
organization is really how theorganization has been able to
sustain itself for over 100years, and so it's always been a
priority.
How do you tell that storydifferently is something that we
have to sit down and sort ofwrap our heads around, and I
sort of made mention to thisyesterday.
(09:44):
It's not the sexy part.
Trying to figure out wherewe're trying to take someone,
what the journey looks like it'snot the sexy part in many cases
.
You know the campaign and ooh,we got cool pictures.
That's cool.
But mapping out a journey foryour sustainers where do you
take Dana after she subscribes,right, and what does her journey
(10:09):
look like as far as getting herto maybe go from making a
donation to becoming a memberthose are the things that people
don't spend enough time on, andI think that's one of the
things that we as anorganization had to sit down and
say if we want to get thisactually right and store people
so that they feel like this isnot just a transaction but an
investment and a commitment, wehad to make that investment, and
so it became that much moreimportant as to how we went
about it.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Incredible.
And so there's something thatyou another quote.
You said people give to modelswhere they see success stories
Absolutely A lot of time.
There's an emphasis onexpressing our need, expressing
the problem, expressing theissue.
Come support us and there isimpact.
There's impact reports that goout, but I think, like yesterday
we were talking about this in agroup off to the side, like
(10:49):
people want to be a part of awinning team, absolutely.
I went to University of CentralFlorida and there was
definitely a difference in ourgame watch parties when we were
winning versus when we werelosing.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
I can imagine, I can imagine.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
We went from like 250 people in a room to like 30
when we were losing.
So how do you do this inmessaging and communication to
show you're a part of a winningsolution that is making a
difference consistently?
Speaker 2 (11:17):
So it's funny you say this.
I was at a conference inChicago two weeks ago on the
Alliance Aspen InstituteAlliance Trust Summit one-day
summit and they were talkingabout building trust within our
nation.
National trust has waned overthe last several years.
It's probably as low as it'sbeen in maybe I don't know 40,
(11:38):
50 years and so, but one of thethings that you just said that
was so key is they were talkingabout to the point around.
Being a part of success istelling people what they're
solving, before we start beatingthem over the head with the
problem itself.
Dana, don't you want to be apart of helping more people get
a higher education and differentthings like that?
(12:00):
I don't have to tell you aroundthe fact that education is
disproportionate within thecommunity.
I'm telling you that you canhelp foster higher education
across the community.
Don't you want to be a part ofthat?
Regardless of what the problemis, that's something you want to
be a part of.
Leading with what you're helpingto solve is something that we
have found, or what the data hasfound, to be a rewarding
(12:21):
opportunity for our subscriptionmodel in many cases.
So not beating people over thehead with the problem.
Leading with what it is thatyou're going to help us solve
first empowers you, and then,now that I've empowered you, I
can say well, dana, guess what?
This is what we're contendingwith.
Well, now that I've empoweredyou, now you're helping me to be
a part of it, so I can now takeyou on the journey with me.
(12:41):
It just takes on a differentlevel of investment, and what we
found within some of our donorbase itself is that if we lead
with that, lead with what you'rehelping us to solve, versus
saying this is egregious, thisis terrible, do?
Speaker 1 (12:54):
you see, what's happening.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
I've made you feel more powerful.
And not only do I make you feelmore powerful in that moment,
now I'm telling you well, danamight say well, I want to.
What else could I do now that Ifeel more powerful in that
moment?
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Now I'm telling you Dana might say well, I want to.
What else could I do now?
Speaker 2 (13:06):
that I feel more empowered right.
So it's a little bit switched.
We're leading with the solutionfirst and then letting you know
as a result of you being a partof the solution.
Now you're helping us to solvea problem and we found that that
sort of measurable has helpedus have the direct impact that
we're looking for.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
Incredible.
I love that and I think pause,rewind, listen back, figure out
to the listeners how you can dothis in your own organizations
and literally have that besomething.
I think that's something reallypowerful to think about every
time we're going throughcommunication is sometimes we're
working so fast on our websiteand our emails that like stop,
(13:39):
pause.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Let me read this through from the perspective of
somebody not me who's reading itand does it express to your
point what you just said.
Is it giving them that?
What feeling do I want it toevoke?
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Yeah, Like I mean, if we're checking the boxes,
communicators, we're doing thiswrong.
We can't just say, OK, I sentthe email out, We've got a
discount, we got to get the wordout around the discount Great.
What do you want someone'sfeelings to be as they receive
it?
Right, If you're giving adiscount on you know, internet
access or something like thattelling someone about the
benefit of increased internetaccess or letting people know
(14:15):
that you know more people arespending more time on their
internet, you want to make surethat you have maximum.
I have to leave with what thisproblem solves first before I
leave.
That sort of engagement makesit more of a dialogue versus a
transaction of here's 25% off.
Please, please, please, please,please, take advantage of this,
because I really need thenumbers.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Okay, and I also wanted to speak to this in how
you teach.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
On stages.
Okay, I'm going to go real metahere.
So we're at the event.
You spoke yesterday.
You had a keynote.
You just said.
You spoke a week, two weeks ago, in Chicago.
You are traveling a lot.
You are speaking on stages onbehalf of the organization that
raises awareness, that getspeople on the website, that gets
people following on social fornonprofit leaders that might
(15:00):
have never maybe stepped on astage or thought about doing
thought leadership like you do.
When did that part start inyour career and how would you
express to other leaders how tostart doing that?
Because I think I can justspeak for myself.
When I have started tovirtually through webinars in
person, the awareness RightSubstantially grows.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
And interest, because not only are you in person and
you're able to cultivate anaudience that is looking at you
for a 30, 40, 60 minute periodof time.
How did you start to build that?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
period of time.
How did you start to build that?
Well, I mean, I kind of cheatedin some respect because I'm a
church kid so I spent a wholelot of time in pulpits and stuff
like that.
So I had no choice then.
And then also I did on stage.
You know, I was an actor, so Iwas on stage doing stuff like
that.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Oh my gosh, I did not know that about you, yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Yeah, I used to do, I used to do on stage stuff.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Wait, wait, I got to just side note Plays, plays.
Yeah, give me one play and acharacter.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Oh, I mean they were all like I played Dante, some
baby's mama or something likethat back in the day.
I'll send it to you all in thelink later on, but I used to do
this when I was in high schooland college.
Okay, A little side hustle tokeep the lights on.
But I used to do this when Iwas in high school and college
Little side hustle to keep thelights on.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
I love it.
I learn new things about youevery time I'm with you.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
So I mean, being in front of the stage is not as
challenging.
But what I will say and I thinkyour greater point is this One
you have to just go do it.
This is not something thatyou're going to perfect sitting
on the sideline, Not so you haveto.
I think some of you all werewith us yesterday when I just
went up to the edge and leanedup.
(16:44):
You're going to have to go doit.
You just have to go lean up tothe edge of the stage and figure
it out from that standpoint,Because that's the only way to
figure out where the gaps are.
It doesn't matter how manystages I've been on.
I'm going to go back and lookat what I did.
(17:05):
I'm going to say that sucked.
I need to do that over.
Oh, I should do more of that,but as a nonprofit or any in
those spaces in particular, whatstory?
Speaker 1 (17:09):
are you?
Speaker 2 (17:09):
trying to tell, because if you find a conviction
for that story, it becomes alot easier to be able to
resonate with an audience moreappropriately.
I'm not reading a slide anymore.
The slide is a backdrop to whatit is that I'm trying to
articulate.
It's just taking me on thejourney.
So what is the story you'reultimately trying to tell?
I think too often we spend timewith what's on the slide versus
(17:33):
what do I, how do I want toland a plane and who's on the
plane with?
Speaker 1 (17:37):
me when I get there right.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
So I would just urge anybody, figure out what kind of
story you're trying to tell.
Use opportunities, don't backout of them.
Don't say no, let somebody elsedo it.
No, take the opportunity to doit yourself.
Because building the engagementI think I mean we've met doing
these sorts of things right,doing these sorts of things
right.
Build the engagement, build theprofile, because it's only
(18:00):
going to be more optimized toyour organization.
When it's all said and done,people believe in.
There's people who care aboutthe NAACP because they care
about Trevon, or they care aboutthe NAACP because they've
engaged with Trevon.
The same can be said for anyother organization.
If you're doing a great job ofprofiling yourself or putting
yourself in particular spaces.
Now people are more willing toengage with your organization
appropriately.
So get right up to the edge.
(18:22):
Try it.
Fail fast.
Try some stuff out, but makesure that you have the story
that you have a conviction for,because it doesn't matter what's
on the slides or what you'representing to.
You'll always be able to goback to that part.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Yes, okay.
So I want to break down anexample.
Sure, yesterday we're in a veryunique space.
Yeah, this is not a nonprofitconference by any means.
What was your story?
Intent, call to action.
At the end of the presentation,what did you ideally want the
audience to come away with, andhopefully do?
Speaker 2 (18:51):
So, more than anything else, I wanted to make
sure the audience understoodthat we can embody both the
emotions of an audience with acall to action.
I don't have to be in anonprofit space in order to
invoke emotions and see mysubscriber base as people, even
as an organization who is builtoff of a membership base itself.
(19:11):
It becomes very easy to tell anaudience to sign a petition,
contact your senator Okay, great.
But that can run its coursevery, very quickly.
How do I let them know that Isee them as individuals?
First, let me acknowledge youfor who you are first,
acknowledge where you are inthis moment and then take you on
this journey of what problemare we going to solve together?
(19:33):
You don't have to do that in anon-profit space.
You can do that with anyorganization, service, product,
doesn't matter what that is.
And then also figuring out whatyour profile looks like for
your audience.
Who are you trying to grow youraudience into?
I made mention today, yesterday, more than half of the black
(19:53):
America is 32 years of age oryounger.
If that's the audience that I'mgoing after, then I have to be
intentional about how I'mmessaging to them and I have to
build a plan commensurate withthat and I have to block and
tackle appropriately, right.
And so I would urge anyorganization that map out what
your target is.
Who are you trying to go after?
(20:13):
Who are you speaking to?
Who are you speaking to?
Yeah, and be intentional abouthow you're going about trying to
acquire them as much aspossible, because every
acquisition sounds good butbefore you know it I mean, I
said this a couple weeks ago ifyou keep trying to brand
yourself in every place, you'renot going to have a brand when
it's all said and done.
You can't keep recreatingyourself over and over again who
(20:34):
you are.
Plant a flag, who are you goingafter, go after those people
and then count the data, seewhere you land.
Where it's all said and done,you can make adjustments on the
back end, but you've got to havea plan first.
That's right.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
So because we are here and we are in a room full
of for-profit brands, vendorsthat service majority usually
usually for-profit brands.
In the discussions I've beenhaving in the room, we are
sitting live in an expo hall forthose of you that are joining
audibly later.
From your perspective, how canthese two sectors partner better
(21:10):
together to more intentionallydrive growth and progress?
Speaker 2 (21:16):
So that's a great question, and I think we've had
this conversation with a lot ofour partner organizations over
the last few years who arefor-profit organizations
themselves.
It's finding where there is anintersection point, whether it's
mission-driven work itself orallyship, or where these
organizations want to lean inand then being consistent in it.
(21:39):
If there's opportunities whereyour organization is going to be
found and you want to livethere, stay there and live there
.
As I made mention to youyesterday, it can't be a
campaign, it has to be acommitment.
So if you want to partner withorganizations within
movement-based organizations,nonprofits and different things
like that, make sure that youraudience can expect you to show
(21:59):
up in those spaces consistently,because the nonprofit space is
going to see you in those spacesas well and that's going to
build an awareness for them aswell.
And then vice versa, those whoare in the for-profit space or
customers may be wanting to.
It's advantageous on bothaccounts.
I say this all the time with thefor-profit spaces that we work
alongside, I want this to beequally beneficial on the other
(22:21):
side.
How is the NAACP helpful to theorganizations that we're
partnering with as well?
I want you to see the benefitfor partnering with us on the
other side as well.
So it has to be an intersectionof an investment.
Where can for-profitorganizations find themselves?
Where do they feel comfortable?
I can't stress that enough inbeing consistent and then find
organizations that you can workalongside so that your audience
(22:44):
gets used to seeing you in thosespaces.
So it's not a surprise whereyou know, organization X pops up
in supporting this area,because this is where they've
been consistent over a period oftime.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Can you give us an example of one that your
organization has been workingwith as an allyship for a while
and how that kind of came to be?
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Sure American Red Cross is one that we've worked
with.
That's not a for-profit.
Sorry, you said for-profit.
In particular, ben Jerry's isone.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
I love it.
Ben Jerry's is one.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Great company.
Ben Jerry's is one in particular, because they've had a very,
very strong stance on certainissue areas that align with the
NAACP standpoint in particular,and so they've been incredibly
consistent in terms of showingup appropriately on behalf of
our audience around socialjustice issues as well, and, as
(23:34):
I mentioned to you yesterday,diversity is good for business,
no matter where you are, and soour audience sees Ben and
Jerry's and they see when weacknowledge Ben and Jerry's when
they speak up for certainissues themselves, and because
of that, well, now we're helpingBen and Jerry's as well as far
as their market shares anddifferent things of that sort as
well, and so that's been a goodexample of one as well.
There's probably several othersthat I'm not thinking of as well
(23:54):
, but it's just, it's theconsistency more than anything
else, as long as I think from anNAACP standpoint, I think I'm
fair in saying this as long asyou're in an area that you're
going to be consistent in, thenthat's what our audience is
looking for.
I can find you in a place overa period of time Great,
wonderful.
We know where to find you.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
When you start up those conversations, are they
typically?
Let's just have a conversation,let's learn about each other,
let's figure things out.
I think sometimes we have thisidea that we have to come with a
presentation and a PDF andlevels of support, and I mean,
from my standpoint, it's alwaysbeen more beneficial to just
come and ask what are youworking on?
(24:34):
What problems are you trying tosolve?
How can we be beneficialpartners and then have maybe
some ideas in your mind but nothave like this is what we've
mapped out, put together?
Is that how that developed?
Speaker 2 (24:45):
I absolutely love being able to sit down and just
have a conversation, becausewhat it allows us to do is
figure out what your pain pointsare, and that's what I mean by
wanting to be a good partner andan ally for those who want to
invest in NAACP and in ourcommunity.
We want to help you solve aproblem correctly as well.
I've said this tremendously, asit pertains to sort of
(25:08):
diversity as a business practiceas well.
In some cases, organizationsjust don't know how to do this.
That's not an indictment.
They're trying to figure outhow to navigate certain spaces,
so how can we be a good ally inhelping you to navigate these
spaces more appropriately?
And so the only way to do thatis to really sit down and have
the conversation.
It's not coming out with a plan, it's not.
(25:29):
We need money for X, Y, Z.
It's no.
What are you trying to solve?
What are your pain points?
What guidance can we afford you?
What programs can we build as aresult of those things?
We have a great partnershipright now with Wells Fargo that
we started maybe three years agoaround the power to build,
Talking about investing incommunity itself, but it was
(25:49):
birthed out of them wanting todo more investment but not
wanting it to be very, verysurface level where it's just a
transaction.
Here's a check.
See, we did good things, Nobodybother us, but it was okay.
How do I proof of concept?
Well, we worked with themaround what that program
actually looked like, and so nowyou're getting short form
content.
We're getting to show thebenefits of working alongside
(26:10):
the organization.
We want to sit down and havethe conversation with you and be
a good ally in that respect andhelp come up with creative
concepts.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Completely customized , unique, based upon what you're
both trying to do.
Absolutely Amazing.
So, looking ahead, always thisforward thinking, crystal ball
questions what are their newtools?
Are there innovations?
Where are you excited arounddonor engagement?
We talked, I mean, in thesustainer space, and I kind of
(26:40):
want to break this up into twoaspects.
Okay, on the acquisition growthside, and maybe what are you
testing, trying on retentionside?
Speaker 2 (26:47):
So I think the one that is very exciting for us
right now and I think I maymention to it briefly at the end
of the presentation was withregards to NAACP Plus.
We are we have launched ourmedia property itself.
Some of you all may be familiarwith this, but NAACP has a
studio deal with CBS right now.
(27:08):
Beyond the Gates, which is adaytime soap opera that just
started airing, maybe a couplemonths ago, is a NAACP property.
It's the first of manyinstances where you're going to
see the association showing upin different places so that our
stories can be told moreappropriately in different
places.
But we want to expand that intoother areas, and so
(27:32):
conversations like we're doingright now podcast conversations,
where we can lean into theareas of interest from our
community, allows our donor baseto one be educated a bit more
around how these issues in amuch more tangible manner than
just, you know, I got an emailor I saw a social media tweeters
or I got a direct mail.
I'm I'm digging a little bitmore into these issue areas with
(27:55):
subject matter experts, digginga little bit more into these
issue areas with subject matterexperts, and then that allows
them to know what theirinvestments are going into
around the areas that theorganization is working on.
We're working on a conceptaround behind the movement which
allows people to kind of get apeek behind how the association
is governing and working onbehalf of these things.
It's not all sexy and wonderfulthings.
There's a lot of bigpersonalities in politics that
play a major part into how theorganization shows up.
(28:18):
But I think that level ofinvestment will allow our donors
to understand that we areworking feverishly on behalf of
the community that we serve andthem seeing it I can't stress
this enough them being able tovisually see what their
investment is going into.
It's only going to help usincrease their stewardship over
a period of time.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
And I love that you mentioned this podcasting as a
vertical.
Yes, absolutely there isnothing.
I am an avid listener myselfand the people that I listen to
on a weekly basis when I am on arun or a walk or driving.
I never listen to music anymore.
(28:57):
Usually it's always a podcast.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
It's always a podcast conversation.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
And because it's like my me time.
The trust that is built withthe individuals that are in my
ear for 30 to 40 minutes at atime is huge 100%.
And I think, if you can findthere's this sense of I have to
be on a big show and that isabsolutely false, like leaning
into a very niche show, that is,on a topic where you are going
(29:26):
to find what I call thebelievers and the super fans of
something that they might notknow you exist, but it's within
your space, is so powerful.
Within your space is sopowerful.
What strategies have you appliedto pitch shows or most of that
inbound?
How do you actually?
I like to get into some of thetacticals.
(29:47):
How do you actually find them,research them, prep for them?
Speaker 2 (29:53):
all of the above the barbershop, the barbershop, the
barbershop and I'm being honestin some respects, some ideas
specifically within ourcommunity.
You throw concepts out to seewhether or not they stick in the
barbershop, because if it wasspecifically in the black
barbershop and it's probablywithin the black hair salon as
(30:14):
well A lot of conversations areunpacked within these spaces.
This is like this is a groundzero for town halls, and so if
you can have a conversation withour community in certain spaces
like the barbershop or, youknow, at the church or different
things like that, you find outwhether or not it has legs.
I've thrown out ideas whilegetting a haircut just to see
(30:36):
what the barbers would starttalking about.
We have a concept that we'regoing to launch here, probably
in the next month, that we'recalling.
So I want you all to follow uson NAACP YouTube right now.
I told you all yesterday I wantyou all to do this as well, but
we're going to launch a podcastcalled the Stupid Laws Podcast,
which I'm very excited about,because I think we were talking
(30:56):
about this yesterday aboutsubscriber exhaustion.
There's also voter exhaustion,and so we can't just beat people
over the head with, you know,vote.
Our lives depend on it.
24, seven.
You know, yes, there's midterms, yes, there's presidential
elections, but I have a life.
But there's the entertainingway of being able to tell those
stories.
But there's the entertainingway of being able to tell those
(31:19):
stories.
And so what we found is is that,if I can um move with the speed
of culture around certainconversations, that when the
moments come, I've stewarded anaudience long enough that when I
tell them to go to the pollsand go vote, or tell them to
take action, well now I'm atrusted voice to your point.
And so one of the concepts thatwe are exploring they're going
to be really excited about isthe Stupid Laws podcast, because
and I purposely call it thatbecause there's a number of
(31:43):
legislations that are put inplace on a hyper-local level
that you would be amazed, thatare in practice.
If you just heard them, you'relike how did this get through in
any way, shape or form?
And so I pitched some of thesein the barbershop.
I just threw some of the thelaws that we were pitching in
(32:04):
the barbershop and it turnedinto a 45 minute conversation
and I was just sitting theregetting a fade.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
I didn't say anything .
Speaker 2 (32:09):
But it's amazing, something that small.
Turning to meaningful dialoguewithin the community, well, if I
can stimulate you from anentertainment standpoint around
something that simple, now I'veeducated you on how these sort
of laws come into practice,because now I've told you a law
I've transitioned you intoeducation on how these things
become law.
Now, when it's time for me totell you to take action around
(32:32):
the association, whether that'sdonating so that we can fight
against these laws, or voting inthe next election so we can
undo laws like this.
I've taken you on a journeywith me, but it started with me
stimulating you first from anentertainment standpoint, so
that's one that we're prettyexcited about launching here.
We have some legal fellows thatare joining us in the next
couple months here from HowardUniversity, which is really
(32:53):
exciting, so they're going tohelp us do a lot of research on
some of these bad laws on astate and local level that we're
going to be able to amplify.
So it's going to be exciting.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
Amazing.
So there's the owned aspect ofhaving your own show and then
the outward of being on otherpeople's aka like this.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
Thank you, Dana.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
Thank you so much for being here and sharing your
wealth of information andknowledge with us.
The Call to action sounds likethat you should go to their
YouTube channel.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
Please.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
And whenever the podcast becomes available, I am
sure it will be on all thechannels you can listen to,
because this is a podcastingplatform, so go check it out
100%.
Where can people connect withyou?
Speaker 2 (33:32):
You can find me on LinkedIn.
You can find me at TrevonWilliams on Instagram.
I'm on all the platforms.
He's got good stuff, though.
Look me up, you'll find me,you'll find me, thank you.
Thank you, appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode of
Missions to Movements.
If you enjoyed our conversationand found it helpful, I would
love for you to take a moment toleave a review wherever you're
listening.
Love for you to take a momentto leave a review wherever
you're listening.
Your feedback helps us reachmore changemakers like you and
continue bringing impactfulstories and strategies to the
(34:04):
show.
Don't forget to hit thatsubscribe button too, so you'll
never miss an episode.
And until next time, keepturning your mission into a
movement.
Today's guest is someone who took the stage by
storm at SubSummit.
Subsummit is the largestsubscription conference in the
US and I was so excited to bethere with about 20 plus
nonprofits this year.
We definitely made a prominentpresence.
I was so excited and theopening keynote wasn't by a
(00:20):
Fortune 500 brand or a buzzy D2Cdirect-to-consumer company.
It was the NAACP.
And the man behind thatpowerful moment was Trevon
Williams, SVP of Marketing andCommunications, and I was so
thrilled.
Subsummit was part of theMonthly Giving Summit this past
(00:41):
year and they heard Trevon speakand then they brought him to
lead the keynote.
How awesome is that.
So this is a live conversationrecorded at SubSummit.
Trevon and I did a live podcastrecording on site and he really
shares the bold journey of theNAACP's brand rebirth, how this
115-year-old civil rightsorganization embraced
(01:04):
transformation, really in thewake of a global pandemic, and
leaned into innovation to meetthe moment.
So we get into everything fromtheir really powerful campaign
blend of DRTV and digital to thevital importance of monthly
giving and how for-profitsubscription models can and
should collaborate moreintentionally with nonprofits.
(01:26):
So I love this conversationwith Trevon.
I think it's exactly what weall need to hear as we build
sustainable movements.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Leading with what you're helping to solve is
something that we have found, orwhat the data has found, to be
a rewarding opportunity for oursubscription model in many cases
.
So, not beating people over thehead with the the problem.
Leading with what it is thatyou're gonna help us saw first
empowers you and then, now thatI've empowered you, I can say
well then, I guess what this iswhat we're contending with.
(01:57):
Well, now I've empowers you,now you're helping me to be a
part of it, so I can now takeyou on the journey with me.
It just takes on a a differentlevel of investment If we lead
with that.
Lead with what you're helpingus to solve, versus saying this
is egregious, this is terrible,do?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
you see what's happening.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
I've made you feel more powerful.
And not only do I make you feelmore powerful in that moment.
Now I'm telling you.
Dana might say well, I want to.
What else could I do that Ifeel more empowered?
Right?
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Good morning everyone .
We are very excited to have alive recording of Missions to
Movements today.
Trevon, I am so excited thatyou are number one here at
SubSummit, the largest gatheringof subscription businesses with
nonprofits in the house growingrecurring giving programs.
(02:46):
Yesterday, during your keynote,you talked about really the
NAACP's evolution in brand andhow you really work as an
organization due to the changesduring the pandemic.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Right.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
How difficult was that transition internal growth
process?
Because I'm sure there areothers where we recognize a
change might need to happen, butit's not always easy to
actually make the changes.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Yeah, can you?
Speaker 1 (03:27):
explain a little bit about how that shift actually
took place.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
So you know, I think it's in some cases and thank you
so much for having me as well.
You framed it perfectly, firstand foremost Because what I
think we learn very quickly isthat that and I think I may
mention to this yesterday isthat as an organization we had
to evolve Right.
There was no doing it the waywe've always done it, and sort
(03:57):
of the gift in some respectsfrom the pandemic was that doing
things the way the organizationhad done so for over a century
was just not going to cut it onbehalf of the community.
And so all of the what-ifs andI wonder if we could.
We had to make those thingsreal and we had to turn them
into substantial opportunitiesfor the community that we serve.
(04:18):
And so there was no more thinktanks and just say, okay, that's
a cool idea, let's put it onthe board, like, no, let's make
these things real.
We have a as I think we'vetalked about this before we have
a very, very large board ofabout 66 members.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
I can't imagine.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
It's a beast, but in some respects I think what we
benefited immensely from is fromour leaderships sort of giving
us the creative opportunity tojust say we've got to try
something, we've got to dosomething different, and the
result of that was really usfostering a technology, a
emphasis on technology and anemphasis on digital that we
(05:00):
hadn't done previously.
I came from I think you knowthis is what came from a
marketing background intechnology spaces as well.
So in some cases it felt like,especially in the nonprofit
space I think you could attestto this is that in some cases,
nonprofits felt like they wereway behind in sort of adopting
some of the communicationsmechanisms.
So for me it was like, wellgood, I get to turn on some of
(05:20):
the bells and whistles that I'mmore you know.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Digital became important.
It became very important.
A priority and essential whereit had not been before 100%,
100%.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
So we had to adapt, and I think our community let us
know in real time that this iswhere we needed to be, and so we
leaned into it and we continueto lean into it.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Part two of this question.
And we continue to lean into it.
Part two of this question Ifthe pandemic had not happened,
do you think that there wouldhave been a shift in all the
amazing content and all thecampaigns that you have focused
on?
Do you think it would havehappened eventually?
Just maybe not as quickly.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
I think it would have probably happened, but it
probably would not have happenedas quickly, I think.
There we, like I said, I thinkwe had to move, given some of
the maneuvering and sort of theenvironment that we're sitting
in.
But to your point, there was,you know, there's no rush to do
anything when there's no urgencybehind it, and the pandemic
forced our hand.
I think there's a Martin LutherKing quote talking about the
(06:27):
fierce urgency of now, and sothe pandemic provided us with
that, the fierce urgency of now.
We have to do somethingdifferent.
And so, no, I don't think wewould have moved this quite as
rapidly.
I think we'd have probablygotten there, but it would have
been a lot more inside baseballand sort of getting people
adapted to what we were tryingto do, versus us just being able
to just kind of go and do it.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
So and you had this quote adversity births
innovation.
So for an organization thatwants to move faster, there is
no.
I mean, I would say there is asense of urgency right now, but
they're not, let's just saythey're not feeling it.
How would you help somebodyaddress and talk to leadership
when they want to see movementshappening, but there isn't a
(07:09):
national pandemic necessarilythat's happening to influence it
?
Speaker 2 (07:13):
I can only speak for this from a marketing
communication standpoint.
I think some of the bestmarketers and creators are
horrible at marketing andcreating their own work
internally Inside baseball isprobably the hardest thing to do
within communication space.
And so how do we get theorganization on board?
Is there an internal campaignfor some of these efforts to get
(07:37):
the adoption necessary beforewe try to turn on all these
bells and whistles?
Educating your internalaudience, getting your
stakeholders on board for whatit is that you're ultimately
trying to do?
On all these bells and whistlesEducating your internal
audience, getting yourstakeholders on board for what
it is that you're ultimatelytrying to do, showing them the
data.
I cannot stress this enough.
Being able to tell the storydata-wise is so key.
Being able to sit with myleadership and explain to them
(07:59):
what these numbers actually mean, what engagement actually
results in, as I mentioned toyou yesterday, that's being able
to redefine what advocacy meantin a pandemic.
Well, as I said before, it usedto be signing a petition or
going to a town hall or simplyvoting.
I've reimagined that now in apandemic where I can say you're
(08:19):
retweeting or reposting.
Now I'm redefining whatadvocacy looks like and so I've
changed someone's mindset aroundwhat this looks like.
But it took us doing a littlebit of inside baseball and
communications campaign workinternally so that we can get
the key stakeholders inside sothat we can go do what we needed
to do quickly.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
So good.
So in the same sense for insidebaseball, on sustainers.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
The importance of sustainers.
Now we are literally at thesubscription conference.
How important, or was theemphasis on sustainers important
before and or and?
Or did it grow after and duringthe pandemic?
Was there always an importanceon having recurring support, or
(09:01):
did that change and shift?
Speaker 2 (09:03):
I think it was always important.
I think the mechanisms or howwe went about sort of
cultivating or starting thatsort of changed We've always
been.
You know, nacp is a nonprofitorganization.
We're an advocacy organization,so we don't receive any federal
funding, so all of our fundingcomes from donations from those
(09:24):
who are willing to believe inthe vision and mission of the
organization itself, and solong-term sustainers of the
organization is really how theorganization has been able to
sustain itself for over 100years, and so it's always been a
priority.
How do you tell that storydifferently is something that we
have to sit down and sort ofwrap our heads around, and I
sort of made mention to thisyesterday.
(09:44):
It's not the sexy part.
Trying to figure out wherewe're trying to take someone,
what the journey looks like it'snot the sexy part in many cases
.
You know the campaign and ooh,we got cool pictures.
That's cool.
But mapping out a journey foryour sustainers where do you
take Dana after she subscribes,right, and what does her journey
(10:09):
look like as far as getting herto maybe go from making a
donation to becoming a memberthose are the things that people
don't spend enough time on, andI think that's one of the
things that we as anorganization had to sit down and
say if we want to get thisactually right and store people
so that they feel like this isnot just a transaction but an
investment and a commitment, wehad to make that investment, and
so it became that much moreimportant as to how we went
about it.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Incredible.
And so there's something thatyou another quote.
You said people give to modelswhere they see success stories
Absolutely A lot of time.
There's an emphasis onexpressing our need, expressing
the problem, expressing theissue.
Come support us and there isimpact.
There's impact reports that goout, but I think, like yesterday
we were talking about this in agroup off to the side, like
(10:49):
people want to be a part of awinning team, absolutely.
I went to University of CentralFlorida and there was
definitely a difference in ourgame watch parties when we were
winning versus when we werelosing.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
I can imagine, I can imagine.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
We went from like 250 people in a room to like 30
when we were losing.
So how do you do this inmessaging and communication to
show you're a part of a winningsolution that is making a
difference consistently?
Speaker 2 (11:17):
So it's funny you say this.
I was at a conference inChicago two weeks ago on the
Alliance Aspen InstituteAlliance Trust Summit one-day
summit and they were talkingabout building trust within our
nation.
National trust has waned overthe last several years.
It's probably as low as it'sbeen in maybe I don't know 40,
(11:38):
50 years and so, but one of thethings that you just said that
was so key is they were talkingabout to the point around.
Being a part of success istelling people what they're
solving, before we start beatingthem over the head with the
problem itself.
Dana, don't you want to be apart of helping more people get
a higher education and differentthings like that?
(12:00):
I don't have to tell you aroundthe fact that education is
disproportionate within thecommunity.
I'm telling you that you canhelp foster higher education
across the community.
Don't you want to be a part ofthat?
Regardless of what the problemis, that's something you want to
be a part of.
Leading with what you're helpingto solve is something that we
have found, or what the data hasfound, to be a rewarding
(12:21):
opportunity for our subscriptionmodel in many cases.
So not beating people over thehead with the problem.
Leading with what it is thatyou're going to help us solve
first empowers you, and then,now that I've empowered you, I
can say well, dana, guess what?
This is what we're contendingwith.
Well, now that I've empoweredyou, now you're helping me to be
a part of it, so I can now takeyou on the journey with me.
(12:41):
It just takes on a differentlevel of investment, and what we
found within some of our donorbase itself is that if we lead
with that, lead with what you'rehelping us to solve, versus
saying this is egregious, thisis terrible, do?
Speaker 1 (12:54):
you see, what's happening.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
I've made you feel more powerful.
And not only do I make you feelmore powerful in that moment,
now I'm telling you well, danamight say well, I want to.
What else could I do now that Ifeel more powerful in that
moment?
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Now I'm telling you Dana might say well, I want to.
What else could I do now?
Speaker 2 (13:06):
that I feel more empowered right.
So it's a little bit switched.
We're leading with the solutionfirst and then letting you know
as a result of you being a partof the solution.
Now you're helping us to solvea problem and we found that that
sort of measurable has helpedus have the direct impact that
we're looking for.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
Incredible.
I love that and I think pause,rewind, listen back, figure out
to the listeners how you can dothis in your own organizations
and literally have that besomething.
I think that's something reallypowerful to think about every
time we're going throughcommunication is sometimes we're
working so fast on our websiteand our emails that like stop,
(13:39):
pause.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Let me read this through from the perspective of
somebody not me who's reading itand does it express to your
point what you just said.
Is it giving them that?
What feeling do I want it toevoke?
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Yeah, Like I mean, if we're checking the boxes,
communicators, we're doing thiswrong.
We can't just say, OK, I sentthe email out, We've got a
discount, we got to get the wordout around the discount Great.
What do you want someone'sfeelings to be as they receive
it?
Right, If you're giving adiscount on you know, internet
access or something like thattelling someone about the
benefit of increased internetaccess or letting people know
(14:15):
that you know more people arespending more time on their
internet, you want to make surethat you have maximum.
I have to leave with what thisproblem solves first before I
leave.
That sort of engagement makesit more of a dialogue versus a
transaction of here's 25% off.
Please, please, please, please,please, take advantage of this,
because I really need thenumbers.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Okay, and I also wanted to speak to this in how
you teach.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
On stages.
Okay, I'm going to go real metahere.
So we're at the event.
You spoke yesterday.
You had a keynote.
You just said.
You spoke a week, two weeks ago, in Chicago.
You are traveling a lot.
You are speaking on stages onbehalf of the organization that
raises awareness, that getspeople on the website, that gets
people following on social fornonprofit leaders that might
(15:00):
have never maybe stepped on astage or thought about doing
thought leadership like you do.
When did that part start inyour career and how would you
express to other leaders how tostart doing that?
Because I think I can justspeak for myself.
When I have started tovirtually through webinars in
person, the awareness RightSubstantially grows.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
And interest, because not only are you in person and
you're able to cultivate anaudience that is looking at you
for a 30, 40, 60 minute periodof time.
How did you start to build that?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
period of time.
How did you start to build that?
Well, I mean, I kind of cheatedin some respect because I'm a
church kid so I spent a wholelot of time in pulpits and stuff
like that.
So I had no choice then.
And then also I did on stage.
You know, I was an actor, so Iwas on stage doing stuff like
that.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Oh my gosh, I did not know that about you, yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Yeah, I used to do, I used to do on stage stuff.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Wait, wait, I got to just side note Plays, plays.
Yeah, give me one play and acharacter.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Oh, I mean they were all like I played Dante, some
baby's mama or something likethat back in the day.
I'll send it to you all in thelink later on, but I used to do
this when I was in high schooland college.
Okay, A little side hustle tokeep the lights on.
But I used to do this when Iwas in high school and college
Little side hustle to keep thelights on.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
I love it.
I learn new things about youevery time I'm with you.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
So I mean, being in front of the stage is not as
challenging.
But what I will say and I thinkyour greater point is this One
you have to just go do it.
This is not something thatyou're going to perfect sitting
on the sideline, Not so you haveto.
I think some of you all werewith us yesterday when I just
went up to the edge and leanedup.
(16:44):
You're going to have to go doit.
You just have to go lean up tothe edge of the stage and figure
it out from that standpoint,Because that's the only way to
figure out where the gaps are.
It doesn't matter how manystages I've been on.
I'm going to go back and lookat what I did.
(17:05):
I'm going to say that sucked.
I need to do that over.
Oh, I should do more of that,but as a nonprofit or any in
those spaces in particular, whatstory?
Speaker 1 (17:09):
are you?
Speaker 2 (17:09):
trying to tell, because if you find a conviction
for that story, it becomes alot easier to be able to
resonate with an audience moreappropriately.
I'm not reading a slide anymore.
The slide is a backdrop to whatit is that I'm trying to
articulate.
It's just taking me on thejourney.
So what is the story you'reultimately trying to tell?
I think too often we spend timewith what's on the slide versus
(17:33):
what do I, how do I want toland a plane and who's on the
plane with?
Speaker 1 (17:37):
me when I get there right.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
So I would just urge anybody, figure out what kind of
story you're trying to tell.
Use opportunities, don't backout of them.
Don't say no, let somebody elsedo it.
No, take the opportunity to doit yourself.
Because building the engagementI think I mean we've met doing
these sorts of things right,doing these sorts of things
right.
Build the engagement, build theprofile, because it's only
(18:00):
going to be more optimized toyour organization.
When it's all said and done,people believe in.
There's people who care aboutthe NAACP because they care
about Trevon, or they care aboutthe NAACP because they've
engaged with Trevon.
The same can be said for anyother organization.
If you're doing a great job ofprofiling yourself or putting
yourself in particular spaces.
Now people are more willing toengage with your organization
appropriately.
So get right up to the edge.
(18:22):
Try it.
Fail fast.
Try some stuff out, but makesure that you have the story
that you have a conviction for,because it doesn't matter what's
on the slides or what you'representing to.
You'll always be able to goback to that part.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Yes, okay.
So I want to break down anexample.
Sure, yesterday we're in a veryunique space.
Yeah, this is not a nonprofitconference by any means.
What was your story?
Intent, call to action.
At the end of the presentation,what did you ideally want the
audience to come away with, andhopefully do?
Speaker 2 (18:51):
So, more than anything else, I wanted to make
sure the audience understoodthat we can embody both the
emotions of an audience with acall to action.
I don't have to be in anonprofit space in order to
invoke emotions and see mysubscriber base as people, even
as an organization who is builtoff of a membership base itself.
(19:11):
It becomes very easy to tell anaudience to sign a petition,
contact your senator Okay, great.
But that can run its coursevery, very quickly.
How do I let them know that Isee them as individuals?
First, let me acknowledge youfor who you are first,
acknowledge where you are inthis moment and then take you on
this journey of what problemare we going to solve together?
(19:33):
You don't have to do that in anon-profit space.
You can do that with anyorganization, service, product,
doesn't matter what that is.
And then also figuring out whatyour profile looks like for
your audience.
Who are you trying to grow youraudience into?
I made mention today, yesterday, more than half of the black
(19:53):
America is 32 years of age oryounger.
If that's the audience that I'mgoing after, then I have to be
intentional about how I'mmessaging to them and I have to
build a plan commensurate withthat and I have to block and
tackle appropriately, right.
And so I would urge anyorganization that map out what
your target is.
Who are you trying to go after?
(20:13):
Who are you speaking to?
Who are you speaking to?
Yeah, and be intentional abouthow you're going about trying to
acquire them as much aspossible, because every
acquisition sounds good butbefore you know it I mean, I
said this a couple weeks ago ifyou keep trying to brand
yourself in every place, you'renot going to have a brand when
it's all said and done.
You can't keep recreatingyourself over and over again who
(20:34):
you are.
Plant a flag, who are you goingafter, go after those people
and then count the data, seewhere you land.
Where it's all said and done,you can make adjustments on the
back end, but you've got to havea plan first.
That's right.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
So because we are here and we are in a room full
of for-profit brands, vendorsthat service majority usually
usually for-profit brands.
In the discussions I've beenhaving in the room, we are
sitting live in an expo hall forthose of you that are joining
audibly later.
From your perspective, how canthese two sectors partner better
(21:10):
together to more intentionallydrive growth and progress?
Speaker 2 (21:16):
So that's a great question, and I think we've had
this conversation with a lot ofour partner organizations over
the last few years who arefor-profit organizations
themselves.
It's finding where there is anintersection point, whether it's
mission-driven work itself orallyship, or where these
organizations want to lean inand then being consistent in it.
(21:39):
If there's opportunities whereyour organization is going to be
found and you want to livethere, stay there and live there
.
As I made mention to youyesterday, it can't be a
campaign, it has to be acommitment.
So if you want to partner withorganizations within
movement-based organizations,nonprofits and different things
like that, make sure that youraudience can expect you to show
(21:59):
up in those spaces consistently,because the nonprofit space is
going to see you in those spacesas well and that's going to
build an awareness for them aswell.
And then vice versa, those whoare in the for-profit space or
customers may be wanting to.
It's advantageous on bothaccounts.
I say this all the time with thefor-profit spaces that we work
alongside, I want this to beequally beneficial on the other
(22:21):
side.
How is the NAACP helpful to theorganizations that we're
partnering with as well?
I want you to see the benefitfor partnering with us on the
other side as well.
So it has to be an intersectionof an investment.
Where can for-profitorganizations find themselves?
Where do they feel comfortable?
I can't stress that enough inbeing consistent and then find
organizations that you can workalongside so that your audience
(22:44):
gets used to seeing you in thosespaces.
So it's not a surprise whereyou know, organization X pops up
in supporting this area,because this is where they've
been consistent over a period oftime.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Can you give us an example of one that your
organization has been workingwith as an allyship for a while
and how that kind of came to be?
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Sure American Red Cross is one that we've worked
with.
That's not a for-profit.
Sorry, you said for-profit.
In particular, ben Jerry's isone.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
I love it.
Ben Jerry's is one.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Great company.
Ben Jerry's is one in particular, because they've had a very,
very strong stance on certainissue areas that align with the
NAACP standpoint in particular,and so they've been incredibly
consistent in terms of showingup appropriately on behalf of
our audience around socialjustice issues as well, and, as
(23:34):
I mentioned to you yesterday,diversity is good for business,
no matter where you are, and soour audience sees Ben and
Jerry's and they see when weacknowledge Ben and Jerry's when
they speak up for certainissues themselves, and because
of that, well, now we're helpingBen and Jerry's as well as far
as their market shares anddifferent things of that sort as
well, and so that's been a goodexample of one as well.
There's probably several othersthat I'm not thinking of as well
(23:54):
, but it's just, it's theconsistency more than anything
else, as long as I think from anNAACP standpoint, I think I'm
fair in saying this as long asyou're in an area that you're
going to be consistent in, thenthat's what our audience is
looking for.
I can find you in a place overa period of time Great,
wonderful.
We know where to find you.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
When you start up those conversations, are they
typically?
Let's just have a conversation,let's learn about each other,
let's figure things out.
I think sometimes we have thisidea that we have to come with a
presentation and a PDF andlevels of support, and I mean,
from my standpoint, it's alwaysbeen more beneficial to just
come and ask what are youworking on?
(24:34):
What problems are you trying tosolve?
How can we be beneficialpartners and then have maybe
some ideas in your mind but nothave like this is what we've
mapped out, put together?
Is that how that developed?
Speaker 2 (24:45):
I absolutely love being able to sit down and just
have a conversation, becausewhat it allows us to do is
figure out what your pain pointsare, and that's what I mean by
wanting to be a good partner andan ally for those who want to
invest in NAACP and in ourcommunity.
We want to help you solve aproblem correctly as well.
I've said this tremendously, asit pertains to sort of
(25:08):
diversity as a business practiceas well.
In some cases, organizationsjust don't know how to do this.
That's not an indictment.
They're trying to figure outhow to navigate certain spaces,
so how can we be a good ally inhelping you to navigate these
spaces more appropriately?
And so the only way to do thatis to really sit down and have
the conversation.
It's not coming out with a plan, it's not.
(25:29):
We need money for X, Y, Z.
It's no.
What are you trying to solve?
What are your pain points?
What guidance can we afford you?
What programs can we build as aresult of those things?
We have a great partnershipright now with Wells Fargo that
we started maybe three years agoaround the power to build,
Talking about investing incommunity itself, but it was
(25:49):
birthed out of them wanting todo more investment but not
wanting it to be very, verysurface level where it's just a
transaction.
Here's a check.
See, we did good things, Nobodybother us, but it was okay.
How do I proof of concept?
Well, we worked with themaround what that program
actually looked like, and so nowyou're getting short form
content.
We're getting to show thebenefits of working alongside
(26:10):
the organization.
We want to sit down and havethe conversation with you and be
a good ally in that respect andhelp come up with creative
concepts.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Completely customized , unique, based upon what you're
both trying to do.
Absolutely Amazing.
So, looking ahead, always thisforward thinking, crystal ball
questions what are their newtools?
Are there innovations?
Where are you excited arounddonor engagement?
We talked, I mean, in thesustainer space, and I kind of
(26:40):
want to break this up into twoaspects.
Okay, on the acquisition growthside, and maybe what are you
testing, trying on retentionside?
Speaker 2 (26:47):
So I think the one that is very exciting for us
right now and I think I maymention to it briefly at the end
of the presentation was withregards to NAACP Plus.
We are we have launched ourmedia property itself.
Some of you all may be familiarwith this, but NAACP has a
studio deal with CBS right now.
(27:08):
Beyond the Gates, which is adaytime soap opera that just
started airing, maybe a couplemonths ago, is a NAACP property.
It's the first of manyinstances where you're going to
see the association showing upin different places so that our
stories can be told moreappropriately in different
places.
But we want to expand that intoother areas, and so
(27:32):
conversations like we're doingright now podcast conversations,
where we can lean into theareas of interest from our
community, allows our donor baseto one be educated a bit more
around how these issues in amuch more tangible manner than
just, you know, I got an emailor I saw a social media tweeters
or I got a direct mail.
I'm I'm digging a little bitmore into these issue areas with
(27:55):
subject matter experts, digginga little bit more into these
issue areas with subject matterexperts, and then that allows
them to know what theirinvestments are going into
around the areas that theorganization is working on.
We're working on a conceptaround behind the movement which
allows people to kind of get apeek behind how the association
is governing and working onbehalf of these things.
It's not all sexy and wonderfulthings.
There's a lot of bigpersonalities in politics that
play a major part into how theorganization shows up.
(28:18):
But I think that level ofinvestment will allow our donors
to understand that we areworking feverishly on behalf of
the community that we serve andthem seeing it I can't stress
this enough them being able tovisually see what their
investment is going into.
It's only going to help usincrease their stewardship over
a period of time.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
And I love that you mentioned this podcasting as a
vertical.
Yes, absolutely there isnothing.
I am an avid listener myselfand the people that I listen to
on a weekly basis when I am on arun or a walk or driving.
I never listen to music anymore.
(28:57):
Usually it's always a podcast.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
It's always a podcast conversation.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
And because it's like my me time.
The trust that is built withthe individuals that are in my
ear for 30 to 40 minutes at atime is huge 100%.
And I think, if you can findthere's this sense of I have to
be on a big show and that isabsolutely false, like leaning
into a very niche show, that is,on a topic where you are going
(29:26):
to find what I call thebelievers and the super fans of
something that they might notknow you exist, but it's within
your space, is so powerful.
Within your space is sopowerful.
What strategies have you appliedto pitch shows or most of that
inbound?
How do you actually?
I like to get into some of thetacticals.
(29:47):
How do you actually find them,research them, prep for them?
Speaker 2 (29:53):
all of the above the barbershop, the barbershop, the
barbershop and I'm being honestin some respects, some ideas
specifically within ourcommunity.
You throw concepts out to seewhether or not they stick in the
barbershop, because if it wasspecifically in the black
barbershop and it's probablywithin the black hair salon as
(30:14):
well A lot of conversations areunpacked within these spaces.
This is like this is a groundzero for town halls, and so if
you can have a conversation withour community in certain spaces
like the barbershop or, youknow, at the church or different
things like that, you find outwhether or not it has legs.
I've thrown out ideas whilegetting a haircut just to see
(30:36):
what the barbers would starttalking about.
We have a concept that we'regoing to launch here, probably
in the next month, that we'recalling.
So I want you all to follow uson NAACP YouTube right now.
I told you all yesterday I wantyou all to do this as well, but
we're going to launch a podcastcalled the Stupid Laws Podcast,
which I'm very excited about,because I think we were talking
(30:56):
about this yesterday aboutsubscriber exhaustion.
There's also voter exhaustion,and so we can't just beat people
over the head with, you know,vote.
Our lives depend on it.
24, seven.
You know, yes, there's midterms, yes, there's presidential
elections, but I have a life.
But there's the entertainingway of being able to tell those
stories.
But there's the entertainingway of being able to tell those
(31:19):
stories.
And so what we found is is that,if I can um move with the speed
of culture around certainconversations, that when the
moments come, I've stewarded anaudience long enough that when I
tell them to go to the pollsand go vote, or tell them to
take action, well now I'm atrusted voice to your point.
And so one of the concepts thatwe are exploring they're going
to be really excited about isthe Stupid Laws podcast, because
and I purposely call it thatbecause there's a number of
(31:43):
legislations that are put inplace on a hyper-local level
that you would be amazed, thatare in practice.
If you just heard them, you'relike how did this get through in
any way, shape or form?
And so I pitched some of thesein the barbershop.
I just threw some of the thelaws that we were pitching in
(32:04):
the barbershop and it turnedinto a 45 minute conversation
and I was just sitting theregetting a fade.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
I didn't say anything .
Speaker 2 (32:09):
But it's amazing, something that small.
Turning to meaningful dialoguewithin the community, well, if I
can stimulate you from anentertainment standpoint around
something that simple, now I'veeducated you on how these sort
of laws come into practice,because now I've told you a law
I've transitioned you intoeducation on how these things
become law.
Now, when it's time for me totell you to take action around
(32:32):
the association, whether that'sdonating so that we can fight
against these laws, or voting inthe next election so we can
undo laws like this.
I've taken you on a journeywith me, but it started with me
stimulating you first from anentertainment standpoint, so
that's one that we're prettyexcited about launching here.
We have some legal fellows thatare joining us in the next
couple months here from HowardUniversity, which is really
(32:53):
exciting, so they're going tohelp us do a lot of research on
some of these bad laws on astate and local level that we're
going to be able to amplify.
So it's going to be exciting.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
Amazing.
So there's the owned aspect ofhaving your own show and then
the outward of being on otherpeople's aka like this.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
Thank you, Dana.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
Thank you so much for being here and sharing your
wealth of information andknowledge with us.
The Call to action sounds likethat you should go to their
YouTube channel.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
Please.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
And whenever the podcast becomes available, I am
sure it will be on all thechannels you can listen to,
because this is a podcastingplatform, so go check it out
100%.
Where can people connect withyou?
Speaker 2 (33:32):
You can find me on LinkedIn.
You can find me at TrevonWilliams on Instagram.
I'm on all the platforms.
He's got good stuff, though.
Look me up, you'll find me,you'll find me, thank you.
Thank you, appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode of
Missions to Movements.
If you enjoyed our conversationand found it helpful, I would
love for you to take a moment toleave a review wherever you're
listening.
Love for you to take a momentto leave a review wherever
you're listening.
Your feedback helps us reachmore changemakers like you and
continue bringing impactfulstories and strategies to the
(34:04):
show.
Don't forget to hit thatsubscribe button too, so you'll
never miss an episode.
And until next time, keepturning your mission into a
movement.
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