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Fan Base Fundraising: Leveraging the Power of Star Trek to Fuel Humanitarian Action




Published on April 14, 2009

By Kasmore Rhedrick

Milind Shah, a Product Development Manager for Online Communities and Social Media at Penton Media, has always been a big fan of most good sci-fi and fantasy, and Star Trek has remained one of his favorites.

A long time New York City resident who lives in Brooklyn with his wife and twin daughters, Milind discusses with Kasmore Rhedrick, Arts Engine Web Editor, his reasons for creating the fan based Star Trek Fundraiser. 

Why did you create Star Trek Fundraiser? Why did you choose Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)?

Milind ShahMilind Shah

About two months ago it struck me that there was so much emotion being generated for movies like Star Trek and Star Wars and very little of that fan enthusiasm channeled to benefit causes that could really use this type of energy. Fans like me are willing to buy tickets well in advance, come early for the best seats, and must see the show opening weekend.

If Star Trek sold a million seats opening weekend and everyone contributed just $1, there would be a tremendous amount of goodwill generated. But Star Trek means so much to so many, why not tie in their passions to the donation amount and get people to do some great things with their excitement? That’s what I set out to do.

Star Trek always painted a picture of an idealized human society, above selfishness and pettiness. Humanity acted as one people. It seems like such a fantasy but for most Star Trek fans, this ideology speaks to them. It’s what stokes the passion behind the franchise. Doctors Without Borders seemed like the right cause for a tie-in with Star Trek because of its mission.

Doctors Without Borders

The organization sends thousands of medical workers around the planet to help people crippled by famine, outbreaks, and war. I admire them greatly for pushing an ideology of making the human condition better and thought that Star Trek fans could see in Doctors Without Borders the first step towards a realization of their hopes for the future.

What were some of the challenges that you faced in realizing this idea?

My initial idea was to connect with ticketing sites like Moviefone, Movietickets.com, and Fandango, as well as Paramount, to setup a campaign that marketed a well-focused fundraiser alongside the marketing for the Star Trek movie. The most effective campaign is one that captures people’s attention at the height of their transaction excitement, which is at completion, so had hoped to include the message at the purchase confirmation.

Through a colleague I had an opening to connect with J.J. Abrams’ office and then to Paramount, so all the pieces initially seemed in place. However, after speaking with some very receptive folks at the ticketing sites, it became clear that their business interests were going to be difficult to coordinate, especially with so little time. So I decided to go it alone.

Would you consider this a friendraising endeavor?

I had never heard of the term before and I’m not sure if that is accurate. The primary means of drawing attention to this campaign is through social media in the hopes of connecting with friends of friends of friends. I also hope to make emotional connections between movie marketing excitement and the cause. This is the biggest challenge to the campaign, which I hope to have tackled successfully by the end of it.

What is the relationship between community and brands and how can this be leveraged for social good?

When I first mentioned this idea to a colleague he suggested that I should tie in the fundraiser to a movie about health problems around the world. I said, “No one was going to see that movie.” It is understandable that people want to be entertained or enjoy being loyal to a brand, but as a result I think any brand with a significant following is obligated to harness some of that enthusiasm to benefit a cause. It’s not a new idea: Starbucks supports RED and sells water that helps people obtain clean water, Wendy’s supports adoption, McDonald’s has Ronald McDonald house, etc.

trekkiesimage by leshoward via Flickr

The difference here is that some movies, like the Star Trek franchise, generate so much excitement in a short period of time that it’s possible to run a short high-impact fundraising campaign that gives some deserving causes a shot in the arm.

While the Will Rogers institute has been wooing movie-goers for decades, I can barely remember one campaign that tied a cause to a movie and effectively spoke to the fan base. Be entertained and spend just a little extra to make life better for people.

If you’re going to market something as much as most blockbusters are marketed, share the wealth!

Do you see Star Trek Fundraiser as an idea that can be replicated with other film releases?

I’m already thinking about a Harry Potter movie fundraiser to work along the same concepts. That could benefit any number of children’s charities through awareness as well as donations. Any movie or television series with a significant following and a big event should take the opportunity to connect their fan base to a worthy aligned cause.

For example, the Battlestar Gallactica series finale could have been tied to an environment charity (because the Earth they sought after for seasons was charred from warfare and the new Earth, our Earth, was a paradise - you’d understand if you were a fan - it resonates). Or for Spider-Man, maybe an education and scholarship charity (because of the science element to Spider-Man’s powers). I could rattle off several of these.

How could an NGO or Non-Profit Organization engage with fan based communities to help drive attention to their cause?

The reason why people becomes fans of anything is because there is a connection. A lot of times, especially with sci-fi and fantasy, the connection is to an idealized reality, a better life, a better future, even among backdrops of conflict there tends to be a maturation to society that is desirable. Many NGOs and Non-Profits embody these ideals in their missions and therefore should be intertwined with these fan communities for support.

There might be hesitation due to stigma but there are a couple of ways to combats this: First, get over it. These are good people hoping for better things from society, same as many non-profits and NGOs. Second: many fan organizations already do charity work, like visiting children’s hospitals or having their own fundraisers. And third: these are people so dedicated to something that they will produce their own television series out of their basements with their own money (e.g. Star Trek New Voyages and Hidden Frontier). One of them might even build a site for you and start a social media campaign. :-)

How could producers of a film or other brand marketing directors engage with their communities to initiate social issue awareness? Should this be something that they even consider?

movie go-ersimage by star5112 via Flickr

They have already figured out the how, just look at the attention these movies get opening weekend. Now they should include the fundraiser element to it. Tell the fans to check out the site and then include a section for a charity. Offer 10 seconds or a still image at the end of a trailer. Combine interactive marketing with opportunity to give. Show a 30 second “thank you” reel at the beginning of opening weekend shows. Don’t seem manipulative but be creative. Make the giving element be part of being a supportive fan.

Also, It should be on the top of their list, not something that is added on as an aside. Paramount has a charity around the Star Trek movie. Heard of it? No? It’s called “Beam Me Up for Charity.” I never thought anyone could come up with something as uninspiring and fan-belittling as this.

The fundraiser is in the form of an auction and actually has very little to do with Star Trek. It was a throw-away; a PR stunt. All this money spent on marketing the movie and that was the best they could come up with. It actually makes me angry and was part of the fuel behind the creation of the Star Trek Movie Fundraiser. (Here’s the only mention of it now: Star Trek Fans: Beam Me Up For Charity Auction)

Can you talk about the different Twitter streams that you have on the site and how you imagine they support your goals.

First, a news RSS feed from Doctors Without Borders; second, my own Twitter stream; third, the Star Trek Fundraiser’s Twitter stream; and fourth, a stream of any conversation being had about Star Trek on Twitter.

The Doctors Without Borders news feed was important so visitors could get a sense of what they are doing right now. It helps to actively make a connection with the donor and this was one way for me to do that. I included my own stream to personalize the site. The Star Trek Fundraiser Twitter account was setup to communicate with fans and provide one of multiple distribution streams for updates on the site, but I also wanted to include all Star Trek conversations, so I included the last feed, that of all Star Trek conversations being had on Twitter in real-time.

Where do you want to take this idea (Star Trek Fundraiser) after the release of the film?

The idea was to do a short high-impact fundraising campaign that piggybacked on the buzz around the release of the movie. I hope Star Trek fans come along for the ride because they have the power and conviction to do great things. After that I didn’t have plans for the site. Maybe something will come up or maybe a fan will have another idea. There is always the next movie. As I said, I might look at Harry Potter next and maybe by the next movie, Paramount gets its act together.

Lastly:

Star Trek Fundraiser

I urge everyone planning on seeing the Star Trek movie to consider visiting the Star Trek Movie Fundraiser site (http://startrekfundraiser.org) and contributing what they feel Star Trek has been worth to them over the years.

Our passion and appreciation for Star Trek should go beyond the show and help as many people as possible - after all, helping people is the message to nearly every episode of every Star Trek series, book and movie. Let’s fully embody those ideals and share as much as we can to make life better for people all over our world. And while we’re at, let’s revolutionize fundraising!


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