Important Events – Page 2 – universal positive

The Importance of Juneteenth

September 7, 2023June 18, 2023 by Roger Darnell

Juneteenth is the oldest internationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States of America. Tracing back to Galveston, Texas, when Union General Gordon Granger and his troops enforced the Emancipation Proclamation and freed all remaining slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865, it wasn’t until 2021 that Juneteenth became a federal U.S. holiday.

World Oceans Day: Let’s protect our home

May 13, 2024June 8, 2023 by Roger Darnell

World Oceans Day has been celebrating the ocean on 8 June every year since 2002. The need for protective action for the ocean has never been greater.

For people everywhere, in one way or another, the ocean connects us all. World Oceans Day formally unites and rallies each of us to protect and restore our precious shared ocean. Specifically,

Bold Leaders Invited to Champion Gender Equality via UN Women’s HeForShe Global Initiative

March 9, 2021March 9, 2021 by Roger Darnell

On International Women’s Day, UN Women’s HeForShe movement issued a global call to leaders to join the newly formed HeForShe Alliance and help accelerate progress toward gender equality.

Launched by UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson, HeForShe is a solidarity movement and an international platform that engages men and boys as allies to support the work of the women’s movement and ultimately create an equal world for all.

Experience the 2021 World Wildlife Day Film Showcase on 3 March

February 27, 2024March 2, 2021 by Roger Darnell

DWA principal Roger Darnell had the great honor of serving as a judge for the 2021 World Wildlife Day Film Showcase: Forests. “It is a wonderful feeling,” he said, “knowing that so many gifted storytellers and supporting organizations are dedicated to informing and educating the world on the importance of forests and conservation.”

Earth Day 2019

April 20, 2020April 22, 2019 by Roger Darnell

You and your loved ones are cordially invited to join more than a billion of your fellow humans to participate in Earth Day – the only global event celebrated simultaneously by people of all backgrounds, faiths and nationalities – by helping expand its mission into a much more ambitious affair.

Something SXSW special just for you

March 12, 2018March 8, 2018 by Roger Darnell

Thirty-two years ago, the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival began in Austin, Texas. Having grown to essentially become all things to all people, the event’s concurrent film, interactive media and music festivals and conferences attract over 400,000 attendees, which includes the lion’s share of the entertainment and advertising industries, as well as the brand marketers wanting to engage with them. This year’s SXSW launches on 9 March and runs on through the 18th. SXSW, Inc., also runs the SXSWedu conference on educational innovation (5-8 March this year in Austin), and the SXSW Cities Summit set for 12-13 March in Austin.

I’ve taken a fresh look at the most important channels to point you in the right directions: Enlightenment awaits!

Marketing Imperatives: Center Everything Around Your PR Strategy

March 11, 2024August 3, 2017 by Roger Darnell

I have a longstanding working relationship with a CEO who recently changed jobs. Coming into his new company, he told me that his mantra was this: He intended to center every marketing initiative around PR strategy. In virtually every industry, I’m seeing many wise marketing industry leaders endorsing this idea. Another prominent example from the past several years comes from Jason Harris of San Francisco- and NYC-based Mekanism, where in an interview with HubSpot.com, he described his agency’s framework for creating shareable content.

“Our approach is to always think about the PR headline. Why will the idea, content, innovation, etc., travel? Why will people care, and why will they want to talk about it and share it? If there is no PR headline, the idea won’t be shareable. That is our goal on every project.”

The video I’m embedding with this article perfectly demonstrates the increasing focus on PR, presenting the 47-minute “Content & Storytelling: Is the PR Landscape Shifting?” session from the 2014 CDO Summit in NYC.

Media Spotlight: Creators

March 11, 2024July 26, 2017 by Roger Darnell

Creators was VICE’s arts and culture platform, covering every aspect of the creative process. Its mission was to make art more accessible to a wider audience with diverse voices reporting on emergent arts and artists.

From sculpture and light projections to street art and dance, the platform’s curators and contributors immersed themselves in cultural hotbeds and travel to the far corners of the globe to explore the spectacle and color of making art today.

Read moreMedia Spotlight: Creators

2016 Olympic Advertising

March 11, 2024August 11, 2016 by Roger Darnell

Thanks to some Herculean feats by the illustrious organizers of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad – and over 11,000 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees, including first-time entrants Kosovo and South Sudan – we have witnessed quite a show over the past several days. Haven’t we?

Technically, I was among the first people complaining about the blinding number and frequency of commercials aired during the Opening Ceremony; wow. In the early going, that programming approach stole the show in many ways, from my point of view – but I must admit that we all rely on advertising and sponsorship to a great extent to allow us to experience the Olympics. Since my clients are craftspeople of the highest order producing spectacular commercials and branded content, I can appreciate the value of creative advertising… but I agree with the broadcasters’ latest assessments, which have been forced to acknowledge how much viewers’ tastes have changed.

Synchronized with the broadcast of the Opening Ceremony from the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics on Aug. 5, my friend Ann Christine Diaz published this story in Ad Age, highlighting many of the major brands who bought time, so that NBC’s viewers could watch the show for free:

Olympic openers

March 11, 2024August 5, 2016 by Roger Darnell

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Danny Boyle’s 2012 Summer Olympics “large-canvas nation-themed spectacle” of an opening ceremony will always be remembered as one of the most eccentric and memorable Games’ kickoffs in history. Since NBC’s broadcast reportedly attracted nearly 41 million viewers, THR has also named it the highest rated Summer Olympics opening of all time.

My reaction: