Epic Impact - can you plan it

[veinbuster]

One of the charities I'm involved with has declared it Epic Impact Day. This got me wondering how one goes about having an epic impact. I'm not sure it is something you can plan. It might be something that ends up happening.

Maybe it is easier to figure out from the other side. Has anything ever had an epic impact on some aspect of your life.

And as a bit if a social experiment, I'll make a donation to the charity (Alberta Ride to Conquer Cancer) for all replies. And because I'm curious about how to motivate the readers to become posters, I'll donate twice as much for posts from people without a card as an avatar. I'll run the experiment until at least when I get around to logging in on Thursday.

 

[Albrecht Smuten]

I'm not sure if I get the question right, but in advertising business it's definitely something you can plan. Actually you must well plan it and put a lot of money in it.

 

[Serious Poo]

I've been very fortunate to have made an impact on the world in two ways so far. I didn't really plan for either to have much of an impact, but they both came from a place of passion, vision and a real desire to help others. The first was in college where I led the implementation of a social program that later got adopted by the entire California State University system to raise student cultural education and racial awareness. Go figure, I was only trying to stop a bunch of racial tension that was growing on my campus. Fortunately, I had gotten to know several college and national fraternity presidents and was able to bounce some ideas around with them. I then designed a program I thought might work, presented it to other student leaders, obtained their support, then presented it to the leadership of my college and obtained their support (and funding!) to make it happen. It worked better than anyone expected and became the start of something impactful across the entire system.

The second is with a business book I coauthored with two friends of mine. We wrote it because there was a huge need in the industry for some guidance on a topic we had a lot of experience with. It was highly reviewed and got adopted by a bunch of university grad school programs. We got the clue that we were on to something when a great review of our book made the main page of Slashdot. I still get invited to speak at conferences each month because of it.

Hope that helps.

 

[Goldtop]

This is a very interesting question. I want to take some time before I give an actual response because IMO this deserves my time and attention. I'll get back to you soon.

Lloyd

 

[veinbuster]

I'm not sure if I get the question right, but in advertising business it's definitely something you can plan. Actually you must well plan it and put a lot of money in it.

Interesting, but as a marketing skeptic I wonder if you can be sure it will be epic before the campaign is launched. I would think you could make it good and give it a chance, which might be all I'm really looking for. What characteristics would it have to have to be epic?

 

[jfb]

In college I was a Senior Staff Student Resident Assistant for three years. I learned very quickly how my impact on other students impacted me. It was one of the greatest learning experience of my life. Having residents reach out to say they felt their positive experience in school was in no small part due to my efforts as an RA made seeing all of the negative aspects of human behavior during those three years a little bit more bearable. I have some pretty crazy stories from those days.

 

[rugerpc]

With enough planning and the right staffing/volunteers, any event can be 'epic.' But both of those things are essential.

Planning sessions need to be done well in advance. The planning team needs to involve straight line thinkers - those who see things as a process in which each step builds upon the previous steps. But it also needs to involve innovative thinkers - those who work from odd angles and even way off the main line. These people are where your fantastic ideas and unusual, attention-getting aspects will start.

All the planning in the world will fail without sufficient people to carry out the plan(s) on the given day(s). Remember that volunteers are there with their own agendas (giving back, vested interest, sense of community, etc.) and should not be pressed into service in areas where they are uncomfortable. They are working for free, or for meals, or for event swag, and they will not be enthusiastic unless you recognize their other motivations and attempt to task them with something that addresses why they are really there. Paid staff gives you a bit more flexibility in tasking, but it eats into the bottom line. Expect to need at least 2-3 volunteers for any job that might be dedicated to a single paid staff member.

Hope this helps.

 

[veinbuster]

Hope this helps.

Definitely.
Thank you.

 

[Albrecht Smuten]

Interesting, but as a marketing skeptic I wonder if you can be sure it will be epic before the campaign is launched. I would think you could make it good and give it a chance, which might be all I'm really looking for. What characteristics would it have to have to be epic?

Of course you can't be sure, but you usually already know what works and what doesn't work when you plan a campaign (assuming you're a professional). There are people out there, true puppeteers, that would make you eat your own shoe and gladly pay them for it. There are means to achieve just about anything. Every successful campaign is carefully analyzed for future use. You just have to spend money to make money (the more you want to make, the more you have to spend).
The level of epicness always depends on you and your megalomania

 

[veinbuster]

Thanks for the ideas so far. At present I'm experimenting with a low budget and playing with ideas for something I'd like to do in 2016 on a bigger scale. I think that gives time to:
- find people who care
- find people who know what they are doing
- determine what makes those people tick
- observe what works
- get the satisfaction of doing some good on the way
I have a bit of a bias towards doing small goods that have a chance of snow balling. And I have a big bias towards not spending all of the money that comes in - though I'm not adverse to encouraging other people to pu tmoney where it adds value.

 

[László]

Epic Impact:

Ghandi comes up with a plan to challenge British authority in India by protesting the salt monopoly, and begins a march to the sea. The plan attracts a growing number of Indians to join the nonviolent protest march, and sparks the movement toward India's independence, which happens 17 years later.

By the mid 50s Ghandi's methods are adopted by Martin Luther King and followed by the American Civil Rights movement. Within 20 years this movement results in the Civil Rights Act of 1965.

Impact on two continents? I'd say that's epic. And it was planned.